A Hill With A View

Originally published September 17, 2019
https://www.jns.org/opinion/the-american-left-is-not-pro-palestinian/?fbclid=IwAR0YOJ7PrPUeLp3WMJTh2RzrvhQTmX000JLeUR_OZlgWUMyi1Zmhs2y5vQ0
Americans who truly want to help Palestinians will have to go it alone—U.S. left-wing organizations just aren’t interested.



(September 17, 2019 / JNS) As Israel heads into its second set of elections this year, the latest talking point of the American anti-Israel left is Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanayahu’s pledge last week to formalize Israel’s sovereignty over the Jordan Valley. Media outlets, anti-Israel organizations and leftist politicians have all falsely claimed that Israel was annexing the West Bank. Not only is this far from the truth, it highlights the fact that these groups are not pro-Palestinian, only anti-Israel. American Jewry is woefully misinformed about the issues of the Palestinian community. According to the popular narrative, the only thing in the way of Palestinian prosperity is Isr…

Originally published October 9, 2019
https://www.queensjewishlink.com/index.php/opinion/1318-democrats-have-proven-they-don-t-deserve-any-power?fbclid=IwAR3b6fts71QOI8nUDuUkZ-8qGbqimSUra9EAuXqQHwovp2-sZMuSXBhUjs8


Since the Democrats gained the majority in the House of Representatives in January, they have shown over and over again that they are not interested in governing. Governing, especially when there is a split government, requires a certain level of cooperation and compromise. The Democrats, however, have only done what President Trump asked them not to do in his State of the Union address in February – investigate him. “An economic miracle is taking place in the United States,” Trump said, “and the only things that can stop it are foolish wars, politics, or ridiculous partisan investigations.” Well, “ridiculous partisan investigations” are certainly the Democrats’ top priority. After spending two years and $30 million, Democrats have decided that the 450-page Mueller report and …

Originally published October 3, 2019
https://www.queensjewishlink.com/index.php/opinion/1274-yom-kippur-forgiveness-and-politics?fbclid=IwAR3Izgn4NHraEK3aNxKXuGA8zEw5HvncJwpa-3ZAfX-Gx4JdDI5hjyKb4Fc



Yom Kippur is upon us once again, and it is time to atone for our sins. When the Jewish people enter shuls around the world this week, they will ask for forgiveness from sins against G-d, but not against their fellow Man. That forgiveness must be sought by asking the persons themselves; G-d has no power to forgive you for those transgressions. In this time of political strife and turmoil, when arguments are waged online and in person, relationships are made or destroyed based on the tweets of millionaires in New York, Washington, and Los Angeles. We should all take a minute to examine the need for forgiveness. This past week, President Trump’s Ukraine scandal was a political Rorschach test; everyone saw what they wanted to see. If you like Trump, you read the summary of the phone call betwee…

Originally published September 19, 2019
https://www.queensjewishlink.com/index.php/opinion/1186-march-on-yu-highlights-divide-between-halachah-and-lgbt?fbclid=IwAR1Y4AqUzJBEt-pSTjpk7h2CSGFmpCJ2S8OcTSYBQJJqqr9BDxBRT-UKzgE

This week, a group of Yeshiva University students and alumni marched against the YU administration. They are demanding that YU’s policies towards LGBT issues must change with the times, rather than maintaining a traditional halachic approach. This issue begs the question: Should religious institutions maintain an adherence to religious authority, or should they take an approach of moral relativism, which deems morality based on society rather than halachah.   Modern Orthodox Jews must acknowledge that our collective violation of halachah is not Leviticus 18:22; rather it is MasechesSh’vuos 39a: “Kol Yisrael areivim zeh ba’zeh,” meaning “All of Israel are responsible for each other.” We did this in the name of tolerance and modernity. Yet the only applications of that a…

Originally published September 18, 2019
https://www.queensjewishlink.com/index.php/opinion/1180-three-democratic-debates-in-no-mention-of-israel-here-s-why



The third Democratic debate was last week, and in the two and a half hours, many topics were discussed. Healthcare, guns, China, education, and of course, Trump, were just some of the flashpoints of argument between the candidates. One topic that wasn’t discussed at all, and barely discussed in the ten hours of debate so far in 2019, was the Middle East and Israel. A fair question to ask should be: Why should Israel or the Middle East be a topic in the debates at all? There is an accepted premise among the political intelligentsia that Presidential political winners are not chosen based on a strong foreign policy – rather, on domestic issues. Nonetheless, foreign issues, like China and Russia, have been on the table in all three debates so far, just not Israel. Nor is this much of an aberration from the first three Democratic Primar…

Originally published September 11, 2019
https://www.queensjewishlink.com/index.php/opinion/1140-no-the-democrats-don-t-care-about-climate-change


For seven hours on CNN last week, Democratic presidential candidates yammered on about “the greatest existential threat in the world”: Climate Change. For good reason, the Democratic National Committee voted against having a debate dedicated to Climate Change. This is because while Democrats feel they can win elections on Climate Change being a problem, they will lose spectacularly when showcasing their solutions. The CNN town hall proved just that. As always, critics of any article that challenges the gospel and dogma of Climate Change will automatically dismiss the article as Climate Change Denial. For those critics, it is important to issue the disclaimer that Climate Change is real, the temperature will rise by two to six degrees Celsius by 2100, and the man-made carbon emissions bear some to all responsibility for that. There are a variet…

Originally published September 4, 2019
https://www.queensjewishlink.com/index.php/opinion/1093-sen-gillibrand-drops-out-of-presidential-race-she-shouldn-t-even-be-a-senator



To the surprise of both of her fans, New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand ended her campaign for the Democratic Presidential nomination this past week. Gillibrand, who never achieved more than three percent on any poll, quietly faded away after not qualifying for the third Democratic debate, scheduled for September 12. New York is now stuck with her until 2024, but her political flip-flops should leave New Yorkers wondering why she deserves her Senate seat at all. After winning the special election in 2008 when the position was vacated by Hillary Clinton, Gillibrand immediately began flipping on nearly every policy issue. As a Member of Congress, she received an A rating from the NRA. She earned the ire of then-New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg for her position on illegal guns. When she was trying to win the vote…