Oh, the Protestants hate the Catholics,And the Catholics hate the Protestants,And the Hindus hate the Muslims,And everybody hates the Jews.- From Tom Lehrer's "National Brotherhood Week" Have you listened to the rhetoric spewing forth from and about the...

Two ballot measures in November ask us to dig deep as we search for what our Jewish value of compassion means in a contemporary democratic society.One, Proposition B, puts additional limits on the size and operating conditions of dog breeding facilities....

Most Americans who recognize the headline expression recall it as the first statement that Samuel Morse sent along the telegraph wire in 1844. It was intended (some might say sacreligiously) as an homage to the new technology of the day. Those of a more...

No matter whether you're leftist or rightist, whether you support Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his ruling coalition, whether you think a peaceful solution is viable or sustainable, here's something that is very, very difficult to deny:...

When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced a 10-month moratorium on Jewish settlement building in the West Bank, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton praised him for an "unprecedented action," especially in view of the high political...

Let's play "one of these things is not like the other."Here are five statements.  Try to guess which one does not constitute a religious belief: 1. A serpent talks to people and unleashes evil on the world.2. When you die, you get your own planet.3....

The recent brouhaha over the grossly offensive threat by a Florida pastor to burn copies of the Koran points to one of the essentials of living in a free society that seems to be sorely lacking these days, namely, self-restraint.Not every idea is a good...

As Jews welcome the Jewish New Year of 5771, the news that Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has stepped up to the plate to take the principal role in the renewed direct Palestinian-Israeli peace talks, has given High Hopes to the High Holidays.In...

[N]o man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever, nor shall be enforced, restrained, molested, or burthened in his body or goods, nor shall otherwise suffer, on account of his religious opinions or...

If you believe that Middle East peace talks cannot succeed, you probably ought not read any further.We're not interested in mimicking the pundits who remind us again and again why talks are doomed to failure (see examples of such in Editor-in-Chief Emeritus...

We've written about the proposed Islamic community center and mosque two blocks from Ground Zero, and championed the concept of religious freedom. The subsequent dialogue about the project, however, prompts further discussion, not so much about the center...

Two recent sickening examples of Taliban extremism demonstrate the darkest side of religious hatred, repression and intolerance. Sadly, such incidents make it that much more difficult for peace-minded believers to persuade the world of their intentions...