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May 24, 2013

Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Weinreb: When I didn't so 'humbly disagree'

Caroline B. Glick: Thank you, Hafez al-Assad

Diana West: From the Brooklyn Bridge to London
Morgan Housel: Why spotting bubbles is so much harder than you think

Environmental Nutrition editors: NuVal labeling to the rescue?

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : Memorial Day: Jews Serving and KIA in War on Terror; Liberace Bio-Pic; Jew Wins "Survivor"; Shalom, Dr. Brothers; More

The Kosher Gourmet by Emma Christensen: HIDE THESE FROZEN TREATS FROM THE KIDDIES!: Sangria pops; Irish cream pudding pops; mango Lassi pops

May 22, 2013

John Thorne: They launched the 'Arab Spring' but now yearn for the good old days of a strongman

John Rosemond: 'Disciplinary math' adds up to parental successl

Warren Richey: Are prayers before public meetings OK? Supreme Court to decide
Rick Montgomery: Use of ADHD drugs as study aid raises concern on campuses

Brierley Wright, M.S., R.D.: 6 convincing reasons you should keep carbs in your diet

Eoin O'Carroll: Scientists examine nothing, find something

The Kosher Gourmet by Carole Kotkin: This soup is made from one of the great pleasures of spring: A wonderful pairing of rosy color and earthy tang

May 20, 2013

Richard A. Serrano: Is Meir Kahane's assassin now a changed man?

Hannan Adely: Town raises Palestinian flag at City Hall

Melissa Healy: Genetic copies of living people from embryos no longer science fiction
Morgan Housel: When smart investors do stupid things

Sharon Saloman, M.S., R.D.: Hunger games: Eat more, weigh less, without starving

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : Jews Inducted into Rock Hall of Fame; Anton Yelchin co-stars in New "Trek" film; Kutcher (but not Kunis) visits Israel; Jewish TV Star Praises Jewish Rap Star

The Kosher Gourmet by Cathy Pollak: WARNING: This WALNUT CAKE WITH PRALINE FROSTING, perfect for afternoon coffee, is addicting

May 13, 2013

Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo: Why the giving of the document that would permanently change the world could only be done in desolation

David G. Savage: Church-state, literally? Supreme Court weighing public school graduation in a church

Emily Alpert: Recession dragged down birth rates for less-educated women
Morgan Housel: The deep downside of home ownership

Peter Teffer: Will Dutch police soon be stalking cybercriminals on your computer?

Heidi McIndoo, M.S., R.D.: Meatless 'meat' can have its own set of problems

The Kosher Gourmet by Diane Rossen Worthington: Celebrate! This must-try appetizer is delicate yet has depth of flavor: Corn-Leek Cakes with Caviar, Smoked Salmon and Creme Fraiche

May 10, 2013

Rabbi Berel Wein: Be all that you should be

Caroline B. Glick: The dirty little secret about Israel's Arabs

Mona Charen: Hawking's Moral Calculus: The man and the movement he embraces
Morgan Housel: The biggest retirement myth ever told

Sandi Doughton: Eyes may provide new insight into brain problems

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : The Great Gatsby's Jewish Ties; Jews in the "Time 100 list" List; People's Most Beautiful Women

The Kosher Gourmet by Linda Gassenheimer: A sweet-hot meal: Pear salsa spices up salmon

May 8, 2013

Peter Ford: Why China is welcoming both Israel's Netanyahu and Palestinians' Abbas

Warren Richey: Obama administration quietly backs out of appeal over new contraceptive mandate

Fred Weir: At Kerry-Putin meeting, US-Russia relations thaw --- a tad
Amanda Paulson: Study reveals sad truths about community colleges

Harvard Health Letters: Evidence weak that zinc, echinacea are beneficial

The Kosher Gourmet by Leela Cyd Ross : Almost too pretty to eat, this colorful salad with Sicilian inspiration will tickle the taste buds and delight your visual sensibility

May 6, 2013

Edmund Sanders and Patrick J. McDonnell: Think Israel's objective in Syria is to weaken Assad or embolden the rebels? Think again

Brian Bennett: Israeli airstrikes may show weakness in Syrian defense

Michael Ollove: Millions of ex-felons, parolees and those on probation are about to be entitled to tax-payer paid health coverage
Karen Kaplan: Most men can skip PSA test for prostate cancer, urologists say

Kimberly Lankford: How to track down a lost life insurance policy

Dream of Mars exploration achievable, experts say

The Kosher Gourmet by Susan M. Selasky: EGGPLANT WRAPS are an easy, sumptuous and scrumptious meal

