Author Archives: Rabbi Kaufman

The Growth of Israel Advocacy in the Reform Movement

Posted on 02/15/2012 by Rabbi Kaufman

The dramatic increase in active advocacy for Israel in the Reform movement was obvious at the URJ’s recent Biennial Convention held in Washington DC. That convention featured a number of speakers whose speeches primarily focused on Israel and a number … Continue reading →

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Iowa Caucus Update

Posted on 01/02/2012 by Rabbi Kaufman

This article is cross-posted on the We Are For Israel blog. There are many of you around the country wondering, “Why Iowa?” One of the main reasons is that in Iowa people can actually meet the candidates and interact with … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Obama, Sarkozy, and Bibi

Posted on 11/08/2011 by Rabbi Kaufman

My own take. It is problematic that the media chose to keep this secret or frankly that they were asked to do so. That said, let me offer what I think would be the pro-Obama angle on this conversation just for … Continue reading →

Posted in Israel | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Signs of Wanting Peace

Posted on 10/06/2011 by Rabbi Kaufman

According to a recent New York Times article: The Palestinian decision to apply for full United Nations membership at the Security Council, announced Friday by President Mahmoud Abbas, was the most viable of the only options possible: surrender, return to violence or appeal … Continue reading →

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Where Negotiations Begin

Posted on 09/27/2011 by Rabbi Kaufman

I have never wondered why negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians are so difficult. There are many obvious reasons. You can probably name a half-dozen without much thought. Yet, there is one reason that they have gotten more difficult in … Continue reading →

Posted in Israel, United Nations | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

They Shout “Justice” but There is No Justice

Posted on 09/21/2011 by Rabbi Kaufman

I have spoken to more people about potential Palestinian action in the United Nations over the past month than I can remember. Some argue for the United States to take the UN to the woodshed and teach it a lesson. … Continue reading →

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Casus Belli

Posted on 09/12/2011 by Rabbi Kaufman

PM Erdogan of Turkey said, speaking of Israel’s raid on the Mavi Marmara, in an interview on Al Jazeera last week: The attack that took place in international waters did not comply with any international law. In fact, it was … Continue reading →

Posted in Israel, Turkey | 1 Comment

Israel is Sorry – An Apology to Turkey

Posted on 09/01/2011 by Rabbi Kaufman

Shalom, Salaam, blessings be upon our friends the Turkish people. We in Israel are sorry for what occurred in regard to the episode of the Free Gaza Flotilla. We are sorry that lives were lost because militants on board attacked … Continue reading →

Posted in Israel Derangement Syndrome, Middle East, Turkey | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

What is Wrong with 67 Lines with Swaps?

Posted on 06/12/2011 by Rabbi Kaufman

What is wrong with “the 1967 borders and mutually agreed upon swaps?” As a stand alone statement, it is problematic for a number of reasons. First, the pre-1967 lines are actually armistice lines, not borders. This means that they were … Continue reading →

Posted in Israel | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

What No One Seems to Be Mentioning

Posted on 05/28/2011 by Rabbi Kaufman

When President Obama spoke last week at the State Department, he said something, different things, that upset virtually every Middle Eastern nation or group. Pissing off the Mullahs does not bother me. Calling out Bahrain while not mentioning Saudi Arabia … Continue reading →

Posted in Israel, Israel Derangement Syndrome, Israeli Double Standard Time, palestinian politics, United Nations | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off

Rabbi Kaufman on Pres. Obama’s Mideast Policy Speech

Posted on 05/21/2011 by Rabbi Kaufman

I have been reading through the various analyses of the President’s speech on Thursday and have found most to miss quite a bit while picking out one or two things either to highlight as wonderful or to criticize as awful. … Continue reading →

Posted in Israel | 9 Comments

Who’s Going Under The Bus?

Posted on 05/13/2011 by Rabbi Kaufman

President Obama is going to lay out his new Middle East policy this week including a new attempt to force a start to Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. We can discuss later a fact which we have discussed many times before, namely the … Continue reading →

Posted in Israel | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Rick Jacob’s Speech to the Religious Action Center

Posted on 05/03/2011 by Rabbi Kaufman

Both the video and the text of Rabbi Rick Jacobs speech to the Religious Action Center’s Consultation on Conscience are available by permission on the We Are For Israel Blog. Rick is the designated successor to Rabbi Eric Yoffie as … Continue reading →

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Tornadoes and the Jewish Community

Posted on 04/30/2011 by Rabbi Kaufman

There is a lot going on in the Jewish world these days. There is more to talk about concerning Israel and the Middle East than I have time to write about. Tomorrow is Yom HaShoah, a day when we remember martyrs … Continue reading →

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Non-Violence as a Military Tactic

Posted on 04/27/2011 by Rabbi Kaufman

In Mark Perry’s recent article in Foreign Policy, he wrote: In Cairo, in June of 2009, President Obama linked the Palestinian quest for freedom to the American civil rights movement. “Palestinians must abandon violence,” he said. “Resistance through violence and killing … Continue reading →

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Nothing New Under The Sun?

Posted on 04/22/2011 by Rabbi Kaufman

In the Middle East and UN, ein chadash tachat hashemesh, there is nothing new under the sun. Yet, representatives of the Obama Administration have repeatedly made strong statements that this is not the case, including most notably, the one made by … Continue reading →

Posted in Israel | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Israelis Care

Posted on 04/12/2011 by Rabbi Kaufman

With all of the world’s attention focused on fighting, attacks on school buses, Israeli attempts to stop them, rockets launched against Israeli targets and Israeli attempts to stop them, little attention is given to Israel’s contributions in the world. All … Continue reading →

Posted in Israel, Media Bias | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

A Laser Guided War Crime

Posted on 04/08/2011 by Rabbi Kaufman

There are no few arguing this morning about whether or not Hamas should have known that the yellow bus that it fired upon yesterday was a school bus. Yellow is the color of school buses in the United States and … Continue reading →

Posted in Hamas, Israel, Israeli Double Standard Time | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

My Reaction to Goldstone and Rosenberg

Posted on 04/08/2011 by Rabbi Kaufman

I have been more than a bit infuriated by the left’s reaction to Richard Goldstone’s statement that Israel did not intentionally target civilians during Operation Cast Lead. In fact, I wrote two articles about it for We Are For Israel. … Continue reading →

Posted in Anti-Semitism, Israel, Israel Derangement Syndrome, Israeli Double Standard Time | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off

Ammiel Hirsch’s Response to Peter Beinart at the CCAR Convention

Posted on 04/03/2011 by Rabbi Kaufman

At the CCAR Convention in New Orleans this past week, Peter Beinart and Ammiel Hirsch spoke about Israel advocacy. Ammiel Hirsch’s response to Beinart is simply one of the best responses to him and those who agree with his positions … Continue reading →

Posted in Israel, Israel Derangement Syndrome, Israeli Double Standard Time, Jews, Middle East, United Nations | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off