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Articles written by jonathan feldstein


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  • Congratulations to the graduates

    Jonathan Feldstein, First person|Jun 11, 2021

    My social media has been full of proud parents posting pictures of their high school, college, and graduate school graduates which no doubt comes with extra meaning on the heels of a pandemic that’s interrupted so many of our lives. As happy as I am for my friends and their children, I can’t help but look at each of these pictures through a prism of current events in Israel. I am proud of my daughter and son-in-law who are also graduating this year. However, in Israel, ceremonies marking their accomplishments are more toned down than they oth...

  • How Israel's Iron Dome saves Arab lives

    Jonathan Feldstein|May 21, 2021

    I have been hosting a variety of briefings and doing media interviews this week, putting into perspective many of the complicated, frustrating, and scary things that Israel is undergoing and enduring this week. Today I read a vile comment that Israel’s goal is “dead Palestinians and bombed out buildings.” There are abundant ways that this malice is not the case. If that were the case, rather than only 69 casualties (according to the terrorists in Gaza who typically like to inflate their suffering), there would be 6900, or 69,000 deaths. Israel...

  • Likud backstabbers

    Jonathan Feldstein|May 14, 2021

    I was at a social gathering recently. In Israel, social events can easily become political events, or even indistinguishable from one another, especially in the turbulent period in which we find ourselves, hovering on the verge of a potential broad coalition government, or another, fifth, national election in 2.5 years. In the course of conversation, someone I was standing with referenced “Likud backstabbers,” clearly referring to Gidon Sa’ar and Naftali Bennett and their respective parties, New Hope and Yamina. The implication was that by ab...

  • Tehran's eyes on Washington, D.C.

    Jonathan Feldstein|May 7, 2021

    Iranian eyes will be on Washington, D.C., while looking over their shoulder at home. The Iranians are looking over their shoulder because a series of attacks attributed to them and their puppets in the Middle East are targeting Israeli commercial ships and firing rockets at Israel from Gaza and Syria. This is coupled with Israel’s reported retaliation against Iranian military ships, and explosion deep underneath an Iranian nuclear facility, raising eyebrows as to Israel’s reach and Iranian vulnerability. Iranians are eying Washington, D.C...

  • What is right for Israel

    Jonathan Feldstein|Apr 16, 2021

    President Rivlin tapped Benjamin Netanyahu to form a government. He has 28 days to try to put together a coalition and if he doesn’t succeed, the president can designate another person with a period of two weeks to do so, and then yet another attempt can be made. A friend asked recently how anyone who supports the right-wing in Israel could advocate for anything other than two right-of-center parties headed by Naftali Bennett and Gideon Sa’ar to join a government lead by the Likud party with Benjamin Netanyahu remaining as prime minister. Combi...

  • Israeli Arabs are the big winners in Israel's election

    Jonathan Feldstein|Apr 2, 2021

    With most of the votes counted and no decisive outcome as far as who the next prime minister will be, or if Israel will be headed to an unprecedented fifth national election in less than three years, one thing is clear, the big winners in Israel’s national election this week were Israeli Arabs. One might have said that a year ago, after Israel’s third national election in (what was then) a year. Then, the “Joint Arab List,” a faction made up of four Arab political parties running together, won a striking 15 seats in Israel’s Knesset (parliame...

  • Israel's fourth election in two years

    Jonathan Feldstein|Mar 19, 2021

    On March 23, Israel will hold its fourth national election in two years. This is a result of political stalemate and politicking that's placed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu against most other parties, with his Likud party showing one of its lowest polling projections in the past three elections. It is not the first election since the pandemic, but the pandemic will play a more significant role than the previous election a year ago. In addition to the pandemic, there are several other issues...

  • Israel doesn't want to fight, but they are prepared

    Jonathan Feldstein|Feb 26, 2021

    Earlier this week, the Israeli Air Force carried out a three-day exercise simulating a large-scale war against Hezbollah, the terrorist group that controls much of Lebanon, and which reportedly has as many as 150,000 missiles aimed at Israel. Included in the exercise were simulated strikes on some 3,000 Hezbollah targets in a single day. This number of targets in one day is unprecedented, particularly compared to the fact that during the entire 2006 Lebanon War, it’s been reported that Israel reportedly attacked some 5000 targets. The I...

