The Third Temple — Kol Nidre, 5784

The Jewish people are good at remembering important dates. We left Egypt on the 15th of Nissan. Moses smashed the Ten Commandments on the 17th of Tammuz. The Babylonians destroyed the Temple on the 9th of Av.  Fifty years ago today – Yom Kippur, 1973 – was one of the worst days in our long… Read more »

Families Belong Together

Dear Friends, America’s moral crisis over immigration continues to unfold. Whatever wise and fair immigration policy you favor, I know we can all agree that mass child abuse, executed by the federal government, is a historic disgrace. Families belong together. The UN Convention on the Rights of Children affirms the central importance of family integrity: “The… Read more »

Any Love Unaccompanied by Criticism is Not Love at All: America, the UN, and the Future of Israel

As the Obamas exit and the Trumps enter, America’s and American Jews’ relationship to Israel are frazzling. Several AC members expressed dismay about America’s abstention from a UN resolution critical of Israel and Sec. Kerry’s extremely blunt speech about whether the two-state solution has any future. Others are panicked that David Friedman will be America’s… Read more »

Seeking the Good Amidst a Rise in Hate

Every politician’s favorite feel-good line – oft-attributed to de Tocqueville, wrongly – is that “America is great because America is good.” Hillary Clinton cited it often during the campaign, to tell us a story about ourselves, to make voters attend to some aspiration supposedly growing native in our national character to prize liberty, justice, fairness,… Read more »