May 3, 2013

Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo: Human Courage and the Unavoidable, Disturbing Text

Steven Emerson: Attorney General Fights CAIR in Court, Lauds it in Public

Mediterranean diet helps beat dementia: study
Harvard Health Letters: When to be screened for a hearing problem

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : Iron Man's Jewish Connections; Marc Maron's New TV Show; Martin Landau Grows Up with Israel; Shalom, Allan Arbus

The Kosher Gourmet by Diane Rossen Worthington: A sweet surprise for Mother's Day dessert

May 1, 2013

Jonathan Rosenblum: An Improbable Journey to Orthodoxy

Jonathan Tobin: Blame Obama, Not Israel for Syria Push

Kids, kittens the Same? With employee perks at struggling Internet pioneer Yahoo! it's hard to tell
Halena M. Gazelka, M.D.: Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: What you need to know about implanted pain relief devices

Sandy Kleffman: Artificial kidney offers hope to patients tethered to a dialysis machine

Jessica Shugart: When it comes to math, MRIs may be better than IQs

The Kosher Gourmet by Mario Batali: The celebrated chef on how high-maintenance ASPARAGUS RISOTTO need not be

April 29, 2013

Roy Gutman: Poland's new Jewish museum celebrates life, doesn't revisit Holocaust

Mark Clayton: Terrorism in America: Is US missing a chance to learn from failed plots?

Kim Murphy: Boston Bomber's 'Svengali' Revealed
Morgan Housel: He's rich, smart and old: Listen to him

Thomas Salinas, D.D.S.: Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: The safety of amalgam fillings

Harvard Health Letters: Tomatoes and stroke protection

Pete Spotts: Tiny satellites + cellphones = cheaper 'eyes in the sky' for NASA

The Kosher Gourmet by Diane Rossen Worthington: Swing into spring with lemon cream pie

April 26, 2013

Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski: The world is a mirror

Caroline B. Glick: Time to confront Obama

Clifford D. May: Defense in the Age of Jihadist Terrorism
Kimberly Lankford: New strategies ease pain of paying for long-term care insurance

Howard LeWine, M.D.: Ask the Harvard Experts: Too much ibuprofen?

Sharon Palmer, R.D.: How to feel your best -- with plenty of energy, a healthy weight and optimal mental and physical function -- without driving yourself batty

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom: Jewish Major Leaguers, 2013; New Movies and Comedy Show; Shalom, 'Lumpy' (Leave it to Beaver)

The Kosher Gourmet by Emily Ho : A bright and cheerful salad to herald the warmer months ahead

April 24, 2013

Steven Emerson: Boston Bomber Exposes Islamist Secret

Morgan Housel Admit it: No one has any idea what's going on
Harvard Health Letters: Can you get headaches from headache medication?

Kerri-Ann Jennings, M.S., R.D.: How to easily get more Omega-3s in your diet

Melissa Healy: Pot in a pill: All the pain relief without the smoke

The Kosher Gourmet by Susan Russo: Chipotle Chili Butternut Squash Soup is bold, zesty, hot

April 22, 2013

Ken Dilanian: Counterterrorism's future is unclear

US man departing country arrested on terror charges
Barbara Williams: An unorthodox but growing treatment in a 9-year-old's battle against cancer

P.J. Skerrett, M.D.: How to recognize a good whole grain product

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom: Teen actor Jonah Bobo in New Flick: Hunky James Wolk on Mad Men; Erich Segal's Daughter Writes Prize-Winning Jewish Novel


Jewish World Review March 1, 2004 / 8 Adar, 5764

A safe place for what?

By Jonathan Tobin


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If ‘liberal politics’ says it's not okay to be pro-Israel, then the problem is with liberal politics, not Israel


http://www.jewishworldreview.com | A generation ago, Jewish students stormed the citadels of American Jewish power, intent on changing the way our institutions did business.


The focus of the Jewish students of the 1970s was on getting a tired and disengaged organizational world to speak up about the plight of Soviet Jewry, and to infuse more Jewish sensibilities and practice into the arid and elitist alphabet-soup groups that composed the establishment of that time. Jewish kids wanted action and bold leadership.


Though it was often hard to discern then, the protests were heard, and, over the course of time, had a tremendous impact on Jewish life in this country. What are Jewish students complaining about today?


To listen to some of the young people I met at the annual plenum of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs this week, you'd think their main problem is just the opposite — they believe the organized Jewish world is pressuring them for more activism than they find comfortable.


To be more specific, what they are uncomfortable with is what they perceive as a mandate to march in lockstep with the Israeli government and to be gung-ho supporters of anything undertaken by the Jewish state.


