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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 Nov. 13, 2007 / 3 Kislev 5768

A man and his moment of truth — half a century later

By Paul Greenberg


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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | There were giants in the earth in those days, as the Book tells us, and thank goodness they keep reappearing when they are most needed. Like during the bad old days half a century ago here in Arkansas and throughout the South. It was a time when people were confronted with the clearest of political and moral choices, perhaps the clearest since the Civil War itself.


By 1957, the question had become unavoidable: What was it to be, the rule of law or defiance? State Sovereignty or the Union now and forever?


It was a time when every politician, every leader, every minister, every citizen was called on to choose sides, or hunker down and try to stay neutral between right and wrong.


It was a time made for an ambitious demagogue — even in a state then considered moderate in its racial views. That would change soon enough, for the crisis presented an opportunistic governor his chance to become a nigh-eternal incumbent. All he had to do was fan the flames. All he had to do was stir up the gathering hatred and exploit it. He could even shut down the schools if he wanted, and the mob would rage, the crowd cheer, and the voters go his way. Again and again. Which was the choice Orval Faubus made.


Most of the state's politicians either went along or went passive, ducking for cover during what would become the Great Faubusfear.


Some just skedaddled. The state's junior senator, always a great internationalist, at least in his own eyes, decided this would be just the right time to take an international tour. His actions in 1957, and the years before and after, would prove a portrait in something other than courage. Having already helped set the tinder by placing his indelible signature on the defiant Southern Manifesto the year before, J. William Fulbright didn't hang around to watch the Crisis when it burst upon the state.


Instead, he chose to view it from a safe distance — merry old England, where he always did seem more at home. It became a pattern with him. Whenever freedom was being threatened by racial demagogues at home or communist aggression abroad, Sen. Fulbright could be counted on — to suggest appeasement.


Such were the unhappy times. But there were giants in the earth even then. They stood out, perhaps because there were so few of them. A whole slew of repressive laws was rammed through the Arkansas legislature in February of 1957 in anticipation of the Crisis to come.


For example, there was the bill to create a State Sovereignty Commission, a star chamber that would crack down on anyone brave enough to defy the segs. This modern inquisition was given power to subpoena witnesses and records, and summon anyone to appear in closed session. The bill setting up the commission passed the House 88 to 1.


Another bill, clearly aimed at the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and other uppity outfits, required that such organizations turn over their membership rolls and financial records at the demand of this new Sovereignty Commission. The proposal passed the House 89 to 1.


In both those cases, the lone dissenting vote was cast by a young representative from Hot Springs named Ray S. Smith Jr. The next year, when Orval Faubus was given the power to close the public schools, that outrageous bill passed the House 94 to 1.


Again, the single vote in opposition was cast by Ray Smith. The names of those who voted for it have been largely forgotten, consigned to a kind of merciful oblivion. It was the lone dissenter, Ray Smith, who on his death last week at 83, who would be remembered as a hero.


Ray Smith did Arkansas proud — even if he had to do it alone.


His solitary stand against all the febrile forces that pushed Arkansas over the edge in the Furious Fifties could be ranked with the prophetic Isaac Murphy's lone vote against secession in 1861. On that fateful day, a lady in the gallery threw a bouquet at his feet when that giant in his time took his stand for the Union; the flowers for Ray Smith would come only later, when it became clearer how foresighted he had been.


Ray Smith's simple courage as a young man in the 1950s would mature over the years into perspective, temperance and wisdom. But always, it would be his singular votes in that time of testing that would be remembered, and honored.


There were indeed giants in the earth in those days. And when the next moment of truth arrives for this state, or this country, their names will be invoked. For the Ray Smiths leave us not only with the memory of their courage at a decisive moment in the past, but a shining example for the future.

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JWR contributor Paul Greenberg, editorial page editor of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, has won the Pulitzer Prize for editorial writing. Send your comments by clicking here.

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