Today, after over six years of service as the president and chief executive officer of the Jewish Federation of St. Louis, I have announced my resignation in order to become President of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR). I want...

Chamsim is Arabic for “sandstorm,” and that term is an apt metaphor for the always-roiling Middle East.  Consider these major ongoing developments:• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, are in legal jeopardy.  Israeli...

When he reimposed sanctions on Iran, President Donald Trump called the move part of “a campaign of economic pressure to deny the regime the funds it needs to advance its bloody agenda.” Let’s hope it works out that way.The president’s announcement...

Eleven Jewish stars, with the names of the victims of the horrific mass shooting last Shabbat, stand on the lawn outside the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh. In our tradition, the number 11 is said to represent the 11 stars in Joseph’s dream....

At Sunday’s community vigil to commemorate victims of the Pittsburgh synagogue murders, the most enthusiastic audience response came when the crowd was urged to exercise their power at the ballot box to put their priorities in place.At a time when events...

Just when we think that even Donald Trump has limits on how much he can disregard the truth comes the monumentally incompetent mishandling of the disappearance and apparent murder and dismemberment of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The president’s...

Not even the combined writing skills of Allen Drury and Tom Clancy could have come up with a more dramatic political scenario than last week’s hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee.The testimony first by professor Christine Blasey Ford and...

Whether you agreed with the process or not, last week’s dramatic Supreme Court confirmation hearing had to impress on everyone the importance of voting.With razor-thin margins in both the Senate Judiciary Committee and the full Senate, and the rancorous...

Now that President Donald Trump’s administration has ordered the closure of the Palestine Liberation Organization office in Washington, the question becomes what the response will be. Will the PLO take positive steps toward long-sought peace in the...

For several months, actions and statements regarding Israel by Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of Great Britain’s Labour Party, have been criticized as not only unfair to the Jewish State but a thinly veiled effort to denigrate Britain’s Jewish community.Now,...

At this month’s march in Washington called to mark the anniversary of last year’s deadly event in Charlottesville, Va., one of the counterprotesters — who greatly outnumbered a paltry crowd of marchers — carried a sign with this message:“I can’t...

The White House has made good on its promise to reinstate even harsher sanctions against Iran in the aftermath of the confusing disconnect between  President Donald Trump’s own rhetoric and key members of his intelligence, foreign policy and security...