The New York Tolerance Center, a project of The Simon Wiesenthal Center.
History repeats itself because we do not or choose not to remember what happened and because we are afraid of change. Therefore, we have an obligation to our future to remember the past and break the cycle of years of hatred, discrimination, racism and intolerance. My name is Jenna Steinbrink, and I am 12-1/2 years old and I believe that one person can make a difference and affect the future of how we as Jews live together to ensure a world of peace and equality. This is a difficult goal to achieve in an of itself, let alone by my Bat Mitzvah on September 20, 2008, but I believe that through my Mitzvah project, Millions to Remember, there is a way to remember, work as a community and be tolerant to change. Read More...
When one looks across the political spectrum of Israel, there is a tendency of the religious right to resist ceding any part of it to a Palestinian state. This stance is questionable for many reasons. Aside whether or not it is possible to trust the Palestinians, it is necessary to look at the true cost of keeping the territories. Read More...
In Spring 2007, I decided to go study abroad in Israel. Being a Jew, I felt that there was no better place to spend a semester. When Pesach break came around, I was offered a unique opportunity to go to Poland through the Jeff Seidel group. I must admit that the idea of spending my spring break in concentration camps did not exactly excite me, and I was hesitant to choose that over my initial desire to go relax in Turkey. However after much consideration, I realized that this was an opportunity that I should not pass up and out of respect for our past, I needed to go. Poland proved to be an experience like no other. Read More...
Remember when the media was supposed to present an accurate, fair and balanced portrayal of the news and of special reports?
I haven't watched CNN in years, but I was in a hotel room a few days ago and when I turned on the TV I saw Christiane Amanpour discussing religious fundamentalism so I watched out of curiosity on how she would report on such a theme. I had my hunches. Read More...
CNN's Christiane Amanpour has set a new standard - and not the kind a news network usually trumpets. "God's Jewish Warriors," her two-hour screed against Israeli settlers and American supporters of Israel, is the most poisonously biased and factually shoddy feature to air on mainstream American television in recent memory. Read More...
The purpose of this essay is frame the big picture of why the environment is a Jewish issue as well to relay one simple thing everyone can do to help preserve the environment which does not take up much time, nor infringe on one's lifestyle, nor cost any money.
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In what has nearly become a perverse, recurring rite of spring, and yet more evidence that universities have become, as Abigail Thernstrom has described them, “islands of repression in a sea of freedom,” Britain’s University and College Union, which represents some 120,000 members, voted in May to call for a boycott against Israeli academics. Read More...
The title of the article carried in many newspapers and many web sites was some variation of the following: "Judge in Alabama Forces Shoplifters to Wear 'I Am a Thief' Sign Outside Store." Read More...
We were chosen at one time but each Jew, present and future, must also choose himself or herself.
To be Jewish is to choose,
over and over again during our lives,
the renewal of the Covenant we have with G-d,
in which we agreed to show by example
that the laws and wisdom of the Five Books of Moses
is the way for humanity to reach its potential. Read More...
I am proposing to the Jewish community additional opportunities for individuals to reflect upon, and celebrate, their commitment to our values and people. My idea is to have a bar or bat mitzvah every thirteen years, at 13, 26, 39, 52, 65, and so on. Read More...
BOSTON, February 14, 2007-This week, the EU met to discuss the formation of a Palestinian government along with expanded emergency assistance. For more than a year, the EU, US and Russia have participated in an economic boycott of the Palestinian government. Opponents of the current policy of suspending aid to Palestinian government intimate that refusing aid has contributed to Palestinian hardship. Yet experience has shown that increased direct funding of the Palestinian Authority does not translate into improved economic conditions for the Palestinian people when there is no commitment to building peaceful relations with Israel. Read More...
I would also like to thank Roy Innis, the distinguished Chairman of The Congress for Racial Equality.
Mr. Innis is celebrated for his courage and his dedication in fighting for equal rights for Americans of every colour. He is an outstanding leader and it is a privilege for me to be honoured by him on behalf of CORE. Read More...
