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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 March 24, 2004 / 2 Nissan, 5764

Yassin's death is justice long overdue

By Jonathan Tobin


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Justice delayed results in truth denied


http://www.jewishworldreview.com | To listen to much of the commentary from world leaders and American editorial pages this week, Israel's killing of Hamas leader Sheik Ahmed Yassin was a crime that would set back the cause of Mideast peace. But the truth is, the three missiles fired from Israeli helicopters that ended Yassin's life was merely a case of belated justice.


Yassin was a 67-year-old quadriplegic, a fact that aroused sympathy for him, as well as revulsion against Israel's actions from many. Far from being a victim, Yassin was the most important leader of a movement that has killed hundreds of Jews in cold blood. He was the Palestinian idealogue of mass murder who bore responsibility for countless crimes committed by others in the name of the radical Islam he championed for decades from the confines of his much photographed wheeled perch.


Given the misleading language that is often used by the media to characterize Hamas, it is probably not surprising that Yassin's death would be the cause of so much pointless criticism. Though it has taken on a quasi-governmental role in Gaza, Hamas is neither the religious nor social-service agency it is often described as.


The Washington Post editorialized on March 23 that Yassin's killing puts off the day when Hamas will morph into a peaceful Islamic group. This is a farcical notion. Hamas is already a movement with a clear purpose — the destruction of Israel by armed force, the expulsion and/or murder of its Jewish population and the establishment of a radical Islamist state over the territory that would remain, including areas under the administration of the Palestinian Authority. The idea that Yassin was a force for moderation within Hamas is equally comical. Hamas was and is a group without a "moderate" wing even by the distorted and violent standards of Palestinian society. Compromise with Hamas is impossible.

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While it might still be possible for some to pretend that Palestinian Authority leader Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement is a peace partner, no sane or honest person can harbor the same illusion about Hamas. As such, Israel not only had the right to pursue Yassin, it was duty-bound to track down him — and every other active member of Hamas — just like the United States hunts down members of the equally despicable Al Qaeda.


There will be many who will seize upon the successful dispatch of Yassin and see it as an understandable rationale for future Hamas terror. But to accept this premise is to fall into the trap of blaming the victim — Israel — for having the temerity to defend itself. Like all previous Israeli acts of self-defense, this latest one is not part of a mythical "cycle of violence" that Israel is helping to perpetuate. Neither this incident nor the deaths of any of Yassin's henchmen was the motivation for any past or future terrorist attacks.


Hamas' murderous rampages are based in its belief system, not on any individual act of Israel. The only driving force behind Palestinian terrorism is Arab rejection of the right of the Jews to live in peace and sovereignty in their own homeland.


Some in Israel will question the wisdom of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and his decision to launch an attack on Yassin now that he's announced a plan for withdrawal from Gaza. They question whether the cost of Yassin's death to Israel will be worth it. I don't know the answer to that question. But let there be no doubt as to the justice of this act, or that foreign criticism of Yassin's killing is rank hypocrisy.


History will deliver its own verdict on Sharon's judgement. But despite the culture of appeasement of Islamic terror that reigns in Europe and the rise of international anti-Semitism, Yassin's death proves again that as long as a Jewish state exists, it's no longer possible to murder Jews with impunity. And for that point alone, Sharon will deserve credit.


We are told by some experts that Arabs now have a greater motivation to kill Jews.


That's laughable; Hamas needs no new excuses to go ahead with their depredations anymore than they did in the past when they have killed hundreds. Also ridiculous is the idea that Yassin's death will undermine America's war on terror because now moderate Arabs will be less inclined to work against Hamas' spiritual cousins in Al Qaeda. Americans should stop kidding themselves about there being a difference between the two. The Europeans already understand this and seek to appease both in a vain effort to stay out of the fighting. Americans need to understand that a real war on Islamic terror that grants immunity to Hamas is a sham.


Whatever happens in the coming days, Palestinians should think more clearly about the costs to themselves of their passion for the spilling of Jewish blood that Yassin helped inspire. Let those who would follow his path, including those who seek to murder Americans in the name of Islam, draw the proper conclusions from Yassin's fate.

Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in Washington and in the media consider "must reading." Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.

JWR contributor Jonathan S. Tobin is executive editor of the Philadelphia Jewish Exponent. Let him know what you think by clicking here. In June, Mr. Tobin won first places honors in the American Jewish Press Association's Louis Rapaport Award for Excellence in Commentary as well as the Philadelphia Press Association's Media Award for top weekly columnist. Both competitions were for articles written in the year 2002.

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© 2004, Jonathan Tobin