The boycotters’ flawed logic
November 18, 2009
Twenty-first century humankind has come to rely on computers, but how do we know computers are reliable? In large part, we know because of the work of Amir Pnueli, a pioneering Israeli computer scientist and logician. Read More
Public funds, religious quarrels
November 11, 2009
An ongoing story out of Great Britain ought to give pause to advocates of government funding for private religious school education. In a nutshell, the British courts are debating whether the entrance criteria of one of its publicly funded Jewish day schools are discriminatory. Read More
‘Irredeemably biased’
November 4, 2009
In the body of the Goldstone report on Israel’s actions in the Gaza war, the authors include this curious caveat: “[W]e did not deal with the issues…regarding the problems of conducting military operations in civilian areas and second-guessing decisions made by soldiers and their commanding officers ‘in the fog of war.’” Read More
When hate comes to town
October 28, 2009
How do you answer hate? When the tiny and odious Westboro Baptist Church first announced its plans to picket Jewish institutions across the state, the impulse of many was to “fight back.” Read More
‘A sense of shared society’
October 21, 2009
Three years ago, a handful of Jewish organizations complained when they “discovered” that emergency funds raised by local Jewish federations to assist victimized Israelis in the wake of the Second Lebanon War would benefit not only Jews, but Israeli Arabs and Druze as well. Read More
A rare defense of Israel
October 14, 2009
The million-to-one shot came in. Hell froze over. A month of Sundays hit the calendar. Vanessa Redgrave defended Israel. Read More
Moving pictures
October 7, 2009
Two brief videos made available last week demonstrated the enormous power of broadcast images in the age of YouTube. Read More
Or else what?
September 30, 2009
Iran’s taunting of the West has reached a critical peak, even for a regime that seems to delight in goading the United States, mocking the historical truth, and snubbing its nose at human rights and the will of its own people. Read More
And then there were ‘Nones’
September 23, 2009
Here’s a stat to contemplate during the Days of Awe: The fastest-growing cohort in surveys of American religious affiliation are those who describe themselves as “none,” “atheist,” “agnostic,” and “secular.” Read More
Damned if you do. But do.
September 16, 2009
Next Thursday’s rally at the UN will undoubtedly be criticized as “hawkish” and “hard-line.” But don’t let the smears keep you from going. The Jewish community is backing tough but peaceful measures to avert a crisis. Read More
