1. Both, having committed criminal acts, are avoiding trial and possible imprisonment by virtue of their currently held high office, but fully cognizant that if either loses his re-election, the feared eventuality might become realized.   2. Both are self-portrayed leaders with global reach by meeting with  heads of nuclear-armed states; Trump, with Kim Jong…

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by Rabbi Charles Familant Editor’s Note: Rabbi Familant wrote this note some time ago, but he feels that it is uniquely applicable today. We very much agree. Mr. Jacobson, I shall start with your rather provocative statement: “Rhetoric is precisely what has warped report and analysis these past months…’Massacre’ and ‘Slaughter’ are rhetorical terms. They…

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by Rabbi Yeshaia Charles Familant In his Washington Post (3/5/19) article, Dana Milbank claimed “She [Ilhan Omar] has suggested that Americans who support Israel — by implication, Jews — are disloyal to the United States. At an event in Washington last week, Omar said, in the context of the pro-Israel lobby, that ‘I want to talk…

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So what’s the story with Saudi Arabia vs. Qatar? And why is Trump in the middle of it, making things worse? We know that the Saudis are in a cold war (sometimes kind of hot) with their former friend (and US ally) Qatar. We know that the Saudis would like Qatar to stop being diplomatic…

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A friend ‘tagged’ me on FB to call my attention to a piece in the LA Times. I took the opportunity to recognize the recent death of Uri Avnery: Charles Familant No argument with Rabbi Brous. I’ve read and admired the writings and activism of Uri Avnery for decades. I recall, when after he was…

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By Rabbi Yeshaia Charles Familant Max Fisher wrote in Vox news more than three years ago (April, 2015), a piece entitled Israel’s Dark Future. His article has taken on even more relevance today. The embassy move is the latest phase in Israel’s steady encroachment upon Palestinian land. A review of the conditions of Jews in…

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By Rabbi Yeshaia Charles Familant Senior White House Advisor, Ivanka Trump, daughter of President Donald Trump, stood next to the dedication plaque at the newly declared – and illegal – U.S. embassy in Jerusalem. At the same time, in Gaza, the bloodiest single day for Palestinians since 2014, where currently 60 protesters have been killed…

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There’s a lovely article over on Splinter at the moment. In Crumbling Old Man Gives $30 Million to Save Crumbling Old Party, Libby Watson gives us a depressing portrait of a depressing man, Sheldon Adelson, who has spent most of his life and many millions of dollars in an attempt to remake America in his…

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We may have a problem. We certainly have a question. It involves one of our dearest friends, who may have hurt us. The United States has always had a special relationship with Israel. It is our only true friend in the Middle East. It has been a model democracy for most of its history. It…

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  Israel! There, I said it. So now, 25% of the readers rush to see if there’s a comments section where they can start bellowing about conspiracies and another third are calling the police to report me for anti-Semitism. Now that those people are gone and everyone hates me for being either a Nazi or…

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