Leonard Fein
By Leonard Fein
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Opinion Kassin Family Tree
I could be off by a dozen or so, but I count 70 rabbis in the family, going back to the year 1540. That makes the Kassin rabbinic dynasty one of the oldest on record. The Syrian Jewish community, now in the news for exceedingly distasteful reasons, is fabled for its insularity, hence not much…
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Opinion Opposed Outlooks, Shared Fears
In recent months I’ve heard more and more reports of rabbis who say they no longer know how to talk with their congregants about Israel. They feel — correctly, as far as I can tell — that our community is deeply divided, and that the divisions extend to the communities within the whole: to wit,…
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Opinion Baby Steps in Nazareth
It’s not that conversation here (I write from Jerusalem) is about existential questions. In fact, there is little such talk. But the existential question, like a miasma, is everywhere, inescapable. The response approaches the bi-polar, grand visions of Israel’s might and power one minute, dismal perceptions of Israel’s alone-ness, its vulnerability the next. Such understandings…
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Opinion Who Is an Israeli?
The “Who Is A Jew?” question has long been with us, often quite acrimoniously. In Israel, the debate has immediate legal implications. In America, too, the question arises frequently, whether in Jewish population surveys, in responses to the offspring of intermarried Jews or even in discussions of Jewish identity. At first blush, the question “Who…
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Opinion After the Uprising, Whither Iran?
No one knows, or can know, what the short-term result of the uprising in Iran will be. The demonstrations may continue, frequently or intermittently, or darkness may again descend on the land. But it is well to remember — as one interesting precedent — that Poland’s Solidarity movement, which ultimately led to the downfall of…
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Opinion The Netanyahu Speech: A Primer
Q: Prime Minister Netanyahu promised that his speech of June 14 would provide a detailed response to President Obama’s recent statements on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Did it? **A: **Yes and no. **Q: ****Can you be more specific? **A: **Alright, first the “yes.” He began by saying, “Let’s begin negotiations immediately without preconditions.” And it is…
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Opinion In Cairo, a Home Run — and an Error
When it comes down to it, I am glad, even relieved, not to be president of the United States. That’s not to say there aren’t not some pretty nifty perks that come with the job — no security lines at the airport, no running out of laundry detergent or pita chips, no traffic jams, first-run…
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Opinion On Settlements, Push Comes to Shove
Is the sky really falling? The answer depends on whether you think the current disagreement between Washington and Jerusalem is just another bump in the road — perhaps a bit more jolting than most, but hardly unprecedented — or an instance of push finally coming to shove, a prospective game-changer. The best evidence that America’s…
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