An unscientific poll of students who attended a session on how groups should deal with dissent on Israel seemed to indicate that they felt themselves particularly queasy about unapologetic advocacy for Israel. I'm not sure that these kids were that representative. Yet it was significant that many of those I talked with felt that Hillel, the main focus of Jewish life on campus, was too Israel-centric. As one young campus activist put it, students needed a "safe place" to be Jewish that didn't necessarily include support for, let alone advocacy for, Israel.


But even for those who didn't wish to divorce themselves from Israel, a distinct distaste for anything that smacked of allegiance to the position of the government led by Ariel Sharon rippled above the surface.

PRESSURE TO CONFORM
What they wanted was the freedom to express opposition to policies such as the security fence and settlements, and what they consider harsh treatment of Palestinians by Israel.


Their point was that American college campuses are places where hostility to Israel runs deep. So in order to influence those who are not already supportive of Israel — a group that may well include the majority of Jewish students — what they need to do is to soft-pedal advocacy and make it clear that they stand apart from the "hard-core" Jewish position.


Yet interestingly, the culprit for them was not the atmosphere of bias against Israel but what they consider an oppressively pro-Israel agenda that was being foisted upon them. As one participant in the panel on this topic put it, there was "a lot of pain" expressed by these students.


I can sympathize to a certain extent with their dilemma. But only to a point. Because if these kids think they are feeling pain, how would they characterize the emotions of an Israeli people that has undergone 31/2 years of a Palestinian terrorist war that has taken nearly 1,000 Jewish lives?

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I don't doubt that advocacy for Israel can help isolate them at school.


Nobody wants to be considered hopelessly out of touch with the spirit of their own time. But my not-very-comforting response to these students is that sometimes, that's just what the situation requires.


As one young woman pointed out, the dominant "liberal politics" of the campus "dictates it's not okay to be pro-Israel." My response is that if that is true, then the fault lies with campus "liberal politics," and not with Israel. Even more to the point, I have to wonder why some of these students feel that the only way they can successfully engage the virulent opponents of Zionism at their schools is by joining in the chorus of criticism of Israeli policies.


Israel is an imperfect society, and its politics are rife with all of the usual corruptions and inefficiencies that bedevil any democracy. It has its own diverse political culture, and there is nothing said here about it that isn't a distant echo of some internal Israeli debate.


But none of those concerns have anything to do with the basic argument of the Arab-Israeli conflict: whether or not the Jews have a right to live in peace and sovereignty in their ancient homeland. And it is that point — and not the disputes about the legality of settlements and the location of a security fence — that are at stake here.

WHAT KIND OF DIALOGUE?
If the only kind of Jewish state that a student can support is one that is perfect — or at least in conformity with the sensibilities of the American political left — then what we are effectively saying is that it isn't possible to support any kind of Jewish state.


And why is it that Israel's campus foes are not similarly inclined to note the shortcomings of the Palestinians?


If a Jewish student wishes to engage in dialogue with a pro-Palestinian group, then I say, by all means, speak out about all of your criticisms of Sharon and Israel. But do so only if your dialogue partners are willing to stipulate that the Palestinian Authority is a corrupt, terrorist mafia that routinely abuses the human rights of its own people.


If they are not willing to do that, and if, in fact, they take the position that Israel has no right to exist as a Jewish state, I have to ask why any Jewish student feels the need to establish common ground with them.


And the idea that Jewish organizations are pressuring these students is farcical. The truth is, groups like Hillel welcome anyone who wants to connect with other Jewish kids, with no Sharon loyalty pledges required. The real pressure being felt by some of these Jewish students is the need to conform to left-wing campus fashion.


Despite what I heard from some at the plenum, I still think most Jewish students want to embrace Israel and are willing to speak out in its defense. Those who are unafraid to speak out against the lies and invective of the anti-Israel crowd, even when this faction is led (as it is, more often than not) by faculty rather than other students deserve every bit of help we can give them. As for the pain felt by those whose views keep them on the sidelines of the debate, I say get over it.


Or even better, start questioning your own political assumptions.

Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in Washington and in the media consider "must reading." Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.

JWR contributor Jonathan S. Tobin is executive editor of the Philadelphia Jewish Exponent. Let him know what you think by clicking here. In June, Mr. Tobin won first places honors in the American Jewish Press Association's Louis Rapaport Award for Excellence in Commentary as well as the Philadelphia Press Association's Media Award for top weekly columnist. Both competitions were for articles written in the year 2002.

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© 2004, Jonathan Tobin