by Johanna Markind*

Is Muhammad more deserving of reverential treatment than Jesus? The New York Times seems to think so.

A Times article reporting on the collapse of Christian communities in the Middle East contains two references to Jesus. Not “Christ,” which is a religious title, or “Jesus Christ,” but simply “Jesus,” who was (or may have been) a historical figure. The same is true of other Times stories and wire service articles published by the Times which no longer appear on its website (but still appear on other sites under different titles and are linked below). A December 21 story entitled “First Jesus-Era House Discovered in Nazareth” (AP byline) contains ten references to Jesus and none to Christ. Ditto another item, “Mass. School Denies Suspending Student for Drawing” (also AP), about a second grader who may have been suspended for drawing a figure of Jesus on the cross. Three references to Jesus, none to Christ.

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By Andrew L. Jaffee

All you Jew-haters and Israel-haters (same thing) think you know what’s best for the rest of us, just like Hitler and Stalin did. The problem is that you’re completely out of step with the collective intelligence of the greatest nation in the world, the U.S.:

… The findings of the February 19, 2010 Gallup poll put President Barack Obama at odds with the US public, when it comes to attitudes toward the Jewish state, the Arab-Israeli conflict, Arabs, Muslims and Islamic terrorism.

For example, Israel maintains its traditional spot among the five most favored nations by 67 percent of the US public, despite Obama’s “even-handed” approach toward the Arab-Israeli conflict, in spite of his attempts to force Israel into sweeping concessions, and in defiance of the US “elite” media and academia.

On the other hand, the Palestinian Authority is ranked — along with Iran, North Korea and Afghanistan — at the bottom of the list, favored by only 20% of the US public.

According to an August 10, 2009 Rasmussen poll, Israel is ranked as the third most favorable ally (70%), preceded only by Canada and Britain. The low regard toward Egypt (39%) and Saudi Arabia (23%) demonstrates that Americans remain skeptical — at least since 9/11 — of Arabs and Muslims, even as these countries are portrayed by the media and the administration as supposedly moderate and pro-American.

Moreover, only 21% of adult Americans expect that the US relationship with the Muslim world will improve in a year, while 25% expect that it will get worse. …

by Phyllis Chesler

The Presbyterian Church in the United States (PCUSA) is about to release a report which denounces Israel as a “racist” nation which has absolutely no historical, covenantal, or theological right to the Holy Land. The report calls for the United States to withhold financial and military aid to Israel and for boycotts and sanctions against Israel. That’s not all. The report also endorses a Palestinian “right of return” and “apologizes to Palestinians for even conceding that Israel has a right to exist.” According to the press release, it also states that Israel’s history begins only with the Holocaust and that Israel is “a nation mistakenly created by Western powers at the expense of the Palestinian people to solve the ‘Jewish problem’.” Continue reading…

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by Steven J. Rosen*

Anxiety about Barack Obama has afflicted Israelis since his meteoric rise to the White House. Here was an untested president, one whose agenda in the Middle East could only be imagined. Would Obama’s America be Israel’s lifeline in a dangerous and often hostile world? Or would this American president experiment with mistaken or even unfriendly ideas that could wreak havoc for Israeli security?

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A Film By: Franco Sacchi, Kate Davis and David Heilbroner

Reviewed by Fern Sidman

In an hour and a quarter, filmmakers Franco Sacchi, Kate Davis and David Heilbroner take us through a tumultuous journey to the final scenario of the world as we know it, as they present the religious prophecies of the 50 million strong American Evangelical Christian movement in a new and powerful documentary entitled, “Waiting For Armageddon.” Riding the wave of the all pervasive eschatological (or End Times) phenomenon that has, in recent years, been highly touted in the media and in literary circles; the filmmakers provide an in depth view of what some interpret to be the Biblically mandated perspective on the final days of our universe. Told in the first person voices of mainstream Christians who subscribe to the beliefs of the evangelical church, they inform us that the end of days will occur in the Land of Israel, with the Jewish people figuring prominently in this venue.

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WASHINGTON (December 29, 2009) - In contrast to many national religious leaders who are lobbying for increases in immigration, a new Zogby poll of likely voters who belong to the same religious communities finds strong support for reducing overall immigration. Moreover, members strongly disagree with their leaders’ contention that more immigrant workers need to be allowed into the country. Also, most parishioners and congregants prefer more enforcement to cause illegal workers to go home, rather than legalization of illegal immigrants, which most religious leaders prefer. The survey of Catholic, mainline Protestant, born-again Protestant, and Jewish voters used neutral language and was one of the largest polls on immigration ever done.

Among the findings:

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By Fern Sidman

Several hundred people gathered at the Ocean Avenue Jewish Center on Sunday, November 15th to pay tribute to the life and legacy of Rabbi Meir Kahane, ZTK”L, founder of the Jewish Defense League and member of the Israeli parliament. Bom in Brooklyn in 1932, Rabbi Kahane was the son of Rabbi Yechezkel Shraga HaCohen Kahane, a prominent and erudite Torah scholar. He received his rabbinical ordination at the renowned Mirrer Yeshiva and obtained a law degree from New York Law School. In 1968, he founded the Jewish Defense League; an activist organization dedicated to protecting Jewish lives throughout the world. The ideology of the movement was predicated on Torah precepts and the JDL educated young Jews to comprehend and act upon the concept of Ahavat Israel (love of Jews). Among the issues that the JDL championed was the cause of Soviet Jewry; organizing massive political demonstrations at Soviet consulates, embassies, trade offices and airlines, demanding that the Jews of the Soviet Union be allowed to emigrate to Israel.

