July, 1969. The War of Attrition had begun several months earlier. After repeated Egyptian artillery attacks and raids, the Israeli military command decided that it was time to take the initiative from the Egyptians, and ordered special commando units to destroy the Egyptian radar and anti-aircraft positions on Green Island. more

“If you listen to God, He will keep his covenant with you. He will love you, He will bless you…” (7:13) And what does He want of you? “To walk in His ways, to love Him, and to serve” Him. (10:12) After all, “God desired to love your forefathers, and He chose their children” (10:15) to be His nation, to whom He gave His Torah and has asked of them filial devotion. He models this kind of love through “loving the stranger” (10:18), an expectation He commands and demands of you as well (10:19). more

Most people don’t remember much from when they were 5 years old, but Joel Block has an indelible memory of the day in 1965 when his father and grandfather were killed in a plane crash. “I was at a Coney Island JCC day care,” said Block, who grew up in the Sea Gate section of Brooklyn, “and a woman named Lottie took special care of me. She drove me home on a school bus. I didn’t appreciate that until later [in life]. I realized the power we have to be helpful in people’s lives when they need it.” more

Last month, my daughter’s car lease was up. So we began researching cars that were safe, reasonably priced and of course “cool.” In my days, we drove whatever car was available. In 1980, I was thrilled to get the 1970 Bonneville that belonged to my uncle Morris, a”h. That car was the size of a small yacht. I think it had more room inside than some Manhattan apartments. It got me to where I had to go and I was thankful for it. more

A good business transaction benefits all parties involved and that was an apparent in Cedarhurst for merchants and shoppers alike during the village’s Business Improvement District’s 25th annual summer sidewalk sale last week. more

Mazel Tov! After much anticipation, at 4:24pm in London on July 22, the Duchess of Cambridge gave birth. The Royal bundle is an 8lbs. 6oz. son, future King — and perhaps a real Jewish Prince. For those of you who haven’t heard, according to lawyer Alan Dershowitz, Kate’s mother, Carol, is the daughter of Ronald and Dorothy Goldsmith (whose parents, he claims, were also Jews). The Jewish line may thicken with hubby Wills. more

The Jewish people are finally, after 40 long years, making ready to enter the land of Israel. Most of the generation that left Egypt is gone, buried in unmarked graves in the desert, and their children, the second generation, born free in the desert, are preparing at last to cross the Jordan and enter the land. There will be no more manna from heaven, and no heavenly clouds or pillars of fire to guard them on their journey; they will have to fight, and even die, for the right to call this small piece of land their home. more

Weiner and Spitzer. Enough said. Will New Yorkers elect “Carlos Danger” as Mayor? Considering how quickly the scandal-tarred Anthony Weiner rose in the polls, before this week’s revelations, we shouldn’t discount it. And Eliot Spitzer as Comptroller? Also possible. There’s a thought afloat that “character” doesn’t count, that instead, we should weight a candidate’s “competence” when voting. Yet both character and competence count. more

My “association” with Helen Thomas began on a Friday, just over three years ago when my friend Rabbi David Nesenoff (who would subsequently become publisher of The Jewish Star) sent me a video, which contained a short explosive interview he had conducted with the veteran White House correspondent. In it, Thomas gave a statement that many people saw as telling the Jews to go face another Holocaust. more

The vote for the dual positions of Chief Rabbi of Israel came in on the Haredi side of the equation last week, with 150 representatives electing the sons of two previous chief rabbis. Rabbi David Lau, 47, Modi’in’s chief rabbi and son of a former Ashkenazi chief rabbi, Yisrael Meir Lau, was selected Chief Ashkenazic Rabbi. Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, 61, son of Shas spiritual leader and a former Sepahrdic Chief Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, was selected as Sephardic Chief Rabbi, the Rishon LeTzion. more