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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 July 9, 2007 / 23 Tamuz, 5767

The Culture, Stupid

By Suzanne Fields


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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | Nothing galvanizes the public like the threat of terrorism. London escaped carnage for several reasons, beginning with the amateurish construction of the bombs, but the credit for averting tragedy goes first to an ambulance attendant who saw something suspicious and called police. Two men who crashed their car though the entrance to Glasgow airport were caught by a policeman with the help of bystanders.


This wasn't Dunkirk, where thousands of British soldiers were rescued from French beaches by an armada of private boats, but it wasn't bad. These were strong defensive actions in a new kind of war. The fear raised by the Islamic versions of Manny, Moe and Curly will lead to greater vigilance. Citizens of the West, who are way ahead of their timid leaders, understand that this was merely one small battle against evil men and women who hate our freedoms and are dedicated to destroying our way of life. These enemies have the potential to inflict deadly harm far out of proportion to their numbers. It's not merely a war emanating from a lunatic fringe of Islam, but a modern outbreak of an ancient grudge.


Only Islam, once a great influence of culture and philosophy, alone of the three great religions seems to have retreated as time moves inexorably forward. Rogue elements of Judaism and Christianity are not difficult to find in the sweep of history, but both of those religious faiths have moved forward, if unevenly, to separate church and state and reconcile with the modern world by recognizing the importance of the rule of law and allegiance to human rights.


But when the Ottoman Empire collapsed and with it Muslim prestige and influence, Islam made a U-turn toward the past. Moderate Muslims have had a hard time since then. That's what wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are all about — trying to encourage moderates with the idea that they could make a transforming impact on the satrapies of the Middle East. It might work, and it might not. An Islamic reformation first requires modernization. The power to abuse women and keep them hidden, uneducated and out of the work force, fusing religious law and state authority, is something evil men will not easily give up.


Paul Belien, editor of the Brussels Journal, who follows Islamic issues in the Netherlands, tells of a Muslim apostate, a local politician and councilor, who wants to establish an international committee to bring ex-Muslims together to talk about what's wrong with their religion. "If Mohammed were alive today," he told a Dutch newspaper, "he would be in the same league as Osama bin Laden." This is enough to make his head rest uneasily on his shoulders, but it's only what Osama himself would say.


By 2020, more than half of all Dutch births will be to women from outside Europe. As in the rest of Europe, native Europeans are nowhere close to replacing themselves. Muslims are not easily assimilated in open secular societies, and it's possible, maybe probable, that Europe will slip backward, too. Germans, with 2.7 million Turks living among them, are finally debating whether Muslims can adapt to their secular society.


The pop culture, which traditionalists are quick to malign, could be a surprise regenerating factor for positive Western values. Through television and the Internet, young men and women are bombarded not only with Western music and images, but with the freedoms that accompany our values. The older mullahs may not be able to compete.


Herb Meyer, an assistant to the director of the Central Intelligence Agency in the Reagan administration, calls Iran "the country to watch." In a speech in Seattle, he reminded a conference of American business executives that 70 percent of the Iranian population is under 30. The West rightly worries that young Muslim men are becoming terrorists, but Iranian young men and women, who are Muslims but not Arabs, are mostly pro-Western. "The problem isn't so much the weapons, it's the people who control them," he says. "If Iran has a moderate government, the weapons become less of a concern."


That's an enormous "if." We have to hold up our end in the culture wars, with neither apology nor faint heart. The very things that make us targets for terror make us magnets for imitation. "We are becoming the last holdouts of the traditional Judeo-Christian culture," Meyer says. "There is no better place in the world to be in business and raise children. The only people who can hurt us are ourselves, by losing our culture. If we give up the Judeo-Christian culture, we become just like the Europeans. The culture war is the whole ballgame. If we lose it, there isn't another America to pull us out."

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