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July 8, 2008

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Q. Duty to save gullible from themselves?

Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Islamists have the West just where they want us

JWisdom:: Putting the Spirit Back into Spirituality, Part 3: The Fully Loaded Human Being by Rabbi Dovid Gross

July 3, 2008

Rabbi Dr. Abraham J. Twerski: A spiritual budget (TOUCHING!)

Jeff Jacoby: Israel still paying for its defeat

JWisdom:: Re-Jew-venating prayer, Part IV by Rabbi David Aaron

JWisdom:: The Moses Method by Rabbi Sroy Levitansky

July 2, 2008

Jonathan Tobin: Appeasers Make Poor Patriots

The Kosher Gourmet By Kathleen Purvis: Slaw, y'all: For BBQs or Sabbath dinner, these southern recipes are something else!

JWisdom:: Rabbi Mordechai Becher: Jewish Rx for A Simpler Life

July 1, 2008

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Q. I think it's important to leave a legacy to my children. How much should I save towards this end?

Paul Greenberg:A President who is history deficient?

JWisdom:: Holocaust in the Perspective of Faith by Rabbi Nosson Scherman: Poland's Unique Antisemitism

June 30, 2008

Jonathan Rosenblum: Remembering the architect of Torah Judaism for the modern world

Abe Novick: Hulk: Still a Jew?

JWisdom: : Putting the Spirit Back into Spirituality, Part 2: The Abandoned Child

June 26, 2008

Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski: Quantum leap to evil

Caroline B. Glick: Victimized families must not be allowed to dictate policy

June 25, 2008

Rabbi Yonason Goldson: Today in Biblical History: King Jeroboam of Israel prevents pilgrimage to Jerusalem

Jonathan Tobin: Real Friends and Real Enemies

JWisdom: Raping of reason By Rabbi Sroy Levitansky

June 25, 2008

Steven Emerson: Kristof: Never Mind the Terrorists

Stratfor Intelligence Briefing: Mediterranean Flyover: Telegraphing an Israeli Punch?

JWisdom: Rabbi David Aaron: Re-Jew-venating prayer, Part III

June 24, 2008

Caroline B. Glick: What were they thinking!?

Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Guilty knowledge

JWisdom: Holocaust in the Perspective of Faith by Rabbi Nosson Scherman: Warping Innocence

June 23, 2008

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Diploma dilemma

Jeff Jacoby: A world without children

JWisdom: Rabbi Dovid Gross: Putting the Spirit Back into Spirituality --- Introduction

June 20, 2008

Rabbi A. Henach Leibowitz: Man: The Crowning Glory of Creation

Caroline B. Glick: Israel's darkest week

JWisdom: We aren't worthy? by Rabbi Sroy Levitansky

June 19, 2008

Rabbi Elazar Meisels: The saints who don't come marchin' in

Chris Christoff: Muslim woman demands an apology from Obama after camera snub

June 18, 2008

Jonathan Tobin: Still Dancing Around Jerusalem

The Kosher Gourmet by Steve Petusevsky: Chilled fruit and vegetable soups

JWisdom: Souls Need A Check Up? by Rabbi Mordechai Becher

June 17, 2008

Rabbi Avi Shafran: Baby Einstein

Caroline B. Glick: Bush's rhetoric, Bush's policies

JWisdom: Re-Jew-venating prayer, Part II by Rabbi David Aaron

June 16, 2008

Varda Branfman: Bob Dylan, won't you please come home?

Diana West: Academic dares to question the 'religion of peace'

JWisdom: Holocaust in the Perspective of Faith by Rabbi Nosson Scherman: Positive Backfire

June 13, 2008

Rabbi Berel Wein: Trading manna for whine

Caroline B. Glick: Peace with friends

JWisdom: From the mouths of … by Rabbi Sroy Levitansky

June 12, 2008

Michael Feldberg: Meet Paul Revere's pal, the Orthodox Jew who played a key role in laying Boston's cultural and business infrastructure

The Kosher Gourmet by Kathy Manweiler: No need to be tempted by Wendy's mandarin chicken salad

JWisdom: Re-Jew-venating prayer, Part I by Rabbi David Aaron

June 11, 2008

Rabbi Avi Shafran: What would Hillel say?

Jonathan Tobin: UNRWA and NGOs: The Real U.N. 'Insult'

JWisdom: Sara Yoheved Rigler: Greatness Made Simple: How a momentary decision shifted life's course and destination

June 6, 2008

Rabbi Pinchas Stolper: Revelation: The basis of faith

Binyamin L. Jolkovsky: Mere hours after becoming Israel's new 'best friend' Obama backtracks on status of Jerusalem

Caroline B. Glick: UN choosing to protect rogue nuclear programs

JWisdom: Sameness in difference by Rabbi Sroy Levitansky

June 5, 2008

David Lightman: Now Obama wants to be Israel's newest 'best friend'

