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May 24, 2013

Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Weinreb: When I didn't so 'humbly disagree'

Caroline B. Glick: Thank you, Hafez al-Assad

Diana West: From the Brooklyn Bridge to London
Morgan Housel: Why spotting bubbles is so much harder than you think

Environmental Nutrition editors: NuVal labeling to the rescue?

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : Memorial Day: Jews Serving and KIA in War on Terror; Liberace Bio-Pic; Jew Wins "Survivor"; Shalom, Dr. Brothers; More

The Kosher Gourmet by Emma Christensen: HIDE THESE FROZEN TREATS FROM THE KIDDIES!: Sangria pops; Irish cream pudding pops; mango Lassi pops

May 22, 2013

John Thorne: They launched the 'Arab Spring' but now yearn for the good old days of a strongman

John Rosemond: 'Disciplinary math' adds up to parental successl

Warren Richey: Are prayers before public meetings OK? Supreme Court to decide
Rick Montgomery: Use of ADHD drugs as study aid raises concern on campuses

Brierley Wright, M.S., R.D.: 6 convincing reasons you should keep carbs in your diet

Eoin O'Carroll: Scientists examine nothing, find something

The Kosher Gourmet by Carole Kotkin: This soup is made from one of the great pleasures of spring: A wonderful pairing of rosy color and earthy tang

May 20, 2013

Richard A. Serrano: Is Meir Kahane's assassin now a changed man?

Hannan Adely: Town raises Palestinian flag at City Hall

Melissa Healy: Genetic copies of living people from embryos no longer science fiction
Morgan Housel: When smart investors do stupid things

Sharon Saloman, M.S., R.D.: Hunger games: Eat more, weigh less, without starving

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : Jews Inducted into Rock Hall of Fame; Anton Yelchin co-stars in New "Trek" film; Kutcher (but not Kunis) visits Israel; Jewish TV Star Praises Jewish Rap Star

The Kosher Gourmet by Cathy Pollak: WARNING: This WALNUT CAKE WITH PRALINE FROSTING, perfect for afternoon coffee, is addicting

May 13, 2013

Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo: Why the giving of the document that would permanently change the world could only be done in desolation

David G. Savage: Church-state, literally? Supreme Court weighing public school graduation in a church

Emily Alpert: Recession dragged down birth rates for less-educated women
Morgan Housel: The deep downside of home ownership

Peter Teffer: Will Dutch police soon be stalking cybercriminals on your computer?

Heidi McIndoo, M.S., R.D.: Meatless 'meat' can have its own set of problems

The Kosher Gourmet by Diane Rossen Worthington: Celebrate! This must-try appetizer is delicate yet has depth of flavor: Corn-Leek Cakes with Caviar, Smoked Salmon and Creme Fraiche

May 10, 2013

Rabbi Berel Wein: Be all that you should be

Caroline B. Glick: The dirty little secret about Israel's Arabs

Mona Charen: Hawking's Moral Calculus: The man and the movement he embraces
Morgan Housel: The biggest retirement myth ever told

Sandi Doughton: Eyes may provide new insight into brain problems

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : The Great Gatsby's Jewish Ties; Jews in the "Time 100 list" List; People's Most Beautiful Women

The Kosher Gourmet by Linda Gassenheimer: A sweet-hot meal: Pear salsa spices up salmon

May 8, 2013

Peter Ford: Why China is welcoming both Israel's Netanyahu and Palestinians' Abbas

Warren Richey: Obama administration quietly backs out of appeal over new contraceptive mandate

Fred Weir: At Kerry-Putin meeting, US-Russia relations thaw --- a tad
Amanda Paulson: Study reveals sad truths about community colleges

Harvard Health Letters: Evidence weak that zinc, echinacea are beneficial

The Kosher Gourmet by Leela Cyd Ross : Almost too pretty to eat, this colorful salad with Sicilian inspiration will tickle the taste buds and delight your visual sensibility

May 6, 2013

Edmund Sanders and Patrick J. McDonnell: Think Israel's objective in Syria is to weaken Assad or embolden the rebels? Think again

Brian Bennett: Israeli airstrikes may show weakness in Syrian defense

Michael Ollove: Millions of ex-felons, parolees and those on probation are about to be entitled to tax-payer paid health coverage
Karen Kaplan: Most men can skip PSA test for prostate cancer, urologists say

Kimberly Lankford: How to track down a lost life insurance policy

Dream of Mars exploration achievable, experts say

The Kosher Gourmet by Susan M. Selasky: EGGPLANT WRAPS are an easy, sumptuous and scrumptious meal

