This Thursday marks the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Balfour Declaration. Named for Britain’s Foreign Secretary, Arthur James Balfour, the Declaration stated in part: “His Majesty’s Government views with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people.” Can you imagine such magnanimity? The British government viewed with favour the establishment in Palestine of […]
Thirty-seven years ago, practically to the day, President Carter, seeking re-election to this nation’s highest office, made the following comment during Presidential Debate #2 with Ronald Reagan: “I asked my daughter Amy (then 13 years old) what the most important issue (confronting the United States) was?” I hadn’t thought about the “Amy question” for the longest time. Last week, the […]
Kfar Kitvin is an 87 year old Moshav, a stone’s throw from Netanya, a thriving city on the Mediterranean between Tel Aviv and Haifa. To the best of my knowledge, until last week, Kfar Vitkin had made the news only once. Back in July 1948, the Atalena, an Irgun ship filled with ammunition, docked at Kfar Vitkin for a very […]
Just the other day, a congregant asked me whether I thought that Christopher Columbus was a Jew. Truth be told, I really don’t care. Of far greater concern to me was, if Columbus did indeed discover America, then what did the largest influx of Jews to this country discover? With Columbus Day having been commemorated earlier this week, perhaps it’s […]
In all likelihood, it’s been close to half a century since I’ve last watched any game show on television. Quite frankly, I don’t recall ever having watched “Let’s make a Deal.” Nevertheless, “Let’s Make a Deal” has been on my mind ever since I learned of the passing of Monty Hall, the host of that show, on Yom Kippur. Although […]
