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Jewish Affairs

An Upsurge Of Antisemitism In Canada

I have lived in Canada nearly all my life, but the Canada I know has been vanishing under the impact of a sharp resurgence of antisemitism. Although I have not personally felt its sting, its echoes are unmistakable, underscoring the unsettling fact that Jews are the primary victims of hate-motivated crimes in Canada. Newspaper stories […]

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Jewish Affairs

Canada’s Epidemic Of Antisemitism

The toxic effects of the Hamas’ October 7 massacre in Israel have spilled over into Canada in the form of a sharp intensification of antisemitic incidents. As Deborah Lyons, Canada’s former ambassador to Israel and now its special envoy on preserving Holocaust remembrance and combating antisemitism, said recently, “It’s clear from the data we’re seeing, […]

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Jewish Affairs

The Malignancy Of Antisemitism Affects American Universities

The Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip has unleashed a torrent of veiled or explicit antisemitism on American university campuses, which are supposed to be bastions of rational discourse, ethnic and racial diversity and religious tolerance. Judging by a recent Anti-Defamation League survey, 73 percent of Jewish college students experienced or witnessed some form of […]

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Jewish Affairs

Jews In Iran Are In A Precarious Position

Jews in Iran are in a delicate and vulnerable position. As citizens of the Islamic Republic of Iran, they are loyal to a country at war with Israel and committed to its destruction. Yet, as Jews, they are caught between the hammer and the anvil, knowing full well that their generally positive feelings toward Israel, […]

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Jewish Affairs

Israel-Hamas War Triggers A Wave Of Global Antisemitism

It is virtually axiomatic. Whenever Israel is engulfed in a major conflict with the Palestinians and a significant number of them are killed, there is invariably an upsurge of antisemitism outside the region. To cite but two examples, Israel’s invasion of Lebanon in 1982 and the outbreak of the second Palestinian uprising in the West […]

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Jewish Affairs

A Sound White House Strategy To Counter Antisemitism

Last December, in response to a sharp rise of antisemitism in the United States, the federal government created a working group to develop a strategy to combat this ageless, pathological scourge. On May 25, the details were released at a White House ceremony during which U.S. President Joe Biden delivered a videotaped speech. Speaking of […]

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Jewish Affairs

The Western Wall Agreement Should Be Implemented Now

Seven years have elapsed since Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a burst of good faith, assured Conservative and Reform Jews that a permanent pluralistic prayer space would be established alongside the gender-separated prayer spaces at the Western Wall in Jerusalem. Lamentably enough, he has yet to fulfill that promise. Netanyahu’s predecessors, Naftali Bennett and Yair […]

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Jewish Affairs

A Sobering Report On Antisemitism In The U.S.

At a moment when African Americans are enjoying the fruits of equality to a far greater degree than at any time in their often tragic history, a new survey commissioned by the Anti-Defamation League paradoxically shows that antisemitic stereotypes in the United States have reached their highest level in decades. The data is “stunning and […]

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Jewish Affairs

The Normalization Of Antisemitism In The U.S.

The United States has been a safe haven for Jews since its inception as a nation more than two hundred years ago. And since World War II, American Jews have made tremendous strides in breaking down discriminatory barriers that  once were taken for granted with a shrug of the shoulders. But of late, in the […]

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Jewish Affairs

American Ultra-Orthodox Jews Are Outliers

Judging by the last few U.S. presidential elections, ultra-Orthodox American Jews are firmly in the Republican Party camp. But of late, some Republican haredim have changed sides and voted for the Democratic Party, says Nathaniel Deutsch, a University of California Jewish studies professor who has closely studied this traditional and insular community. By far the […]