May 3, 2013

Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo: Human Courage and the Unavoidable, Disturbing Text

Steven Emerson: Attorney General Fights CAIR in Court, Lauds it in Public

Mediterranean diet helps beat dementia: study
Harvard Health Letters: When to be screened for a hearing problem

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : Iron Man's Jewish Connections; Marc Maron's New TV Show; Martin Landau Grows Up with Israel; Shalom, Allan Arbus

The Kosher Gourmet by Diane Rossen Worthington: A sweet surprise for Mother's Day dessert

May 1, 2013

Jonathan Rosenblum: An Improbable Journey to Orthodoxy

Jonathan Tobin: Blame Obama, Not Israel for Syria Push

Kids, kittens the Same? With employee perks at struggling Internet pioneer Yahoo! it's hard to tell
Halena M. Gazelka, M.D.: Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: What you need to know about implanted pain relief devices

Sandy Kleffman: Artificial kidney offers hope to patients tethered to a dialysis machine

Jessica Shugart: When it comes to math, MRIs may be better than IQs

The Kosher Gourmet by Mario Batali: The celebrated chef on how high-maintenance ASPARAGUS RISOTTO need not be

April 29, 2013

Roy Gutman: Poland's new Jewish museum celebrates life, doesn't revisit Holocaust

Mark Clayton: Terrorism in America: Is US missing a chance to learn from failed plots?

Kim Murphy: Boston Bomber's 'Svengali' Revealed
Morgan Housel: He's rich, smart and old: Listen to him

Thomas Salinas, D.D.S.: Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: The safety of amalgam fillings

Harvard Health Letters: Tomatoes and stroke protection

Pete Spotts: Tiny satellites + cellphones = cheaper 'eyes in the sky' for NASA

The Kosher Gourmet by Diane Rossen Worthington: Swing into spring with lemon cream pie

April 26, 2013

Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski: The world is a mirror

Caroline B. Glick: Time to confront Obama

Clifford D. May: Defense in the Age of Jihadist Terrorism
Kimberly Lankford: New strategies ease pain of paying for long-term care insurance

Howard LeWine, M.D.: Ask the Harvard Experts: Too much ibuprofen?

Sharon Palmer, R.D.: How to feel your best -- with plenty of energy, a healthy weight and optimal mental and physical function -- without driving yourself batty

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom: Jewish Major Leaguers, 2013; New Movies and Comedy Show; Shalom, 'Lumpy' (Leave it to Beaver)

The Kosher Gourmet by Emily Ho : A bright and cheerful salad to herald the warmer months ahead

April 24, 2013

Steven Emerson: Boston Bomber Exposes Islamist Secret

Morgan Housel Admit it: No one has any idea what's going on
Harvard Health Letters: Can you get headaches from headache medication?

Kerri-Ann Jennings, M.S., R.D.: How to easily get more Omega-3s in your diet

Melissa Healy: Pot in a pill: All the pain relief without the smoke

The Kosher Gourmet by Susan Russo: Chipotle Chili Butternut Squash Soup is bold, zesty, hot

April 22, 2013

Ken Dilanian: Counterterrorism's future is unclear

US man departing country arrested on terror charges
Barbara Williams: An unorthodox but growing treatment in a 9-year-old's battle against cancer

P.J. Skerrett, M.D.: How to recognize a good whole grain product

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom: Teen actor Jonah Bobo in New Flick: Hunky James Wolk on Mad Men; Erich Segal's Daughter Writes Prize-Winning Jewish Novel


Jewish World Review Jan. 13, 2004 / 19 Teves, 5764

How wide should our open doors be?

By Gary Rosenblatt


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http://www.jewishworldreview.com | Is it blasphemy, or simple logic and self-preservation, to suggest that U.S. immigration laws should be tightened? Even to mention the topic makes some Jewish leaders nervous.


America, of course, is a nation of immigrants, the land of second chances. As a result, its beckoning shores have long held a special place of gratitude for American Jews. Our bubbes and zaydes came here to escape persecution from Europe and Russia and other lands, and it was here that they prospered in the melting pot of ethnic diversity, tolerance and democratic values. More recently, hundreds of thousands of Jews from the former Soviet Union were able to settle here and begin new lives without fear of religious discrimination.


So it is only natural that the American Jewish community has been outspoken in its support of immigration even as the numbers of Jews coming to this country has diminished.


