December 06, 2024

International Pressure is Needed to Save Israel from Itself

On Wednesday of this week, Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank attacked Palestinians, their homes, and their cars, in the towns of Beit Furik and Huwara, near Nablus.

November 29, 2024

Settling Gaza at the Expense of the Hostages

It is unequivocally true that the ceasefire and shaky calm returning to the north of Israel and south of Lebanon is a good thing. While we hope that it holds past the initial 60 days and sees residents from both the north of Israel and the south of Lebanon able to return to their homes, we must not accept this news as a suitable alternative to a ceasefire and hostage release deal in Gaza, nor should we accept the larger paradigm of rounds of senseless killing and terror as a reality with which to live.

November 22, 2024

Erode Democracy at your Peril

The arrest warrants from the International Criminal Court (ICC) for Prime Minister Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Gallant, as well as Hamas leader Mohammed Deif were met by some with full-throated glee, while others were aghast at this decision, bafflingly conflating the ruling of an international court against the leaders of a sovereign nation-state with an entire ethnicity and people.

November 15, 2024

Pro-Israel or Pro-Judea

As the news of Trump's appointments comes in, it's clear from the reactions of certain far-right extremist ministers in Israel that they see this presidency as an opportunity to fulfill their annexationist visions and create a one-state reality of Jewish supremacy from the river to the sea.

November 08, 2024

Universalism, Particularism, and the US Elections

Living in a globalized world means that our actions are increasingly interconnected, which is never more apparent than during US elections.

November 01, 2024

There is a Day-After Plan - Ethnic Cleansing

After more than a year since the horrific Hamas terror attacks of October 7, 2023, it is unbelievable not only that the war continues, but that it has reached depths of destruction, killing, and hopelessness that likely many of us did not believe possible at this time last year.

October 11, 2024

How to Atone When we Feel so Fragile

Earlier this week, Rachel Goldberg-Polin and Jon Polin, parents of Hersh Goldberg-Polin z"l gave an interview to Israel's Channel 12 news and spoke to a central theme of Yom Kippur which begins tonight - Tshuvah, asking for forgiveness - by saying:

October 09, 2024

Long-Term Diplomacy Must Follow Short-Term Tactical Successes

The fighting between Israel and Hezbollah has been intensifying all this week, resulting in thousands fleeing Southern Lebanon and the deaths of hundreds, including two Canadian citizens, hit by a missile while fleeing.

September 20, 2024

If Zionism is Over, Kahanism is Taking its Place

Only last Shabbat, three Jewish Israeli women were arrested in the Israeli city of Herzilya. Their crime? Leaving flyers on the seats of a local synagogue with photos of six hostages still held in Gaza with the phrase "let my people go."

September 13, 2024

The Jewish Community Needs Brave Leadership

It feels like every day, or sometimes even every hour, we learn of terrible news coming out of Israel-Palestine and the broader region.