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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 Sept. 28, 2006 / 6 Tishrei, 5766

Politics claims another victim

By Bob Tyrrell


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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | It appears that another of the Clintons' 1990s goals has come a cropper, to wit, ending the "Politics of Personal Destruction." It is election time in the Great Republic, and that means that for a few months candidates for high office might be beset by charges that have never heretofore been an issue. If they do not respond to those charges with great adroitness, even deviousness, they might be defeated and perhaps spend the rest of their lives under a moral cloud.


Right now in Virginia Sen. George Allen and his Democratic challenger, Jim Webb, are sweating through questions over whether they have at any time in their lives used the racial slur "n——." Never before has the matter been a vexed issue in either man's adult life. But for a few days, maybe a few weeks, they will fend off questions over whether they used the word. The impression left will be that they did; and, worse still, that America is a racially divided nation, perhaps even a racist nation. Actually, America has done more to eliminate racism and racial animosity than any multiracial country on earth. Here again an American political campaign does not clarify issues, but rather spreads misinformation about the country, all very useful to our enemies, many of whom are vehement racists and religious bigots.


The other day Webb was prevailed upon to say: "I don't think there's anyone who grew up around the South that hasn't had the word pass through their lips at one time or another in their life." Well, that sounds perfectly sensible to me, and I do not think Webb had to limit his reference to the South. The real question is, what was the intent of the speaker, and does he harbor bigoted thoughts? Yet, here is the response from the Associated Press: "Democratic Senate challenger Jim Webb declined to say definitively Tuesday whether he had ever used a common derogatory word to define blacks." Maybe there is some journalistic convention forcing this obtuse response, but as far as I can see the AP's response is nonsense. Webb is not a bigot, and race as an issue in Virginia politics is dead.


What we see here is the creation of a false issue working toward "the politics of personal destruction." Sen. Allen, after nearly a quarter century of public service unblemished by racist behavior and distinguished by service to all races, is now belabored with charges from remote figures he knew three decades ago that as a youth he used racial slurs. Oh yes, and he publicly used an obscure word, "macaca," with no relevance to American rhetoric that happens to be a slur in some faraway land. Finally his mother, a Holocaust victim who kept the experience quiet perhaps even from her children, is Jewish and apparently through the years Allen should have talked about it. As candidates in recent years, John Kerry and Hillary Rodham Clinton, discovered Jewish roots in their families and that was good for them. Allen's recent discovery is supposedly bad for him. Here is another example of liberals having one set of rules for themselves and another set for conservatives.


Friends of Allen and teammates from the University of Virginia football teams of the early 1970s are now lining up to say that Allen never used racist terms. Black ministers from Virginia churches are now defending him. "We're standing for his character and for his integrity," the Rev. Martin Brown is quoted as saying. "We should be focusing on the issues instead of focusing on character assassination." Yes, that is true, but what can we do for Allen's aged mother?


She is the most deeply injured party in this controversy and now she is a victim of crude politics on both sides of the Atlantic. During World War II she was a French Tunisian Jew, who suffered firsthand from the Holocaust. Her father was arrested by Nazis and put in a concentration camp. Her family survived, and she came to America but was so badly traumatized by the racial and religious hate she had experienced that here she was reticent about her Jewishness. How was she to know that America was not as capable of turning against a Jew as Nazi Europe had been? Children of Holocaust survivors tell me their parents too lived with such fear. All were secondary and tertiary victims of Nazi evil. Mrs. Allen's security has again been invaded by politics.


One hopes that this time she recognizes that in America her physical safety is secure, if not her personal feelings.

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

JWR contributor Bob Tyrrell is editor in chief of The American Spectator. Comment by clicking here.

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