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by Steven Shamrak

I recently have received the following message from an Islamo-Fascist (according to the name, tone and manner of correspondence) reader of mine: “Please explain however whether Norman Finkelstein, Israel Shamir, Noam Chomsky, Walt & Mearsheimer, Illan Pappe, Gilad Atzmon or the thousands of other anti-Zionist Jews who are on your ’self-hating-Jew-list’ are also ‘Islamo-fascists’ or ‘Jew haters’?”

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By CIS.org

WASHINGTON — The supporters of amnesty for illegal immigrants have frequently used religious arguments and terminology to make their case. They explicitly claim that legalization and increased immigration are the only morally acceptable choices facing lawmakers and that opposition to “comprehensive immigration reform” is, literally, a sin.

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By Rabbi Yisroel Jungreis and Rabbi Osher Anshel Jungreis
Compiled by Rebbetzin Esther Jungreis

Reviewed by Fern Sidman

There is no doubt that the times that we live in are fraught with innumerable dangers. For the Jewish people, it is a particularly horrifying juncture in the annals of our history, as we witness an exponential rise in anti-Semitism and the continued demonization of Israel; while the world remains eerily silent. On a collective scale, our nation is faced with the escalating and alarming scourge of intermarriage, assimilation and youth alienation. Our personal lives have taken on an ever increasing load of financial challenges and emotional stresses that often result in families being torn asunder. From time immemorial, the indefatigable Jew has faced similar, if not infinitely worse scenarios in terms of our personal and national survival, yet has continued to prevail over all pernicious forms of adversity. The question has often been asked, “Given their history, how could the Jewish nation possibly survive and even triumph?”

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Reviewed by Fern Sidman

It is that time of the year once again. The new school term will begin in a matter of weeks. As the excitement and anticipation escalates for some, entering college or university for the first time can be a daunting and intimidating experience for the Jewish student. Always a minority, the secular Jewish student faces the foreboding prospect of living on a campus that has morphed into a raging hotbed of anti-Israel fanaticism.

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Reviewed by Fern Sidman

Holocaust films and literature are, to say the least, depressing and devastating — how else can they be? Rebbetzin Esther Jungreis’ new film entitled, “Triumph of the Spirit”, however, stands alone in the genre of Holocaust documentaries. While it depicts the Holocaust in all its horror and savage brutality, its dominant theme is hope, faith, and the triumph of the Jewish spirit. The film demonstrates that the spirit of man is infinitely more powerful than Hitler or his mighty armies and that the flame of faith is more intense than the fires of the crematorium. This long awaited film is a must see for secular, religious, young and old as it speaks to every heart. While the vintage photos, the music and the images are all captivating, it is Rebbetzin Jungreis’ personal story and voice that penetrates the soul and touches the deepest recesses of the heart in this compelling documentary.

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By Ahron Horovitz
Reviewed by Fern Sidman

For those who will be traveling to Israel for the first time, and even for veteran tourists, there is no doubt that the holy city of Jerusalem, in all its resplendent majesty, continues to be a focal point of any journey. Jerusalem is known as “the center of the world” and as such is steeped in thousands of years of rich and vibrant religious history. Because each tourist desires a visit that is rife with powerful personal meaning along with a lifetime of vivid memories, then Ahron Horowitz’s new book entitled, “Jerusalem: Footsteps Through Time: Ten Torah Study Tours of the Old City” (Feldheim Publishers) is simply indispensable.

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By Fern Sidman

Thousands of supporters of Israel, both young and old gathered June 1st in Manhattan to celebrate Israel’s 61st birthday. A sea of blue and white filled fashionable 5th Avenue, as scores of synagogues, Jewish community centers and schools representing New York, New Jersey, Long Island, Connecticut, etc., proudly carried thousands of Israeli flags while paying tribute to the eternal Jewish state. Shouts of “Am Yisroel Chai” (the people of Israel live) echoed through the East Side of Manhattan as marchers paid tribute to the 100th anniversary of the city of Tel Aviv.

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by Raymond Ibrahim*

“There is far more violence in the Bible than in the Qur’an; the idea that Islam imposed itself by the sword is a Western fiction, fabricated during the time of the Crusades when, in fact, it was Western Christians who were fighting brutal holy wars against Islam.”[1] So announces former nun and self-professed “freelance monotheist,” Karen Armstrong. This quote sums up the single most influential argument currently serving to deflect the accusation that Islam is inherently violent and intolerant: All monotheistic religions, proponents of such an argument say, and not just Islam, have their fair share of violent and intolerant scriptures, as well as bloody histories. Thus, whenever Islam’s sacred scriptures — the Qur’an first, followed by the reports on the words and deeds of Muhammad (the Hadith) — are highlighted as demonstrative of the religion’s innate bellicosity, the immediate rejoinder is that other scriptures, specifically those of Judeo-Christianity, are as riddled with violent passages.

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