Ben Gurion: The Book of Jonah and the Value of a Human Being
Matia Kam

The book of Jonah is read as the Haftrah on the afternoon of Yom Kippur prior to the Minhah service. The book of Jonah illustrates God’s compassion for every living thing—human and nonhuman—and therefore reflects the special meaning of the Days of Awe. Unlike other festivals, the High Holy Days are not national celebration but are days of judgment of humans and the world—all that inhabit the world and its nations as well. Thus High Holy Days have a two-fold aspect: a general, universal aspect as well as a particular and interpersonal one. They highlight the standing of both the individual and the community (tzibur) before God, as seen in the actions of the people of Nineveh and of Jonah in the whale—in prayer, in repentance and in hopes for mercy, compassion and forgiveness. read more

Reexamining the NFL Response to Domestic Violence:
Why is No One Listening to Janay Rice?
Ahavya Deutsch

Domestic violence is complicated because victims may not want to end their relationship with the abusers, or to see him/her prosecuted.

As a victim advocate, I see my role as restoring power to the victim by listening to what she tells me she wants (although I try to tell them my concerns and lay out their options). Ultimately, the victims must make their own decision, because they are the one who must live with the consequences of their actions. Once that decision is made, I try not to judge a victim who has made a decision I don’t agree with, since the victim has more information than I do about their circumstances. read more

Overwrought over ISIS
Peter Eisenstadt
September, 10

This, from the New York Times this morning. ISIS has created “perhaps the most turbulent moment for the Middle East since the split centuries ago between Sunnis and Shiites. “ The usually level-headed Daniel Kurtzer, former US ambassador to Egypt and Israel added, ““I don’t think there has been anything like this since the 7^th century.” Really?

Have Ambassador Kurtzer or the reporters for the New York Times ever heard of Genghis Khan and the Mongols, Tamerlane, the Crusades, the Ottoman Turks, the Napoleonic invasion of Egypt, World War I, the Iran-Iraq War, the two American invasions of Iraq, and the various wars, on which I am not expert enough to list, of the Fatimids, the Mamuluks, the Ayyubids, and so on, etc? read more

What Happens in a Casino Elevator Doesn’t Stay There
Ayala Emmett
September 9, 2014

A vicious assault on a woman in a casino elevator in Atlantic City took place in February 2014. Several months later on September 8, the attack in the elevator was on our TV screens: a woman treated like a punching bag, receiving a knockout and her unconscious body pulled out like a garbage bag. A Ravens’ star Ray Rice attacked his girlfriend Janay Palmer, knocked her down and mopped the floor with her limp body. read more

 An Open Letter to American Jew

Israelis for a Sustainable Future
September 1,  2014

Israelis For a Sustainable Future is a group of Israelis living in New York, who reached out to each other spontaneously, during Protective Edge, in order to somehow respond to the horrific news coming out of Israel and Palestine. We decided to reach out to the American Jewish community because we recognized that our voice, the voice of Israelis who object to the occupation and the endless military campaigns, is not heard enough, and we saw an opportunity for dialogue. read more

Thoughts on Gaza
Peter Eisenstadt

How can I write about the Gaza War? How can I not write about the Gaza War? These are the questions I have tormenting myself with this summer, trying to write something and finding, time and again, that I can’t.

On the one hand, the Gaza War has been an absolute horror, a war blundered into by both sides, a war that has accomplished nothing, has solved nothing, has created over 2,000 corpses, destroyed countless buildings, and has made, if possible, both sides hate and fear the other side more than before.   And if you add the still developing story of ISIS to the mix, this August is right up there with the famously unfun summers of 1914 and 1939 as one of the most unrelievedly gloomy and depressing summers of all time. read more