The opinions expressed on this webpage represent those of the individual authors and, unless clearly labeled as such, do not represent the opinions or policies of TBS Let West Gaza be Palestine By STEPHEN GABRIEL ROSENBERG \ 02/14/2015 The money is there, the space is there and all it needs now is the traveling diplomacy John Kerry, Tony Blair, and the goodwill of the Egyptians, the Arabs and the Israelis.   A CONCEPTUAL map of the Gaza and Sinai region illustrating the author’s idea.. (photo credit:Courtesy) In dealing with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, seasoned politicians throughout the world call for the two-state solution. US Secretary of State John Kerry rushes around the Middle East to promote it, so far without success. Former British prime minister Tony Blair is appointed to help organize it, but he sits in Jerusalem and cannot advance it.So what is the two-state solution, and why has it…

The opinions expressed on this webpage represent those of the individual authors and, unless clearly labeled as such, do not represent the opinions or policies of TBS Jordan’s “Disproportionate Response” No people threatened by an aggressor and fighting for their existence has been vilified for using their full forces to prevail, except Israel. by Rabbi Benjamin Blech  - Published: February 14, 2015   The Internet is all a-Twitter about Jordan’s King Abdulla. Almost overnight the King has become an international hero. As one Google headline put it, “The Internet has fallen in love with the warrior King.” Seems that the world agrees with the way Abdulla responded to the horrific murder of a Jordanian pilot. In a grisly execution videotaped by barbaric ISIS leaders, Lt. Moaz al-Kasasbeh, was placed in a cage, doused with a flammable liquid and set afire to a slow and agonizing death. The King was in…

The opinions expressed on this webpage represent those of the individual authors and, unless clearly labeled as such, do not represent the opinions or policies of TBS   Published on December 17th, 2014 | by LedgerOnline Remembering Julie HAMDEN – Julius “Julie” Hyatt died last Dec. 6 at age 94. The Hamden resident and founding member of Temple Beth Sholom was remembered this year as the congregation prepared for Sukkot, in the shadow of the new memorial plaque bearing his name. This was the first year since 1950 that Hyatt wasn’t physically present to help put up the Beth Sholom sukkah. Hyatt was born on June 26, 1919 in Clinton, the son of Morris and Dora, and brother of Eve, George, Hy, and Helen. He graduated from Commercial High School in 1937 and served as a Staff Sergeant in the U.S. Army during World War II. A resident of Hamden…

The opinions expressed on this webpage represent those of the individual authors and, unless clearly labeled as such, do not represent the opinions or policies of TBS The intro to this article strikes a chord in my hearth. I used to belong to my school choir where I enjoyed singing an assortment of American folk songs, Stephen Foster songs and a sprinkling of Xmas songs. I rather enjoyed the Xmas song melodies, as later I found many were written by Jews, and I would slur the assorted words referring to Jesus and his status. My crisis point came upon becoming a freshman when the choir started preparing for the annual Xmas concert. One day we were asked to report for costume fitting. The costumes were red and white choir boys and girls outfits. The symbolism of belonging to a group that wasn’t me was unacceptable and I resigned. George A. …

The opinions expressed on this webpage represent those of the individual authors and, unless clearly labeled as such, do not represent the opinions or policies of TBS Ashkenazi Jews are not white – Response to Haaretz article Hila Hershkovitz is an Israeli-born teacher of English and Tanach. She lived in California for five years and now lives in Israel. In response to Haaretz article “Jews, white privilege and the fight against racism in America” (by Benjy Cannon 4/12/14) I would like to say loud and clear: Ashkenazi Jews are not white. Every time I read about a Jew somewhere identifying as a white person, I cringe. As an Israeli Jew, who like most other Israeli Jews, is completely foreign to the concept of Jews being “white” I would like to address this article to my Jewish brothers and sisters in America. Ashkenazi Jews who identify as “white”, please understand the…

On the Question of Palestine

The speech by Israel’s ambassador at the UN General Assembly, November 24, 2014, is a cogent overview of modern Israeli history. Share widely.

by Ron Prosor

The opinions expressed on this webpage represent those of the individual authors and, unless clearly labeled as such, do not represent the opinions or policies of TBS Countering the Big Lie by Naomi Ragen on November 1st, 2014 There was a time during one of the so-called intifadas (forgive me for not remembering if it was the first, second, or in-between; all that savagery and murder runs together seamlessly in my head these days) that the Palestinians claimed that the Jews had no connection at all to Jerusalem, or the land of Israel. A statement like that, similar to denying the Holocaust, is so insane it leaves one sputtering in wordless confusion. It’s like being asked to prove you aren’t dead. Were we not living in a world unspeakably degraded by dumbed-down college programs, propaganda pamphlets parading as newspapers, and the general degradation of moral and intellectual levels in every…

The opinions expressed on this webpage represent those of the individual authors and, unless clearly labeled as such, do not represent the opinions or policies of TBS How to Pay a Proper Shiva Call Proper etiquette and practical advice. by Rabbi Efrem Goldberg“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven…a time to keep silent and a time to speak.”The wisdom in this song is not for the Byrds, it comes from the wisest of all men, King Solomon. While the picture of many shiva homes today filled with people, food, and conversation is anything but silent, the Midrash interprets “the time for silence” as proscribing our behavior when comforting the bereaved. When Job, the very symbol of human suffering, experienced devastating loss, three of his friends came to comfort and console him: “They sat with him on the ground for a period…

The opinions expressed on this webpage represent those of the individual authors and, unless clearly labeled as such, do not represent the opinions or policies of TBS Desalination is great – but it’s taking away some of the magic that our winters once had. By LAWRENCE RIFKIN   10/23/2014 Desalination plant (illustrative photo). (photo credit:INGIMAGE)   At the kibbutz where I lived for my first years in the country, there was an outside faucet where I’d fill the crew’s water jugs on the way out to the orchards. Above the faucet was a sign that said “ Haval al kol tipa .”Before I appreciated the finer points of idiomatic translation, its message was the ungainly “A pity on each drop” rather than the more utilitarian “Each drop counts.”Yet to this street-trained Hebrew speaker it still made perfect sense.We were located near Rehovot but because of the funnel-like topography and resulting meteorological…

The opinions expressed on this webpage represent those of the individual authors and, unless clearly labeled as such, do not represent the opinions or policies of TBS The Beggars of Lakewood By MARK OPPENHEIMER   OCT. 16, 2014     Elimelech Ehrlich (seated), a beggar who travels each year from Jerusalem, talking with students outside Beth Medrash Govoha. Credit Peter van Agtmael/Magnum, for The New York Times Once a year, Elimelech Ehrlich travels from Jerusalem to Lakewood, N.J., with a cash box and a wireless credit-card machine. During the three weeks he typically spends in town, Ehrlich — a white-bearded, black-suited, black-skullcapped, wisecracking 51-year-old — haunts the many local yeshivas, schools where Jewish men, mostly in their 20s, study the Talmud and other texts. Sometimes he loiters around the condominium complexes where students live with their young wives and growing families. Some days he hires a driver to take him to…