Appeals for charitable giving, especially at key points of the year, are part of the Jewish calendar and a predictable part of our tradition. As Rosh Hashanah approaches, we expect the customary High Holiday appeals to begin. This year, of course, things may well be a little different. Over the past 12 months, we have been responding and adjusting to...
Fishing is a funny thing -- sometimes, you end up reeling in a catch you regret, no matter how much right-wing pundits like Dick Morris try to spin things. That seems to be the case with a recent poll conducted by the conservative Christian group, the Traditional Values Coalition, surveying American Jews aligned with the Democratic Party. So why would...
One stark difference between Democrats and Republicans is that Democrats appear to be far more willing to confront and publicly denounce bigots and extremists in their own fold. This has been highlighted by the GOP leadership's failure to condemn Rush Limbaugh's divisive, race-baiting diatribes. During the 2008 presidential campaign, Barack Obama unambiguously rejected and repudiated Louis Farrakhan, calling the Nation...
I was privileged on July 13 to be invited, along with 16 other Jewish leaders, to meet with President Barack Obama at the White House. Much has been written about this historic meeting; it's hard to believe there have been so many commentaries on a one-hour session. Everyone there has a version of what happened; I'm no different. For me,...
I was recently standing with my husband in the vast lobby of the Borgata, presumably Atlantic City's eighth wonder of the world. The place was opulent, naughty and dizzying, sometimes all at once. But I was remembering another Atlantic City, the one so familiar to legions of Jewish Philadelphians, the one my grandmother called "Tlontic City." There were no glittering...
Sivan 16, 5773
