Opinions

The story of Hanukkah recounts the actions of stalwart Maccabee leaders and the revolt that saved the Jewish people. The Book of Judith, which is also intertwined with the victories of Hanukkah, chronicles the daring feats of a woman who was merely a member of a Jewish community. Yet she too, saved her people. Judith’s story deserves attention as it instructs us to contemplate our own obligations to defend rights and liberties.

Lioness: Golda Meir and the Nation of Israel” by Francine Klagsbrun

(Schocken, hardcover, Oct. 10, 2017)

Whenever a special revealing work is published, the publishers often use the word, “unexpurgated — complete and containing original material.” The publishers of “Lioness: Golda Meir and the Nation of Israel” did not choose that word but instead called it “the definitive biography on Golda Meir … a beautiful portrait of the iron-willed leader, chain-smoking political operative, and tea-and-cake serving grandmother who became the fourth prime minister of Israel and one of the most notable women of our time.

NEW YORK — This past Veterans Day, as I reflected on the bravery of those who served our country, I also thought about the number of charities that purport to help our heroes. Did you know that there are more than 40,000 separate charities that help veterans? While the vast majority of charities out there are doing important work, periodically one reads in the news about scams where people with good intentions make gifts to poorly run or fraudulent organizations. As we enter the busy year-end giving season, it’s important to know how to research and evaluate charitable organizations.

“The Doha Experiment: Arab Kingdom, Catholic College, Jewish Teacher” by Gary Wasserman. (Skyhorse Publishing, 2017) 

In 2006, Gary Wasserman accepted a professorial position teaching American political science at a campus of Georgetown University that was just opening in Doha, the capital city of Qatar on the Persian Gulf.

NEW YORK — As a busy criminal defense attorney with a roster of high-profile clients, I am not known to shy away from a fight. It doesn’t hurt that I grew up in Brooklyn, the scrappy son of immigrants and Holocaust survivors.

The Kansas City Star’s Oct. 17 Op-Ed, “Hanan Ashrawi is a Palestinian peacemaker,” contained numerous misleading and false claims, potentially inciting hate and violence against Jews and supporters of the Jewish state.

Sexual harassment is everyone’s problem

Though two other readers responded to Rabbi Rosenberg’s letter (“Sexual harassment discussions become unruly,” Nov. 2), I felt a need to respond as well. Rabbi Rosenberg wrote in his last paragraph, “I hope women will learn self-defense and legally carry whatever they need to defend themselves.”

Last week, along with 27,000 other Jewish Americans, Israeli-Americans and Israelis from around the world, I had an outstanding experience at my second-ever Israeli-American Council (IAC) Conference in Washington, D.C.

When my son was born, my mother said that she couldn’t get the song “Beautiful Boy” by John Lennon out of her head. She’d hold him, rock him in her arms and gently, in lullaby fashion, whisper “Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful boy,” as Lennon’s legendary refrain would go.

Sexual harassment discussions becoming unruly

For me the straw that broke the camel’s back regarding sexual molestation accusations was the article published Monday, Oct. 23, on a website accusing Elie Wiesel, the Nobel laureate and Holocaust survivor, of fondling the article’s author during a Jewish fundraising dinner in 1989. The accusations were then repeated by a number of reputable news organizations.