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July 2, 2009

Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski: The hallmark of a person

Abe Novick: Up, up, and aliya

July 1, 2009

Rabbi Avi Shafran: The Road Taken

The Kosher Gourmet by Marialisa Calta: Get into the holiday spirit with these Star-Spangled desserts

June 30, 2009

Rabbi Binyomin Ginsberg: What makes a great parent?

Caroline B. Glick: Ideologue-in-Chief

June 29, 2009

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Beware of 'Caveat Emptor'

Steven Emerson: ACLU pushing for more money for Hamas

June 26, 2009

Rabbi Yoni Posnick: Learn the secret to a healthy marriage from a scriptural villain

Caroline B. Glick: Barack Obama vs. International Law

June 25, 2009

Rabbi Shimon Apisdorf: The Absurd Power of Truth

Jordan "Gorf" Gorfinkle's strip: Everything's Relative

June 24, 2009

Rabbi Yonason Goldson: Advancement of technology is a wake-up call for humanity

The Kosher Gourmet by Andrea Weigl: Summer on a stick: Making frozen treats can be easy, creative and fun

June 23, 2009

Martin M. Bodek: 'On Surnames': And so, We Begin

Caroline B. Glick: The Obama Effect

June 22, 2009

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Working for a corrupt firm

N. Richard Greenfield : Where are American Jews?

June 19, 2009

Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski: Emotion v. intellect

Caroline B. Glick: Israel's rare opportunity

June 18, 2009

Jonathan Rosenblum: Sometimes it is more essential to define the nature of evil than good

Jordan "Gorf" Gorfinkle's strip: Everything's Relative

June 17, 2009

Rabbi Yonason Goldson: The Language of Confusion

The Kosher Gourmet by Linda Gassenheimer: Nothing pleases Dad more than a thick, juicy onion-smothered steak. Add home-Baked Potato Chips and …

June 16, 2009

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Career v. Careersism

Caroline B. Glick: Obama's losing streak and Israel

Richard Z. Chesnoff: ‘Palestinians’: Never Missing an Opportunity …

June 15, 2009

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu: How Judea and Samaria can become 'Palestine'

Daniel Pipes: Where Netanyahu's speech failed

June 12, 2009

Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski: Some big thoughts about not acting so big

Caroline B. Glick: Obama's High Commissioner

June 11, 2009

Victor Davis Hanson: Our historically challenged President

Mitch Albom: Beware the True Believers

Lewis Grossberger: What we learn from the new Hitler photos

June 10, 2009

Mort Zuckerman: What Obama and his advisors won't -- or refuse to -- grasp about Israel and the Muslim world

The Kosher Gourmet by Steve Petusevsky Lotsa pasta: Tips, techniques and (amazing) taste

June 9, 2009

Anne Bayefsky: Obama's stunning offense to Israel and the Jewish people

Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: America's first Muslim president?

June 8, 2009

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Merchant must take responsibility for careless shopper?

Mark Steyn: A superpower that feeds on mediocrity cannot survive for long on leftovers from the past

Richard Z. Chesnoff: How do you say 'kumbaya' in Arabic?

June 5, 2009

Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski: In quest of spirituality

Caroline B. Glick: Obama's Arabian dreams

Charles Krauthammer: The Settlements Myth

June 4, 2009

Paul Greenberg: The War Comes to Little Rock

The Kosher Gourmet by Judy Hevrdejs: Splash it on! Tap your inner jazz musician and improvise when stirring up a vinaigrette

June 3, 2009

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Q. Should terrible teacher be exposed?

Jonathan Rosenblum: The Israel Lobby: Missing in Action

June 2, 2009

Dennis Prager: The Speech President Obama Won't Dare Give in Egypt

Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Pressure on Israel raises war risk

Oct. 29, 2003
Mortimer B. Zuckerman: Graffiti On History's Walls (MUST-READ!)

Jewish World Review Dec. 16, 2005 / 15 Kislev, 5766

Jewish useful idiots

By Mona Charen



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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | Apparently eager to disprove the Jewish reputation for intelligence, the Union for Reform Judaism recently adopted a resolution condemning the Iraq War and demanding that President Bush provide "a clear exit strategy," including a plan for troop withdrawals.


In a letter to President Bush alerting him to the URJ's action, Robert Heller and Rabbi Eric Yoffe lost no opportunity to flaunt their supposed moral sensitivity. Calling the war a "major tragedy" that has "discredited … America in the international community" and "contributed to the growth of terrorism," the two Reform leaders informed the president: "We also call on Congress to provide more effective oversight of the war and to ensure that the financial burden of the war falls not just on the poor and on future generations but is shared equitably. … We condemn, in the strongest possible terms, violations of the Geneva Conventions and other applicable laws, including torture and abuse of detainees in U.S. custody … " And so on.


The Reform movement is the largest Jewish denomination in America and the most liberal (politically and religiously). There is nothing new about Reform Jews adopting leftist positions. But this one is particularly galling. Consider the irony: Throughout the Muslim world, from Indonesia to Egypt to Pakistan, huge numbers are convinced that the United States is engaged in Iraq only because a powerful cabal of Jews lured the nation into it. Millions are certain that Jews did not show up for work at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, because they were in on the sinister plan by the Israeli Mossad or the CIA to hijack planes, fly them into the buildings and then blame Al Qaeda. There is only one group that our Islamist enemy hates more than Americans, and that is — guess who?


Surely, of all people, American Jews ought to have the clearest insight into the stakes in the war on terror. Is Daniel Pearl's fate not instructive?


The Union for Reform Judaism can perhaps be forgiven for its arrogance, its obtuseness and its illogic (it demanded, for example, that the United States "withdraw its forces from Iraq" in a way that would "support the legitimacy of the Iraqi government"). What is unforgivable is the way these American Jews are being chumps. In their pompous proclamation, they distance themselves from ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War and Racism), but they offer a big smooch to the United Church of Christ and United Methodist Church General Board of Church and Society (UMC), declaring that these (among others) have "goals and values more consistent with our own." These are ultra liberal church groups (though obviously none of these groups can claim to speak for every person within the denomination).


Matthew Brooks, director of the Republican Jewish Coalition, points out that the UMC "has formally stated its opposition to the 'continued (Israeli) military occupation of the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem, the confiscation of Palestinian land and water resources, (and) the destruction of Palestinian homes.' In addition, according to the UMC website, the church's New England and Virginia conferences have called for divestment in companies that support 'the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories.'" Brooks went on to observe that the United Church of Christ, "at their 25th General Synod … passed a resolution regarding Israel's security barrier that 'calls upon the Israeli government to cease the project to construct the barrier, tear down the segments that have already been constructed and make reparations to those who have lost homes, fields, property and/or lives and health due to the barrier.'"


The Union for Reform Judaism thus makes common cause with those who object to Israel's attempt to defend herself, even to prevent suicide murderers from entering the country. The security fence has already saved countless Israeli lives, while offering the Palestinians their first opportunity for total self-rule in Gaza.


The URJ letter arrived on President Bush's desk just a few days before Iraqis once again demonstrated their eagerness for democratic practice by standing in long lines at voting places around the nation. How can the United States possibly leave this job unfinished? To leave is to fail. The Islamists know this full well and are banking that just a few more roadside bombs will tip the balance of American public opinion.


Reform Jews would have us abandon this struggle for the sake of "world opinion." They might want to revisit former Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir's robust reply when confronted with condemnation from many nations: "We are not going to die so that the world will speak well of us." .

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© 2005, Creators Syndicate