Purim When You’re Not in the Mood

This Thursday evening, the Jewish world begins celebrating the raucous holiday of Purim, when silliness prevails over seriousness, and levity wins the day. Read more

A gag about Israel and vaccines is more than a bad joke

A comedian telling a bad joke that hurts someone’s feelings isn’t news. Or at least it didn’t use to be. Read more

First Jewish Open Day for Sydney’s Rookwood Cemetery

Sydney’s Rookwood General Cemetery is inviting the Jewish community on-site for an Open Day designed as an opportunity to learn a bit about Rookwood, from their 150+ year history to their operations. Read more

Where there is a Halachic will for change there is a Halachic way to create this change

This week is one of the highlights in the Jewish calendar as we celebrate the joyous festival of Purim.  Read more

The Miracle Typist: a book review by Rabbi Jeffrey Cohen

Leon Silver’s The Miracle Typist is a powerful true story of one soldier’s long journey home. Read more

Tosca: Puccini’s masterpiece even better under John Bell’s direction

Since its premiere in Rome in 1900 at a time of political unrest, Giacomo Puccini’s opera of the Vincent Sardou French-language play “La Tosca” has been one of the most popular pieces in the whole operatic repertoire…writes Victor Grynberg. Read more

Purim

Rabbi Raymond Apple writes on Purim. Read more

Engaging with the UN Human Rights Council

Many people who have never heard of the U.N. Human Rights Council (UNHRC) might reasonably ask why this body has the name that it does, upon learning that one of its members, China, is currently engaged in genocide against its Uyghur Muslim minority. Read more

Feintooner

This week’s cartoon…Asymmetric dimensions of negotiation games. Read more

Concerns about Biden Administration’s direction from top US expert Danielle Pletka

The latest webinar from the Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC) featured Professor Danielle Pletka, a Senior Fellow in foreign and defence policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute, and previously a senior staff member at the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. Read more

On the other hand

Every few years those of us living in higher elevations such as Gush Etzion, Jerusalem, upper Galilee and the Golan experience snow storms which bring life to a grinding halt. Read more

Rabbi Shmuel Cohen: 1944-2021

Sydney’s Cremorne Shile’s Rabbi Shmuel Cohen was a remarkable man. Read more

Purim or Poor Them

Purim is the happiest and craziest day in the Jewish calendar and the only festival that celebrates an event in the Diaspora. But is it really? Read more

Christian leaders remain silent as the church recycles its oldest hatred

The World Council of Churches has gone full theological incitement against the State of Israel. Read more

They are off and running

As every Australian and New Zealander knows the second Tuesday in November without fail is the date for the running of one of the most famous horse races, the Melbourne Cup. Read more

Hillel Neuer ‘not surprised’ by Biden’s return to UNHRC, but sees chance to hold abusers to account

Hillel Neuer, executive director of UN Watch—a Swiss-based NGO that monitors the actions of the United Nations—has drawn praise for his fearless rebukes of dictatorial regimes who single out Israel criticisms, while ignoring human-rights violations elsewhere. Read more

Action – not platitudes– required from Jordan’s King Abdullah

Jordan’s King Abdullah continues to engage in platitudes – rather than concrete action – as he pontificates but does nothing to help resolve the 100 years-old Arab-Jewish conflict. Read more

EU living in ‘alternate universe’ over criticism of construction in strategic Jerusalem neighbourhood

The decision by the Israel Lands Authority last month to award contracts to several building companies allowing them to begin marketing 1,257 new housing units in Jerusalem’s 42-acre southern Jerusalem neighbourhood of Givat Hamatos has been applauded by some, while also garnering international attention, including rousing condemnation from others. Read more

Will Netanyahu be caught in a downpour?

Predicting the end of Benjamin Netanyahu’s tenure as Prime Minister of Israel is like predicting the coming of rain during a drought. You know it has to come sometime, but the question is when? Read more

Examining how Psychedelic Medicine can help Mental Health

Sydney’s Rabbi Jeffrey Kamins will lead a health discussion on trials now also underway for dementia, OCD and eating disorders examining the evidence for psychedelic-assisted therapy and investigate the potential applications of this novel therapy. Read more

Navigating Israel’s ship of state through the Biden storm

In a media briefing Friday, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki refused to say whether the Biden administration views Israel as an ally. Read more

The ongoing battle over illegal construction in Judea and Samaria

According to Gabi Harow, a resident of the Israeli settlement of Nokdim in Gush Etzion, there have been massive changes in the landscape since he moved to the community with his family in 2012. Read more

Biden Administration risks repeating past Mideast mistakes, Israeli author tells AIJAC webinar

The Biden Administration may be on the cusp of repeating the mistakes of previous US administrations by enabling and rewarding Palestinian rejection of Israel, even as an increasing number of Israel’s neighbours are embracing the Jewish state of Israel as an indigenous part of the region. Read more

The ICC’s European puppet masters

Last Saturday, the justices of the International Criminal Court (ICC) took a major swipe at the Jewish state. Read more

A eulogy for Lotte Weiss

Rabbi Levi Wolff delivered the eulogy at the funeral of Auschwitz survivor and a luminary of the Sydney and Wellington Jewish communities Lotte Weiss, who passed away in Sydney on Friday. Read more

How can anyone believe in God when there is so such suffering?

Ask the rabbi… Read more

J-Wire photostory: Gabrielle Upton checks out Emanuel Synagogue’s latest plans

State Liberal MP Gabrielle has visited Sydney’s Emanuel Synagogue to check out conceptual designs for their art deco design Heritage Sanctuary upgrade which she supported with a $20,000 NSW Government grant. Read more

Feintooner

This week’s cartoon….Immoral Ambivalence. Read more

What is it that Jews actually value?

We already knew that the Genesis Prize was not really the “Jewish Nobel Prize” as its public-relations flacks have trained so many journalists to call it. Read more

New report by human-rights group responds to anti-Israeli bias perpetuated at UNHRC

Geneva-based independent human-rights group UN Watch has published a detailed report in advance of the 46th session of the U.N. Human Rights Council, which is scheduled to open this month on Feb. 22 in Geneva and run until March 23. Read more

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