It’s a Saturday night in a Pittsburgh bar. A young, well-dressed man approaches a woman and orders her a drink. They strike up a conversation and the spark of chemistry is lit. By night’s end, th...
Soothing ties with Turkey
On May 31, Israel and Turkey — two countries that, until then, had been fairly close allies — were forced to take a step back. If you’ve read The Chronicle in the past few months, you know what we...
Conversion law must be modified
Jews around the world — and certainly some in Israel — were surprised on Monday when David Rotem, an Orthodox Knesset member of the mostly secular Yisrael Beitenu party, introduced his so-called “...
Talking again
It’s no secret that there’s been a rift between Israel and the United States in the past few months. Ask any non-Jew following the news. Or better yet, one not following along. Even ask most Jews...
Shalit cause building steam
It’s been a long time coming, but the Obama administration is finally putting some muscle behind its calls for the release of Gilad Shalit. However, to use some boxing jargon, all those who hope a...
Public officials must watch their mouths
When Rolling Stone Magazine posted a story called “The Runaway General” to its Web site on Tuesday morning, editors at the rock’n’roll publication likely had no idea that by Tuesday night, Stanley...
Proposed law sends healthy message
Israel’s trouble with the media has long plagued the country with what many call a “PR War,” meaning that the message the country wishes to get out is oft mangled by the press, and thereby deliver...
Direct talks are needed to advance peace NEW YORK — In the history of the State of Israel, never have there been preconditions for face-to-face peace talks. While it was not obligated to do so, the Israeli government last November or...
Dancing at a death camp — is it ever OK?
By now, the video of Holocaust survivor Adolek Kohn dancing with his daughter and grandchildren at Auschwitz has gone viral. So has the debate. Central to that debate, which is raging far and wide...
What the American Jewish Congress gave American Jews
NEW YORK — With the American Jewish Congress apparently closing its doors, there won’t be many mourners saying Kaddish. Instead, the prevailing communal sentiment will probably be: “We have to...
As our world changes, so does shiva
First, let me say that I am not anti-shiva. Shiva, a Hebrew word meaning seven, that refers to the seven days of mourning by a Jewish family following the burial of a loved one. It is supposed to ...
Toward creating an Ethiopian Israeli Peace Corps
OXFORD , Miss. — In Africa and Israel, several exciting programs are now operating that show that untapped resources in Israel’s Ethiopian Jewish community could be turned into one of Israel’s gr...
Only Israel making the effort toward peace
CHICAGO — Like the people and governments of Israel, the pro-Israel community in the United States has long sought a resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through direct negotiations be...
A Palestinian
partner
High on the list of questions I get when promoting the pro-Israel, pro-peace message is who I’m proposing that Israel make peace with. The question in short: Is there a Palestinian partner? Last n...