Obama's remarks to AIPAC policy conference

The Kosher Gourmet By Ethel G. Hofman: Shavous cuisine: Ruby Fruit Soup, Lokshen Kugel with Cheese, Key Lime Curd, Calsone Casserole Frittata with Wild Mushrooms, Sun-dried tomatoes and Olives, Baked Tilapia with Pepper Cheese Cream and Brown Sugar Shortbread

JWisdom: Why a Jewish Jerusalem makes so many nervous by Rabbi Mordechai Becher

June 4, 2008

Jonathan Rosenblum: A different sort of 'religious broadcaster'

Jonathan Tobin: Misgivings on the Road to Damascus

JWisdom: 44 Years Without An Argument? by Sara Yoheved Rigler

June 3, 2008

Daniel Pipes: Obama vs. McCain on the Middle East

Everything's Relative: There is a crisis growing in Orthodox synagogues worldwide, reveals Jordan "Gorf" Gorfinkel

JWisdom: White Facades; Black Secrets by Rabbi Mordechai Becher

June 2, 2008

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Q: Lie to outsmart discriminator?

He writes the songs that make our souls sing:Gavriel Aryeh Sanders interviews Jewish music legend Ben Zion Shenker; includes stirring, uplifting song

JWisdom: Holocaust in the Perspective of Faith by Rabbi Nosson Scherman: Of laws and lives

March 22, 2007

J-Rhythms with Avraham Rosenblum: JWR's cutting-edge music program showcasing performers -- singers, song writers, musicians, and bands -- who learn and live the Torah lifestyle (OUR NEWEST IGODCAST !)

Oct. 29, 2003
Mortimer B. Zuckerman: Graffiti On History's Walls (MUST-READ!)

Jewish World Review Oct. 24, 2007 / 12 Mar-Cheshvan 5768

Pink diplomacy in the Middle East

By Kathleen Parker

Kathleen Parker
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — First lady Laura Bush came to the Middle East this week to raise breast cancer awareness, but her mission has been couched in a gracious plea for mutual understanding and world peace.


At each stop along her journey, which by week's end will have included the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Jordan, Bush has managed a quiet coup of diplomacy. The topic may be breast cancer, but the message is healing in a broader sense.


In a world that at times seems impossibly at odds, what could be more unifying than shared concern about a disease that ravages mothers, sisters and wives? Whatever our cultural differences, everybody loves "Mama," or "Um," as she's called here.


Bush's visit — as part of the U.S.-Middle East Partnership for Breast Cancer Awareness and Research, initially launched in 2006 — has been historic on several fronts. Bush has moved easily from country to country, charming audiences along the way with her sincerity and gentle touch.


Most important, she has helped women in this part of the world say the C-word — cancer — without shame. That isn't only a recent development, but one that will save lives and, perhaps, help build and fortify bridges between nations. As Bush told a roundtable of young female students:


"We have many things in common. ... What we all find out when we meet people from around the world is that human beings all have the same emotions, desires, dreams and frustrations."


At one especially poignant stop in Abu Dhabi, Bush met with breast cancer survivors at a "Pink Majlis" — a circular pink tent situated within a hospital — where women can come to talk freely about a subject that has been considered too embarrassing and frightening to mention.


The consequence of silence has been that many women are diagnosed in later stages of cancer when a cure isn't usually possible. In the Middle East, 70 percent of women with breast cancer have been diagnosed late. In the U.S., 80 percent are diagnosed early; of those, 96 percent survive.


Other cultural taboos and traditions in this part of the world are further inhibiting. Some women are still uncomfortable with self-examination, or reluctant to see a male doctor about so intimate a concern.


Seeing Bush seated in the majlis amid six women shrouded head-to-toe in black abayas was touching to witness. Some of the women showed only their eyes. One sat completely covered, a black shape wearing a pink ribbon.


In low voices, the women took turns talking through a translator about their battles with cancer and with a sometimes-unsympathetic culture. They are essentially trailblazers in their country, the first generation of women to step forward to seek treatment and talk openly.


A common theme emerged each time the first lady met with Emirati women — whether young students or accomplished women. It was that cultural stereotypes on both sides hinder communication and understanding.


Several young women who had studied in the U.S. reported their delight in discovering that Americans didn't hate them, as they had believed, and that Americans weren't like the characters they'd seen in TV sitcoms. They were also happy to show their American counterparts that they weren't aliens.


As one student put it, "Under these robes, we're the same. We listen to the same music and watch the same movies. We like pizza and Chinese take-out, too."


Another memorable encounter was a lavish, all-women luncheon at the palace of Sheikha Fatima, mother of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed. Three young members of the UAE Parliament with whom I spoke were eager to dispel false notions that they are, as one put it, "part of a harem." Emirati women honor their culture and wear the traditional robes, but they're also independent and ambitious, and they participate fully in the "men's world" of politics and business.


They want Americans to know that about them. They, too, believe that eliminating preconceptions and opening dialogue between the cultures are the best opportunities for a more peaceful world.


What was abundantly clear by the end of Bush's second day on this four-day tour is that communication is part of the cure, and I'm not just talking about cancer.


Women may not save the world, but at least they're talking to each other and saving each other's lives in the process. It's a start.

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