Category Opinion

Israel is my home, heart

I was caught completely off-guard by the question: “Don’t you sometimes long to run away from all this war and violence and madness and terrorism? You could always go back to Australia.” This was when, like every other Israeli, and…

Love to win? Or hate to lose?

photo - Kyle Berger, Spartan 2014

Pursuing more of my “Love to Win” side at the 2014 Spartan Sprint obstacle race. Call it ironic, but in my less-than-fit days I was a regular subscriber to Men’s Health magazine. As I looked upon the cover of each fresh…

Happy to be Canadian

For most Canadians, depending on the weather in our locale, Canada Day represents the real kickoff of summer. The kids are out of school, many workplaces are beginning a summer lull, families are looking forward to spending time together outdoors.…

What to do in Iraq?

Extremists have taken over much of Iraq, spreading medieval theology using modern weaponry, leaving hundreds of corpses and severed heads in their wake. The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, has been disowned by the umbrella that spawned…

Bringing Judaism into the public sphere

A 28-year-old struggling writer walks up to a checkout counter at Whole Foods. “Where is the Torah study?” he asks. “Oh, the class with the rabbi? That’s in the back, near the nuts.” The clerk wasn’t being pejorative – the…

Do we all agree? No. Care? A lot.

If there was any doubt that Jews around the world have strong feelings and opinions about Israel, it was disabused by a major new paper produced by the Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI). Jewish and Democratic: Perspectives from World Jewry…

Lessons from debating an anti-Zionist

image - Liberal Zionist Mira Sucharov debated anti-Zionist Max Blumenthal on CPAC

Mira Sucharov’s debate with Max Blumenthal is on CPAC. In a previous blog post on haaretz.com, I discussed what appears to be an increasing chill factor in our Jewish communities. By way of example, I mentioned a then upcoming debate…