  • Jethro: A timeless model for Jews and Christians

    Jonathan Feldstein|Feb 19, 2021

    Jewish tradition is to read the Torah, the first Five Books of the Bible, in an annual cycle so that every year we read and study it in its entirety. The weekly Torah portions, parsha, are divided into segments from Genesis through Deuteronomy, each with a different name according to a theme, action, or person that is prominent at the beginning of the parsha. Each year, I find a new insight reading the same text, not necessarily because I am smarter or wiser, but because I am in a different place in my life, and look at the Word through a diffe...

  • 'Hug a Holocaust Survivor' provides real comfort virtually

    Jonathan Feldstein|Jan 29, 2021

    Just a year ago, Jerusalem was inundated by world leaders commemorating the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. At the time, it was announced that in Israel there were only 192,000 remaining Holocaust survivors, 15,000 fewer than the year before because of the high death rate among the aging survivors. At this rate, within 12 years, there will be no more living survivors among us. By all accounts, the survivors’ situation has become much more perilous in the last year. The pandemic has increased isolation and fear, creating a l...

  • A conversation with the new president

    Jonathan Feldstein|Jan 22, 2021

    The following is a detailed, complete, and accurate account of a phone call I did not have with now President Joe Biden — he was president elect at the time. The other day, my phone rang. Halfway into the third ring, I answered. “Hello?” “Please hold for the president elect,” replied the voice on the other end. I hadn’t recognized the incoming caller’s number but answered anyway. My immediate thought was that a friend joking with me, or a telemarketer using a new scheme. Before I could think too much more about it, another voice came on. “Hi...

  • Jesus the Palestinian unicorn

    Jonathan Feldstein|Jan 8, 2021

    In the year of the pandemic, it’s no wonder that horrible things continue to come back in ways that are threatening and objectively wrong. This year, maybe because of the virus and people being stuck at home with nothing better to do, a gross lie has resurfaced as it does every year at this season, undermining truth and the foundation of Judaism and Christianity. Each year around Christmas, efforts to propagate this malicious lie get stronger and more brazen. It’s part of a slanderous campaign of deception, whose end goal is to erase Jew...

  • The faces of forgiveness in the wake of terror

    Jonathan Feldstein|Dec 25, 2020

    Ten years ago, two Palestinian Arabs lay in prey on a pristine hiking trail on the slopes of the Judean mountains outside Jerusalem. Unlike terrorists who blow up buses, cafes, or attack civilians on the street, these men waited for their victims to come to them, knowing that on the beautiful sunny Shabbat day, people would flock to this well-known area. Two women, good friends, happened upon the terrorists in hiding, and became their victims. They were bound and gagged. The terrorists plotted...

  • Cutting off the head of the Trojan horse

    Jonathan Feldstein|Nov 6, 2020

    I have written before how the last decades’ trend of Europe in general, and France in specific, opening their doors to Islamic and Arab immigrants with no limitations is akin to feeding, even breeding, a dangerous Trojan horse within its walls. The most recent terror attack in Nice, France, the second in as many weeks, involving the beheading of innocent victims, must be a wake-up call to all those who care about survival of western values, and to Moslems who care about how Islam and Mohammed are perceived. It’s time to cut off the head of the...

  • The most unusual Yom Kippur

    Jonathan Feldstein|Oct 9, 2020

    For most Jews, this year was one of the most unique Yom Kippurs, me included. On Yom Kippur afternoon, I decided to go through a box of old photos in which I found pictures from what had been the most unique Yom Kippur, until now. On Oct. 1, 1987, I landed in Moscow with my friend, Michael, for a 2.5-week trip throughout the Soviet Union. This was not meant to be sight-seeing, but my second trip to help and encourage Jews of the USSR during a period of rampant persecution and discrimination....

  • Saving Jacob's Sheep

    Jonathan Feldstein|Sep 18, 2020

    Jenna Lewinsky is panicked, rightly so. She's facing eviction. But it's not a bank that is forcing her to give up her home. She's not done anything wrong. In fact, she's done everything right. Many people have helped her to get where she is. Lewinsky's problem is unique. Lewinsky is panicked because all her years of devotion to bring home and preserve a biblical species of sheep to the Judean mountains south of Jerusalem risks being pulled out from under her. It's not just about her physical eff...

  • Getting back up when we don't fall well

    Jonathan Feldstein|Sep 11, 2020

    Perhaps it’s inappropriate for an Orthodox Jew to write about issues related to, and a consequence of, the recent inappropriate social media post by Jerry Falwell Jr. that suggested other inappropriate behaviors, and his taking a leave of absence as president of Liberty University. Perhaps, you wonder, why would an Orthodox Jew even care. For someone whose life is centered on building bridges between Jews and Christians, I am aware of the tremendous importance that Liberty University has in general, and specifically in educating young C...

