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 'Garbage man' in cells could extend life 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 Top Muslim cleric boycotts inter-faith dialogue conference attended by 'Jews' 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 Hagel, on maiden Middle East visit, arrives in Israel bearing gifts and promises 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 Sept. 14, 2009 / 28 Elul 5769 Get Out Your Crystal Ball! By Jonathan Tobin Time to take the 5770 Jewish pundit quiz on the new year's news http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | Did you have a good time in 5769? For Jews around the world, it was the usual assortment of bad - and even worse - news. Of course, not everything was awful. The rocket barrage on southern Israel restarted but then was largely squelched by a successful Israeli counteroffensive in Gaza. Despite the fact that Israel had every right to defend itself against attacks from territory it had already completely evacuated years earlier, the international verbal assault on every Israeli measure of self-defense seemed to gather even more momentum. New governments in Washington and Jerusalem found themselves at loggerheads over settlements, while Iran's fanatic Islamist leadership not only engineered its own reelection in a sham election with the West no closer to a hope of a plan to stop Teheran from acquiring nuclear weapons. Elsewhere, the international economic slide continued throughout the year, but many Jewish philanthropies (as well as some of their big donors) suffered even more cruelly because of the collapse of the multibillion dollar Bernard Madoff Ponzi fraud. SO, AS we pause to catch our collective breath, the arrival of a new Jewish year has us all wondering about what's in store for 5770. Can things get worse? Of course, they can! Yet, even as we cope with bankruptcies, frauds, indicted prime ministers, Islamists building nukes and the American politicians and their cheering sections who have abandoned any pretense of civility, we shouldn't lose what's left of our sense of humor. But before the Almighty writes down just how much worse (or better) it will be for us in the proverbial Book of Life, I present (with apologies, as always, to former New York Times columnist William Safire) the annual "Jewish Pundit Quiz" for 5770. Save this column, and see how you or I do in 5770. So guess - or should I say prognosticate - along with me about the coming year. My answers are at the bottom of the column. And remember, if you are worried about the outcome, teshuva (repentance), tefilla (prayer) and tzedaka (acts of justice and charity) may avert the severe decree. L'shana tova tikasevu! 1. By the start of 5771, the prime minister of Israel will be: a. Binyamin Netanyahu b. Tzipi Livni c. Ehud Barak d. Avigdor Lieberman e. Madonna 2. By the end of 5770, the government of Iran will have: a. Announced the cessation of all nuclear activity after being subjected to effective international sanctions. b. Avoided sanctions by engaging in inconclusive talks with the Obama administration while continuing clandestine nuclear activity. c. Proclaimed that it is now in possession of a workable nuclear device. d. Fallen after the military refused to implement widespread and bloody repression after renewed dissident protests. e. Been strengthened by the international outcry over Israeli air strikes on nuclear facilities. 3. By the end of 5770, the Middle East peace process will: a. Have led to a comprehensive peace accord that ended all violence and ensured a two-state solution. b. Be largely forgotten as conflicts with Iran and the resurgence of the Taliban in Afghanistan occupy the world's attention. c. Be stalemated as US initiatives are stymied by the Palestinians' refusal to recognize Israel as a Jewish state or to give up their hope of a "right of return." d. Be hanging on the outcome of fighting between Hamas and Fatah for control of the West Bank. 4. By next Rosh Hashana, Israeli settlements in the West Bank will: a. Be frozen as Netanyahu's pledges to President Barack Obama of no new building are kept. b. Growing at their highest rate yet because of the collapse of the latest peace initiatives. c. Begun shrinking as Israel signals that its hold on communities that are outside the security fence will soon be relinquished. d. Be growing on a modest rate as Jerusalem finds itself unable or unwilling to maintain a freeze in the absence of a viable peace process. 5. The most serious problem for Obama in 5770 will be: a. The war in Afghanistan b. The fate of his health care initiative c. The state of the economy d. Iran's nuclear ambitions e. The fallout from White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel's fist-fight with House Republican Whip Eric Cantor. 6. By the end of 5770, America's health care system will: a. Start to resemble that of Israel as a government-run single-payer system is rammed through Congress over Republican protests. b. Be a mess as insurers, employers and ordinary citizens scramble to adapt to a partial reform package that pleases no one. c. Be unchanged as Obama's initiative eventually collapses due to lack of public support and partisan infighting. 7. In 5770, Israel's biggest problem will be: a. The conflict with the Palestinians b. Iran's drive for nuclear weapons c. Coping with a post-Zionist malaise that undermines its society and national defense. d. Haredi-secular conflict in Jerusalem and throughout the country. e. All of the above. 8. In 5770, American Jews will be most worried about: a. Peace in the Middle East b. Iranian nukes c. The fate of Obama's domestic agenda d. The decline of Jewish identity as assimilation leads to more intermarriage and lack of affiliation. e. A new wave of kashrut scandals. 9. The most significant force in American Jewish life in 5770 will be: a. J Street as the left-wing lobby topples AIPAC as the key Jewish player on Israel in Washington. b. The Reform movement whose effective lobbying on behalf of the Obama health care package will be seen as crucial to its passage. c. The Zionist Organization of American as the backlash against Obama's pressure on Israel gives new life to the right. d. Orthodox outreach movements that continue to grow the numbers of their adherents as other Jewish denominations continue to shrink e. The Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations, whose mainstream bully pulpit will galvanize a united community about the threat from Iran. 10. Which of the following will not be true in 5770? a. Obama will maintain strong Jewish support despite his attitude toward Israel and Iran. b. Anti-Semitic incitement against Jews and Israel will continue to grow in Western Europe. c. Quentin Tarantino will direct a new film on the Madoff scandal starring George Clooney and Barbra Streisand as Bernie and Ruth Madoff. d. Jewish day school enrollment in the US will decline as economic pressures devastate non-Orthodox schools. e. Israel will be forced into military confrontations with Hamas and Hizbullah. Tobin answers: 1. a, 2. b, 3. c, 4. d, 5. a, 6. b, 7. e, 8. c, 9. e, 10. c. Interested in a private Judaic studies instructor — for free? Let us know by clicking here. 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 Commentary magazine. Comment by clicking here. Jonathan Tobin Archives © 2009, Jonathan Tobin