Author: David Rutman

Photo Credit: Mila Aviv / Flash 90 The sun sets at the Ginosar beach at Lake Kinneret, the Sea of Galilee, in northern Israel. A record heat wave has warmed the Land of Israel so far this month, with temperatures ranging in the high 20s to above 30 degrees celsius across the country for the […]

Photo Credit: courtesy, Jay A. Waronker / Bar Ilan U. Dept. Of Jewish Art Synagogue in Chendamangalam, India, painted by Jay A. Waronker Several dozen structures constructed as synagogues may be found in India today. Among them are those that are fully functional, open yet marginally active, closed but still intact, decommissioned, or begin used […]

Photo Credit: Norman Einstein / Wikimedia The growing sophistication of domestic oil and natural-gas production has enhanced the U.S. national security. It has transformed the leader of the free world from a major importer of crude oil into the world’s top producer of both crude oil (surpassing Saudi Arabia) and natural gas (ahead of Russia). […]

Photo Credit: U.S. State Dept. / M. Dahlan Office) Mohamed Dahlan (right), a former PA security commander in the Gaza Strip, is one of the major critics and rivals of PA President Mahmoud Abbas (left), and hopes to succeed him in the presidency. Palestinian Authority (PA) head Mahmoud Abbas is set to announce that he […]

Photo Credit: The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Assessing some of the damage after Kristallnacht, “The Night of Broken Glass,” in Germany on Nov. 9-10, 1938. {Originally posted to the JNS website} This week Germany marks the 81st anniversary of Kristallnacht, “The Night of Broken Glass.” The nationwide Nazi pogrom against that country’s Jewish community […]

Photo Credit: COL YouTube screen grab Agriculture Minister Uri Ariel at Kfar Chabad’s second Hakafot, 2018 Agriculture Minister Uri Ariel handed in his letter of resignation to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday, informing him he is leaving his post effective this coming Friday. The resignation follows Ariel’s loss of the leadership spot in National […]

Photo Credit: Jay A. Waronker Jay A. Waronker, Kadavumbagam Synagogue in Ernakulam, Kochin, India Several dozen structures constructed as synagogues may be found in India today. Among them are those that are fully functional, open yet marginally active, closed but still intact, decommissioned, or begin used for other purposes. India’s standing synagogues date from the […]

Photo Credit: Haim Zach / GPO Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Reuven Rivlin and Blue & White party leader Benny Gantz during unity government talks at the official Presidential Residence in Jerusalem, Sept. 23 2019 {Originally posted to the author’s website} There is an ever-increasing likelihood that we may be forced into a third election. […]

Photo Credit: Facebook IfNotNow Rally {Originally posted to the JNS website} According to the Forward, the rationale for the New Israel Fund’s push to create an alternative philanthropic system can be explained by what a Philadelphia psychologist named Roy Idelson considered to be a reasonable request. He wanted his local umbrella Jewish philanthropy—the Jewish Federation […]