  • Flying high over peace between Israel and the UAE

    Jonathan Feldstein|Sep 4, 2020

    The truth is, I saw something coming this week, but not this. I never expected that “it” would be peace with another Arab country. “It” was the subject of speculation on a webinar I hosted this week about what was going on. But I thought “it” was something military that would involve Israeli F35s and Iranian targets. Perhaps we live in resignation that not having peace with most of our neighbors is the norm, expectations are low, and “it” caught most Israelis by surprise. Because it’s not every day that peace breaks out, even with the public s...

  • Generations of dreams coming true upon touchdown

    Jonathan Feldstein|Aug 14, 2020

    Recently I came across photos taken 30 years ago this summer. During that time, I was privileged to greet several planeloads of new immigrants from the former Soviet Union landing in Israel, welcoming them on the tarmac as they began their new lives in their ancient home. Even though some didn’t know it, they were fulfilling dreams of generations of the Jewish people yearning to come home. Having worked for years to help free Jews from the USSR, and dreaming to live in Israel myself, each p...

  • Jacob's Sheep Come Home

    Jonathan Feldstein|Aug 14, 2020

    Over the past century, Jews and Christians have celebrated the return of the Jewish people to the Biblical Land of Israel, a restoration prophetic proportion. More recently, this return was accompanied by some four-legged friends representing Israel's 3000-year history in the Judean mountains. This is the modern story of Jacob's Sheep. Jacob's Sheep are an heirloom (unaltered) breed of ancient sheep, mentioned in Genesis 30. They originated with Jacob the Patriarch working for his father in...

  • No Pie for Palestine

    Jonathan Feldstein|Jun 19, 2020

    Once, I was down to the last bite of a really good blueberry pie. My wife moved in with her fork to have some and I (playfully) stabbed her in the hand with my fork. Suffice it to say, I didn’t end up with the last bite of pie, and my stabbing her and not her taking my pie is what’s remembered. While it’s not a perfect analogy to describe the Middle East in terms of a pie, it’s a funny story and relevant metaphor. Israel shares a small hotly contested piece of land with Arabs who do not share Israel’s national or religious ideals. The pie a...

  • How we are coming out of Corona

    Jonathan Feldstein|May 15, 2020

    Israel is slowly emerging from the Corona crisis. As I said in a radio interview last week, Israel is the canary in the coalmine. Measures taken to arrest the spread of the coronavirus and prevent an even wider outbreak were recognized internationally as being bold (some felt too much so) early on, with progressively severe restrictions going into place, somewhat ahead of the curve of many other countries. Now, as we emerge, the world will look at us as how to do it well, or how to learn from our mistakes. Medically, while we’re not out of i...

  • Stoking the flames of anti-Semitism in New York

    Jonathan Feldstein|May 8, 2020

    I’m sure that there have been no shortages of instances of “leaders” of cities throughout the world with large Jewish populations lashing out at their local Jewish community. Many of these were part and parcel of warnings, if not triggers, for violent pogroms. Nevertheless, its shocking to see Mayor Bill de Blasio of New York City, the city with the largest number of Jews, do so. de Blasio’s recent tweet, calling out “the Jewish community” because of a large funeral gathering in largely ultra-Orthodox Williamsburg, is a repugnant anti-Semiti... Full story

  • Confronting the anti-Semitism of Rick Wiles

    Jonathan Feldstein and Michael L. Brown Ph.D.|Apr 17, 2020

    In the midst of the global coronavirus pandemic, as we all pray and guard our behaviors in order to ensure the health and safety of ourselves and of our neighbors to prevent its spreading, noted anti-Semitic “Christian pastor” and “broadcaster” Rick Wiles has proven that while there will be a cure for coronavirus, there is no cure for the older and no less deadly virus of Jew-hatred. Most recently, Wiles said that the coronavirus is spreading via synagogues and is a punishment from God. “Stay out of those things, there’s a plague in them. Go... Full story

  • Who cares about Gaza?

    Jonathan Feldstein|Apr 3, 2020

    With the recent outbreak of the coronavirus in Gaza, all eyes are (strangely) on Israel. Let’s explore why and if that’s well founded or helpful. Some background is important. During the British occupation of the Land of Israel (1917-1948), Gaza was meant to become part of an Arab state per a two-state solution which they, and the rest of the Arab world, rejected. Many refugees fled Israel in the 1948-49 War of Independence, where they lived in squalor under Egyptian occupation. Gaza was captured, along with all of Sinai, from Egypt (and Jud... Full story

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