Where What When - Jewish Family MagazineArticles by David Gerstman All that Glitters is not Goldstone In the aftermath of Israel's Operation Cast Lead against Hamas, a year ago, the UN Human Rights Council called for an investigation into possible war crimes committed during the fighting. ............Read More By David GerstmanThe case has special interest for Israel. Specifically, it revolves around Mohammed al-Dura, the 12-year-old Palestinian boy who died in front of the camera on the second day of the Aqsa intifada, September 30, 2000. TYou could be forgiven if you don’t recognize the names Charles Enderlin and Philippe Karsenty. You’d have to go back to 2005 to find their names in the New York Times. These two Frenchmen are engaged in a high-profile lawsuit about how the news media operate, yet the American media have shown almost no interest ............Read More By David GerstmanStory of the spy Wolfgang Lotz and the Israeli victory in the Six Day War It was due to Wolfgang Lotz, now living peacefully in Tel Aviv. that Israel was able to knock out the entire Egyptian air force.After weeks of unbearable tension over impending Arab attacks, a series of stunning air strikes by Israeli jets at sunrise on June 5, 1967, virtually eliminated Egyptian airpower – and with it any chance of an Arab victory. In those few astonishing hours of incredibly accurate bombing and strafing, Israel erased an expensive decade of Russian military aid to the Arab world. Without air cover, the enemies’ tanks and infantry were little more than target practice for the Israeli army under the clear skies of the desert. ............Read More By David GerstmanRighteous Among Nations at Yad Vashem. Frank Foley was a British passport control officer in Berlin. He also was a spy working for England’s MI-6. Much like Wallenberg, he issued documents of questionable legal authenticity to save Jews.Oskar Schindler is the well known subject of a book and, later, a movie. He was a German industrialist who was able to save Jews during the Holocaust by claiming that he needed them for his business. Getting onto Schindler’s List was a way for a Jew to escape certain death at the hands of the Nazis. ............Read More By David GerstmanThe war this past summer between Israel and the terrorist organizations Hamas and Hezbollah exposed some of the worst impulses in the media. Marvin Kalb, a former reporter, wrote a paper on the implications of the war and its coverage called “The Israeli-Hezbollah War of 2006: ............Read More By David GerstmanDr. Dore Gold, Israel’s former ambassador to the United Nations and current president of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, is an articulate spokesman for Israel. He recently wrote a book, The Fight for Jerusalem. ............Read More By David GerstmanOnce upon a time, it was common to refer to Jimmy Carter as America’s best living ex-president. It’s a little like sports writers who refer to baseball players who can’t hit as good fielders or team leaders. Given that Carter was repudiated at the polls in his effort to win reelection – and that his term in office is associated with stagflation, the hostage crisis, and malaise – calling him a great ex-president seems like a nice consolation prize. ............Read More By David GerstmanWhat Moynihan and Kirkpatrick Saw; What Bush Has DoneA number of remarkable men and women have served as the United States Ambassador to the UN. These include Arthur Goldberg, who previously served as a Supreme Court Justice; Adlai Stevenson, a two-time candidate for president; George H. W. Bush, before he became president; Daniel Patrick Moynihan, later a United States Senator; John Danforth, a former Senator; the recently deceased Jeane Kirkpatrick; and the recently retired John Bolton. ............Read More By David GerstmanOrthodox Jews and How They Vote One of the ongoing questions we ask ourselves when facing political issues is, “Is it good for the Jews?” The question might apply not only to the results of the recent elections that saw Democrats gain control of both houses of Congress but to the two major political parties as well. ............Read More By David GerstmanIn 1994 when Ellen Sauerbrey almost upset Parris Glendening in Maryland’s gubernatorial contest, she won 21 jurisdictions. The problem was that she lost the other three jurisdictions – Baltimore City, Prince George’s County, and Montgomery County – by a combined 180,000 votes. When Bob Ehrlich won a trip to the governor’s mansion four years ago, against Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, he did even worse; he lost those jurisdictions by more than 250,000 votes. ............Read More By David GerstmanThe Protocols of the Elders of Harvard A bit more than 100 years ago, the Czar’s secret police claimed to have discovered The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion. The Protocols purported to be the minutes of a meeting of secret Jewish cabal that controlled the world. ............Read More By David GerstmanThe Aaron Rosenfeld Memorial Fund Elie Rosenfeld and I have been friends for almost 28 years now. We met through a mutual friend in our freshman year at YU and have been friends ever since. ............Read More By David GerstmanIn 1996, Binyamin Netanyahu won the election for prime minister of Israel. At the time, he was thought to be an up-and-coming leader of the future. Now, two prime ministerial campaigns later, 1996 looks more and more like an aberration. ............Read More By David GerstmanOn February 1, 2006, the government of Israel evacuated the “outpost” of Amona. This evacuation, that involved violent clashes between police and protesters, was the end of a protracted legal process started by the left wing group, Peace Now. ............Read More By David GerstmanThere is an expression, “The road to gehenom is paved with good intentions.” The Geneva Conventions are proof of that statement. It is hard to imagine many things that are better intentioned than the Geneva Conventions. ............Read More By David GerstmanCrime in the Upper Park Heights community.At an event that was labeled a “Conversation on Crime,” members of the community, state legislators, and representatives of the city police met at Cross Country Elementary School on November 10, 2005 to discuss matters of concern to the Upper Park Heights community. Several hundred people, largely from the area’s Orthodox community attended. ............Read More By David GerstmanNetanyahu and Israeli PoliticsAfter Binyamin Netanyahu resigned as Israel’s finance minister a few weeks ago, the New York Times wrote a mocking editorial about him. The editorial stated, “In resigning from his post, Mr. Netanyahu is making the political calculation that he can cordon off the far-right wing of Likud from Mr. Sharon, and then manage to look prescient if the Gaza pullout is a disaster. ............Read More By David GerstmanThe Jewish Residents of the Gaza StripThis week, all Jewish residents of the Gaza strip have been removed from their homes. Over the next weeks their houses will be razed, and the memory of their residence there will be eradicated. This is being done in the name of peace. However upsetting it was to see people removed from their homes, there was a positive element in what we saw. ............Read More By David Gerstman |
|