‘What happened,” asks Michael Oren, “to Israel’s reputation?” The Israeli ambassador to the United States, a noted historian, combat veteran, and bestselling author, raised that question in a Wall Street Journal essay last week. Writing on the 64th anniversary of Israeli independence, Oren began by quoting from Life magazine’s salute to the Jewish state on its 25th birthday in 1973 — a 92-page special issue that honored modern Israel, an island of enlightened democratic courage flourishing against all odds amid a sea of Arab hostility and violence. From “a tiny, parched, scarcely defensible toe-hold,” Life declared, the people of Israel had forged “a new society … in which pride and confidence have replaced the despair engendered by age-long suffering and persecution.” Needless to say, media ... Continue reading →

Tuesday, May 22, 2012 Gary Rosenblatt Editor And Publisher At a time when we are keenly aware of the deep divisions within the Jewish community on issues from religious practice to the policies of the State of Israel, along comes the festival of Shavuot, the Feast of Weeks, with the most unifying theme in Jewish life: the giving of the Torah, the central, foundational text of our history and people, at Mount Sinai. Doubly sad, then, that Shavuot, which falls this year on Sunday and Monday, is the least celebrated of the three major festivals. Is that because it has no seder to observe like Passover has, nor sukkah to build like on Sukkot? Perhaps, and I worry that many American Jews could not tell ... Continue reading →

‘What happened,” asks Michael Oren, “to Israel’s reputation?” The Israeli ambassador to the United States, a noted historian, combat veteran, and bestselling author, raised that question in a Wall Street Journal essay last week. Writing on the 64th anniversary of Israeli independence, Oren began by quoting from Life magazine’s salute to the Jewish state on its 25th birthday in 1973 — a 92-page special issue that honored modern Israel, an island of enlightened democratic courage flourishing against all odds amid a sea of Arab hostility and violence. From “a tiny, parched, scarcely defensible toe-hold,” Life declared, the people of Israel had forged “a new society … in which pride and confidence have replaced the despair engendered by age-long suffering and persecution.” Needless to say, media ... Continue reading →

(Photo: REUTERS/Altaf Hussain)British author Richard Dawkins speaks at the annual Literature Festival in Jaipur, capital of India's desert state of Rajasthan on Jan. 24, 2012.Featured PostsWorldWhether or not Christians will have a voice in the political landscape of Egypt ...Theology When you become a Christian the depravity and the disinclination to do what is ...U.S. A young mother's video testimony of her special needs son and her decision not ...Opinion If you are asked to pray, you can only pray as a Christian. In so doing, you ...May 21, 2012|3:30 pmWorld-renowned atheist Richard Dawkins says he supports the mission of England's Department for Education to make sure every public school in the nation has a copy of the 1611 translation of the King James Bible."A ... Continue reading →

Colin Powell, former chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under George Bush, endorsed Barack Obama four years ago. But Powell says he's "keeping his powder dry" on a presidential endorsement. Former Secretary of State Colin Powell declined Tuesday to renew the presidential endorsement he gave Barack Obama four years ago, saying he wasn't ready "to throw my weight behind someone" at this time. Skip to next paragraph The former chairman of the military's Joint Chiefs of Staff and Cabinet member under President George W. Bush demurred when asked if he was backing Obama again this time around. Four years ago, Powell caused a stir in Republican political circles when the longtime GOP figure endorsed Obama over war hero Sen. John McCain, calling Obama a ... Continue reading →

President Barack Obama and Massachusetts Democratic Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren have more in common than just their liberal political ideology, Harvard Law pedigree, and Democratic Party affiliation. Both claim Cherokee ancestry, and neither can prove it. Ms. Warren's claims are current and well known, but President Obama's claims were made back in 1995, when his memoir, Dreams from My Father, was published. On pages 12 and 13 of the 2004 paperback edition, the President unequivocally asserts his Cherokee ancestry: If asked, Toot [Obama’s maternal grandmother, Madelyne Payne Dunham] would turn her head in profile to show off her beaked nose, which, along with a pair of jet-black eyes, was offered as proof of Cherokee blood. But an old, sepia toned photograph on the bookshelf spoke ... Continue reading →

Maureen Callahan Along with their waning power, wealth, privilege and prestige, here’s another element of the Camelot mystique that needs to be extinguished: the myth of “The Kennedy Curse.” It’s almost a reflexive national reaction when we hear of yet another Kennedy dying too young, so of course it was invoked again last week, when news broke that Mary Richardson Kennedy, the estranged 52-year-old wife of Robert Kennedy Jr., had hung herself in her barn on Wednesday. A curse, however, implies supernatural intervention by vengeful gods jealous of mortal youth, beauty, brilliance. ACE/INFphoto.com Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his wife Mary Richardson Kennedy during a 2002 gala benefit to celebrate the Sundance Institute 20th Anniversary at Cipriani on 42nd St. in New York City Let’s ... Continue reading →

Considering that Easter, one of the highest Christian holidays, comes in April, Christian persecution in Muslim nations—from sheer violence to oppressive laws—was rampant last month: In Nigeria, where jihadis seek to expunge all traces of Christianity, a church was bombed during Easter Sunday, killing some 50 worshippers; in Turkey, a pastor was beaten by Muslims immediately following Easter service and threatened with death unless he converts to Islam; and in Iran, Easter Sunday saw 12 Christians stand trial as "apostates." The persecution of Christians has come to regions not normally associated with it. As in Nigeria, Muslim militants are running amok in Timbuktu, Mali—beheading a Christian leader and threatening other Christians with similar treatment. Sharia law has been imposed, churches are being destroyed, and Christians ... Continue reading →

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