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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 Dec. 8, 2005 / 7 Kislev, 5766

The military is not the enemy of higher education

By Jonathan Gurwitz


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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | Tuesday, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in FAIR v. Rumsfeld, a case that pits some of the country's most elite institutions of higher learning against the military.


The plaintiffs in FAIR, an acronym for the Forum for Academic and Institutional Rights, would have you believe this is a momentous First Amendment case about the power of government to compel private entities and individuals to "propagate, accommodate and subsidize" policies they abhor.


To put the judicial proceedings in context, step back from the sensational claims of legal briefs for a moment and read the results from a recent poll by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press. The poll asked opinion leaders in various fields whether efforts to establish a stable democracy in Iraq will succeed.


The most optimistic response came from members of the military, with 64 percent saying the U.S. venture in Iraq will succeed while 32 percent think it will fail. Among the most pessimistic Americans, above only scientists and engineers, are academics, 71 percent of whom believe the effort to democratize Iraq is a blunder while only 27 percent believe it will triumph.


The general public, by the way, is closer to the military perspective, with 56 percent expecting eventual success while 37 percent expect failure.


I quote the Pew poll not to endorse one point of view or the other — public opinion is notoriously fickle.


It does, however, illustrate the massive philosophical divide between the military and academia, the original fault lines of which run back to the 1960s and opposition to the Vietnam War.


Prior to that time, universities played a significant, even a patriotic role in supporting the military. But in that hyperbolic era, academia vented its rage not only at the politicians who directed the war effort but also at those in uniform who answered to civilian leadership. The most significant blow it delivered to the military was to prohibit ROTC programs on campuses across the nation, a ban still in place at many of the nation's top universities.


Rather than redress the excesses of the past and bridge the chasm separating the military from higher learning, academia is instead trying to widen the gap. At issue is the Solomon Amendment, which Congress passed in 1994 and President Clinton signed into law in 1995.


The amendment requires universities to grant the military equal — not privileged — access to students as other businesses or organizations they allow on campus for recruitment efforts. Universities that fail to give the military equal access can lose their federal funding.


That's the crux of the great First Amendment battle FAIR claims to be waging at the Supreme Court. Because the military has an official policy of "don't ask, don't tell" with regard to homosexuality — which was, again, written by Congress and signed into law by Clinton — the plaintiffs maintain that granting equal access to military recruiters is tantamount to endorsing discrimination against homosexuals. Withholding federal funding to compel equal access is therefore, they claim, an abridgement of free speech.


One can agree or disagree with whether "don't ask, don't tell" is a discriminatory policy or good public law. But the proper course for those who oppose it is to fight the law itself and the political process that created it, not the military that has no choice about whether to accept it.


The selective indignation of the universities that are party to the lawsuit is revealing. A handful of military recruiters, they assert, somehow compels universities to support policies it opposes. Yet billions of dollars for higher education from Congress — which actually wrote the laws academia opposes — that the universities readily accept are supposed to have no coercive influence?


This is no court battle over principles. It's about a widespread, decades-old dislike of the military. It's about repeating the mistakes of the past and punishing the military for decisions made by the civilian leadership. And it's about money and the desire of some universities to take it from the federal government without any obligations.

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 Jonathan Gurwitz, a columnist for the San Antonio Express-News, is a co-founder and twice served as Director General of the Future Leaders of the Alliance program at NATO Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. In 1986 he was placed on the Foreign Service Register of the U.S. State Department.Comment by clicking here.

Jonathan Gurwitz Archives


© 2005, Jonathan Gurwitz

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