With Labor Day now safely behind us, it is time to give serious thought to the upcoming High Holidays of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. For this week, I will focus on the importance that music plays in the liturgy of this sacred season. more

On Aug. 30, Palestinian terrorists set a Jewish man on fire in Jerusalem, and on Sept. 1, other Palestinian terrorists tried to set an entire bus full of Israeli Jews on fire. Yet I couldn’t find any mention of these horrific attacks in the New York Times, the Washington Post, or any other major American news outlet. more

Although his background was suppressed while he was captive, after his murder, news reports mournfully acknowledged that Steven Sotloff, a”h, was Jewish ­— an American raised in Miami who attended a Reform day school and made aliyah in 2005. A fellow captive, who was released, reported that Sotloff surreptitiously fasted on Yom Kippur and prayed facing Jerusalem. more

On July 25, Brett Stevens (not to be confused with Bret Stephens) wrote on amerika.org that the Israel-Hamas conflict shows the true nature of liberalism. more

With the increasing concern over worldwide violence against Jews, and of the political defense of such behavior, much debate has focused upon the origins of such conduct as well as to numerous strategies aimed at quelling it. This week’s column will survey the historical and theologically-based origins that are behind these actions. more

The pundits are confused about President Obama’s strategy for fighting terrorism. He seems to say one thing and then a few days later something quite different. As a service to readers of The Jewish Star and the political punditry of America, I will explain the President’s terrorism-fighting strategy, which in his administration seems to be “except when the terrorists are targeting Jews.” more

Court: A place and a system any healthy society needs, but no one really wants to visit. Just like a judge: Someone you want as a friend, but not someone you want to meet at work all too often. A date in court is not something most people look forward to, and the feelings such a visit generates range from frustration and trepidation, all the way to outright fear and terror. more

Strolling through Jerusalem’s historic Yemin Moshe quarter on a pleasant August morning, my ears caught a ringing, melodic sound emanating from within the walls of the Old City, perhaps half a mile from where I stood. This being a Sunday, the sound I heard was the chiming of church bells, welcoming Christian worshippers to morning services. more

Last week, my son Jeremy got engaged. To say I was thrilled is an understatement. I could not have picked a more perfect girl for him. Darya is charming, delightful, intelligent, fun loving, beautiful, caring and sweet. more

The instructions given to the generation entering the land of Canaan are clear: “Do away with all the places where the nations whom you are driving out worship their gods, [whether they are,] on the high mountains, on the hills, or under any luxuriant tree. You must tear down their altars, break up their sacred pillars, burn their Asherah trees, and chop down the statues of their gods, obliterating their names from that place.” more