A Hill With A View

Originally published April 17, 2019 https://www.queensjewishlink.com/index.php/featured-stories/344-newsweek-promotes-and-defends-ilhan-omar-s-anti-semitism Last week, amidst yet another controversy surrounding Ilhan Omar, freshman congresswoman from Minnesota, the cover of Newsweek was Omar’s smiling face with the title “Ilhan Omar, the Democrats, and Israel.” Inside the magazine was a 5,000-word article titled, “How Ilhan Omar Is Changing the Conversation About Israel - and Upending the 2020 Campaign.” The article paints Omar as the tragic heroine selflessly working from within the Democratic Party to create a more honest view of the U.S.-Israel relationship. Like every truly great historical figure, Omar has multiple nemeses and obstacles in her way. The first: AIPAC, the evil pro-Israel lobby that is tricking American politicians into supporting Israel. The second: Republicans, the racist, sexist, Islamophobes who hate the truth she is speaking because she is a black M

In what has become a bi-monthly tradition in 2019, Ilhan Omar, freshmen Congresswoman from Minnesota, is once again in the national news. This time, Omar downplayed the horrors of 9/11, while propping up the idea that the true victims of those horrific attacks were American Muslims. Omar’s comments do not exist in a vacuum, however. She has a long history of downplaying the atrocities of terrorism while propping up the notion that America is to blame for the evil in the world. This ideology, combined with her membership within three oppression groups, makes Ilhan Omar the embodiment of the leftist ideal. What has become increasingly apparent is that the modern left has split the world into two groups, the oppressor and the oppressed. To determine which group an individual belongs to, one need only examine race, orientation, gender or religion. If you are a member of an oppressed group, you are given a certain level of credibility, as long as you spout leftist ideology. Ilhan Omar is b

Originally Published April 11, 2019 https://www.jewishlinknj.com/world-us/30748-after-37-years-a-father-and-son-can-rest In a visit to Moscow that occurred prior to the Israeli elections, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu received a gift from Russian President Vladimir Putin: the remains of fallen Israeli soldier Zachary Baumel. Baumel, who had been missing in action since the first war in Lebanon in 1982, has finally been laid to rest in Jerusalem. His father, Yona Baumel, dedicated his life to discovering what happened to his youngest son until his passing 10 years ago. Now, 37 years after that fateful day in Lebanon, that journey has come to an end. In 1970, Yona and his wife Miriam Baumel immigrated to the Haifa suburb of Kiryat Motzkin from Brooklyn with their three children, Shimon, Osna and Zachary. Like so many today, Zachary Baumel joined the Hesder Yeshiva Har Etzion so he could continue learning Torah while completing his Israeli military service. As his sister, Osna

Originally Published April 10, 2019 https://www.queensjewishlink.com/index.php/local/26-community-corner/243-teach-nys-scores-victory-with-passing-of-state-budget On Tuesday, March 12, the New York branch of the Teach Coalition, Teach NYS, held its annual Mission to Albany to lobby the New York State Senate and Assembly. Hundreds of students, faculty, and volunteers from yeshivos , day schools, and neighborhoods across the state traveled to the Capitol to meet with legislators. This past week, those lobbying efforts paid off with increased funding from the state for non-public schools to be reimbursed for their STEM teachers, security costs, Comprehensive Attendance Policy, and Mandated Services. I was among the hundreds of attendees at the Mission to Albany, and had the privilege to speak with members of the Assembly and Senate and their staffs. Two years ago, the New York State Legislature passed a law that allowed non-public schools to be reimbursed for their STEM teachers

Originally published March 27, 2019 https://www.queensjewishlink.com/opinion/the-democrats-civil-war-over-aipac/ The annual American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) conference occurred this week. An event that is normally a bipartisan ground for high-ranking politicians and Presidential hopefuls from both parties to deliver remarks about the strong US-Israel alliance is now under increased scrutiny by the growing base of the socialist and intersectional left. Democrats with an eye on the Oval Office in 2020 are now catering to that base, and are increasingly at odds with their colleagues in Congress. This is causing a rift within the Democratic Party, whose support of Israel going forward is in doubt. Some would lay blame for the increased friction between Democrats and pro-Israel lobbying groups on freshman Democrat Congresswomen Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib, ardent supporters of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement, or on Linda Sarsour, Women’s March

Originally published March 20, 2019 https://www.queensjewishlink.com/opinion/tragedy-should-be-a-unifying-force-but-its-not/ In the wake of the horrific slaughter of 50 Muslims in New Zealand last week, the world came together for a moment to condemn the attacker, mourn the innocent, and reflect on the violence that hit the town of Christchurch. A moment is approximately 90-120 seconds, and that’s how long it took for many to start assigning blame for this attack on anyone but the shooter. Like the evil lunatics who came before, the Christchurch shooter (who should not be named lest he is given the infamy he craves) wrote a lengthy manifesto. Despite this manifesto openly stating that the desired outcome would be a world separated by ethnicity and polarized along political lines, many mainstream outlets used snippets of the manifesto to attack their political enemies, as the shooter intended. Well before the 74-page manifesto was dismissed as the ramblings of a homicidal Interne

Originally published March 6, 2019 https://www.queensjewishlink.com/opinion/the-cult-of-climate-change/ In the wake of the proposed Green New Deal resolution, Democratic politicians who have signed on to the resolution have stated clear intentions to fully centralize government power. This includes five Democratic Senators running for President. The stated excuse for this radical shift towards socialism is Climate Change. Anyone who argues against the Green New Deal is ostracized by the media and called a Climate Denier. However, the approach to Climate Change by the left is much closer to cult behavior than actual science, and the proposals to solve it will accomplish nothing but the complete destruction of the American economy. Climate Change Cultists will immediately dismiss any argument in favor of rational discussion about Climate Change, so it is important to discuss some givens. Yes, the climate is changing. Yes, man-made carbon emissions since the industrial era have cont