by Rabbi Alan Silverstein, PhD | President of Mercaz Olami (Representing the global Masorti/Conservative movement) “If the core of the Arab-Israeli dispute is the Palestinian refugee problem, once the Palestinian issue is solved, would not everything else fall into place?” The core of the Arab-Israeli dispute is neither the “Palestinian problem” nor the issue of […]
It is not in the heavens (Deteronomy 30:12) This biblical verse makes a radical claim: divine wisdom is available to all of us. We do not need heroic feats in order to make God’s word accessible. For the sages of the Talmud the verse came to mean that the authority of interpreting the Torah resides […]
July 30, 2024 | A Bloody Game: 12 Children Killed on Israeli Soccer Field by Hezbollah BACKGROUND – TALKING POINTS – DISPELLING MYTHS – ACTIONS – VOICES – STORIES While the Olympic Games captivate the attention of a worldwide audience, 12 innocent children were killed by Hezbollah missile fire while playing soccer in Israel. An […]
by Rabbi Alan Silverstein, PhD | President of Mercaz Olami (Representing the global Masorti/Conservative movement) As a child I remember bringing a UNICEF canister door-to-door to support the good work of the United Nations. Along with many other American Jews, my family believed in the value of international collaboration in furthering acts of hesed. Over the […]
The Torah portion, Balak, which we read this past Shabbat, is among the most amazing in the Torah: Bil’am emerges, a prophet not of the Israelite people, and pronounces deeply true things about us. He sees the people Israel in the desert, and ostensibly delivering a curse, he blesses: How good are your tents, Jacob, […]
Deadly Yemen Drone, Olympic Death Threats and UN World Court Target Jews BACKGROUND – TALKING POINTS – ACTIONS – VOICES – STORIES | July 23, 2024 Israel’s prime minister landed in the American capital in the wake of President Biden withdrawing his bid for re-election. Just days before, an Iranian drone was launched by the […]
by Rabbi Alan Silverstein, PhD | President of Mercaz Olami (representing the world Masorti/Conservative movement) Scholars Avinoam Patt of the University of Connecticut and Liat Steir-Livny of Sapir Academic College and the Open University of Israel offered the following observation: “The words used to describe events are often loaded with emotional associations; the power and […]
Balak, King of Mo‘av, is fearful of the Israelites and asks Bila‘am the sorcerer to curse them, for he believes this is the only way to defeat them in battle. He is afraid and therefore chooses to curse and belittle. In contrast, God transforms the curse into a blessing, for the Holy One knows only […]
Normalization of Hate and Violence Against Jews Surging Worldwide BACKGROUND – TALKING POINTS – ACTIONS – VOICES – STORIES Raping girls for being Jewish, killing Israeli Olympic athletes and bombing a Jewish community center provide vicious evidence of hate-driven, high-profile attacks around the world against Jews. The 1972 Munich Olympics and the 1994 Buenos Aires […]
by Rabbi Alan Silverstein, PhD Prior to the October 7th murder of 1,200 individuals and the kidnapping of 250 by Hamas, this issue was part of a dispassionate debate. Opposing the existence of only one among 200-plus nation-states, the only Jewish state, while shocking, was only theoretical. But once given the opportunity to demonstrate the […]