But there are a few voices of late insisting that the tide has turned, that a complacent Jewish community, wedded to nostalgia and political correctness, is about to be overwhelmed by an influx of immigrants, many of them Muslim, with negative feelings about Jews and Israel. If Jews are to continue to thrive politically, socially and economically in this country, they must reconsider their position on immigration, these critics argue, and help lead a move to block, if not shut, the open door.


By the next census, Muslims may well outnumber Jews in the U.S., and according to Stephen Steinlight, former director of national affairs for the American Jewish Committee, an inevitable political shift will take place within the halls of Congress, putting increasing pressure on Israel in the Mideast conflict. "Our defense organizations have not responded," said Steinlight, now a fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies, "and when disaster comes, they will be asking themselves, 'where were we?' "

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He points to Mideast policy and social changes in European countries like France and England, where Israel is viewed with increasing disfavor and anti-Semitism is on the rise, and he attributes the shift in part to the rapid growth of the Muslim and Arab populations. Jews are now outnumbered by about 10-to-1 by Arabs in those countries.


Ira Mehlman, media director of FAIR (Federation for American Immigrant Reform), agrees that "American Jews need to look out for their own self-interest," but noted that immigration is an American problem, not just a Jewish one. "This is not about right-left politics," he said, "it's about excessive numbers of immigrants coming here and placing a burden on our communities, our schools and our economy." He and others argue that aside from Jewish concerns, with up to 1.5 million immigrants, legal and illegal, arriving each year, America cannot properly absorb them; the current policy will lead to social and economic upheaval, in addition to jeopardizing national security, these observers say.


Mehlman cites a recent article in the New York Review of Books by Christopher Jencks, a professor of social policy at Harvard, who argues that the influx of cheap labor from Mexico and South America is creating a huge underclass that will lead to great turmoil in the U.S.


Steinlight and Mehlman have joined forces and gone on the road, speaking at synagogues and to Jewish groups around the country, preaching the dangers of unchecked immigration. They are finding much support, they say, from amcha, or heartland Jews. Even some leaders of national Jewish organizations admit privately there is a problem, according to Steinlight and Mehlman, though they have yet to address it openly.


Rabbi David Lincoln of the Park Avenue Synagogue is well aware of the benefits of U.S. immigration laws, having come to America 35 years ago from Great Britain. But he thinks it is time for Jews to re-visit their position on immigration. "Unlimited immigration is a danger to the Jewish community," he said. "But I'm more worried about the U.S. There is a worldwide struggle today against Islamic fascism and we have to be very careful about who we let in." He worries about "loyalty to the state," noting that Jews are taught to be loyal to the countries where they live while some Muslims seek government funding for their religious schools which "teach Islam comes first."


Rabbi Lincoln is not against immigration, he says, but "we need some checks." He has invited Steinlight and Mehlman to speak at his synagogue in the fall.


Rabbi Harlan Wechsler of Or Zarua, another Conservative congregation in Manhattan, sounds more hesitant than his colleague but he, too, is concerned about the potential dangers of open immigration. "As a rabbi I worry about things that lead to more anti-Semitism," he said, noting that there is much hate in the Muslim world directed at Jews. But he also observes that America has long succeeded in making democrats out of newcomers. "I don't want to feel that the openness of our society should be limited unless it has to be. I want to be optimistic without being foolish."


He has not spoken from the pulpit on the issue because of its delicate nature. "We have to go very slowly," he said.


Others, though, insist that opposing open immigration is never justified. "The melting pot still works," said Leon Wieseltier, literary editor of The New Republic. "Even in an age of ethnicity, Arab Americans will become Americans, and the idea that they are here to infiltrate us strikes me as paranoid and ugly. If there are particular problems, fix them. But for Jews to suggest limiting immigration or imposing quotas is historical hypocrisy of the worst kind."


Steinlight counters that while it is true the melting pot will eventually acculturate immigrants, "militant Islam is strong and on the march." He said it may take 30 to 50 years to create a more pluralistic form of Islam here, and the danger remains in the short-term.


Clearly, there are no easy answers to this issue, and just to raise it causes emotional ripples in the community. But it is too important to ignore, and should not be left to Pat Buchanan, whose racist views lead him to oppose immigration, as the only spokesman on the subject. An open discussion within our community on U.S. immigration policy may lead to new thinking and creative ways to deal with the moral imperative of keeping this country open to newcomers "yearning to breathe free" while protecting its inhabitants — legal and illegal — from those who would undermine all America stands for.

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JWR contributor Gary Rosenblatt is Editor and Publisher of the New York Jewish Week. Comment by clicking here.



© 2004, Gary Rosenblatt