Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice

Articles written by Rav Hayim Leiter


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  • A self-inflicted pogrom?

    Rav Hayim Leiter|Nov 22, 2024

    (JNS) —There was a pogrom in Amsterdam—and no, it’s not 1938. Ten Israelis were injured and hundreds were attacked as they left the Maccabi Tel Aviv/Ajax soccer match on the evening of Nov. 7, just hours before the 62nd anniversary of Kristallnacht, the “Night of Broken Glass,” in Germany and Austria. The scene was apparently complete chaos. The video footage on social media has been harrowing; Israelis screaming things like, “Not Jewish” and “Free Palestine” to avoid the mob’s wrath. But the attacks didn’t end there. In truth, the onslaught...

  • The answer is obvious

    Rav Hayim Leiter|Sep 27, 2024

    (JNS) — I’m a fan of the Free Press podcast “Honestly.” It’s one of my regular sources of media. The even-handed coverage given to all topics is invigorating. But as someone who lives in Judea and Samaria, the episode titled “The Palestinian ‘Traitor’ Risking Everything to Speak Out” lacks some necessary context. For those who haven’t listened to the episode, I highly recommend it. The interviewee has both an unbelievable story and a fascinating philosophy on life. Since speaking out against the atrocities of Oct. 7, he’s been labeled a traitor...

  • Get off our backs!

    Rav Hayim Leiter|May 24, 2024

    (JNS) — Growing up, I was not one of the cool kids and was bullied a fair amount of the time. In middle school, one such bully used to incessantly pick on me. He was the weakest of the tough kids, so he had to make an example out of someone, so he chose the 60-pound sack of skin and bones that I happened to be in those days. “You better stop it, Jeff,” I warned him one day, as he kicked me. “Oh yeah, what are you going to do about it, wimp?” Something inside me snapped. I hauled off and punched him in the face. I remember the line of blood dri...

  • Why is the world morally blind to Israel?

    Rav Hayim Leiter|Apr 19, 2024

    (JNS) — Can you see the hypocrisy? I see it all day, every day. It’s hard to live in Israel, no matter how you feel about the war, and not see it. When you live in this region, it’s like the rest of the world is upside down. It’s like you’re looking at a bizarro universe that exists on a different plane—a universe so devoid of logic and morality that it no longer feels like your own. The Israel Defense Forces made a monumental mistake. It was an error almost no one wanted. The accidental drone strike that killed seven World Central Kitchen hum...

  • Starring down the barrel of a gun 

    Rav Hayim Leiter|Jan 12, 2024

    (JNS) — I have a secret that I’ve never told anyone before. For more than 20 years, it’s been too embarrassing and traumatic to revisit. But the time has come to share the story. Believe it or not, the whole situation arose because I was completing a college assignment. I studied at the University of Rhode Island and, for the most part, loved every minute of it. The education was classically liberal, although it seemed that the student body was not as politically motivated as, say, the Ivy League schools. In my senior year, I took a commu...