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The Holocaust is a 77-year old story. Yet Whoopi Goldberg got in trouble last week for getting a major aspect of it wrong. On January 31’s edition of “The View,” Goldberg said that the Holocaust was not about race. The context was a discussion about the book, Maus, being banned by a Tennessee public school board because of nudity and profanity. Goldberg said: “I’m surprised that’s what made you uncomfortable, the fact that there was some nudity. I mean, it’s about the Holocaust, the killing of six million people, but that didn’t bother you? If you’re going to do this,...

Where to begin telling the story of Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin's "Restoring Honor" rally, on the site of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s historic "I have a dream" speech exactly 47 years later? As promised, we published Sarah Palin's 8/28 speech alongside King's, and Mark Benjamin reported from the event. I'm excited Beck announced his "Black Robe Regiment;" it's long past time to retire the white robes. Since Beck insists the gathering wasn't about politics, but about religion, let's take a look at a couple of the religious figures there. I was surprised when, early Saturday morning, Beck introduced...

I am certainly not a Churchill. I am not even a Revel. I am having enough trouble just trying to be a Lapin. But I am issuing a very serious warning about deep consequences, just as they did. It is a warning about the earliest stages of what could become a cataract of disasters if not resisted now. During the 1930s, Winston Churchill desperately tried to persuade the English people and their government to see that Hitler meant to end their way of life. The British ignored Churchill, which gave Hitler nearly 10 years to build up his military forces....

Why Do “Jewish Organizations” Promote Hate Between Jew and Christian? © Rabbi Daniel Lapin During November, the head of the Anti-Defamation League declared Christians to be the enemies of Jews. “Their goal is to implement their Christian worldview, to Christianize America, to save us!" he said. He proceeded to name names: "Major players include Focus on the Family. Alliance Defense Fund, the American Family Association, Family Research Council and more. They and other groups have established new organizations and church-based networks, and built infrastructure throughout the country designed to promote traditional Christian values." Where do these traditional Christian values come...

WHY I FIGHT Readers of my columns which often excoriate secularizing organizations, may of them Jewish, frequently ask me, “Lapin, why do you fight?” My answer is always the same. I fight to preserve an America comprising millions of diverse citizens all with their own beliefs yet who are united by a common view of what constitutes virtuous behavior. Living among people who do not behave virtuously is at the very least unpleasant. It is usually also intimidating, and ultimately dangerous and expensive. If many of my fellow citizens are unable to restrain themselves from criminal conduct, the quality of...

To: Assignment Desk, Daybook Editor Contact: Bryan Rudnick, 561-499-3201 News Advisory: WHAT: Jews for "It's OK to Say Merry Christmas" press conference WHEN: Thursday, Dec. 1, 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. at The National Press Club (529 14th St. N.W., Washington, D.C.) in the Murrow Room. WHY: To speak out against the War on Christmas -- ongoing efforts to purge Christmas from our schools, public events, retail establishments and the culture, and why this should concern Americans of all faiths. WHO: Don Feder -- president, Jews Against Anti-Christian Defamation Michael Horowitz -- senior fellow, Hudson Institute Rabbi Daniel Lapin --...

Well, December is nearly here, which means the dreaded "C word" is upon us. Put politely, "the holiday season" is nearly here. We shall all hear those "Happy Hanukkahs" and "Happy holidays," but rarely a "Merry Christmas." Secular fundamentalism has successfully injected into American culture the notion that the word "Christmas" is deeply offensive. I think we Jews may be making a grievous mistake in allowing them to banish Christmas without challenge. We see obsequious regard for faiths like Judaism and even Islam, while Christianity is treated with contempt. I don't want Judaism treated with less respect. I want Christianity...

Well, December is nearly here which means the dreaded “C word” is upon us. Put politely, “the holiday season” is nearly here. We shall all hear those “Happy Chanukahs” and “Happy holidays,” but rarely a “Merry Christmas.” Secular fundamentalism has successfully injected into American culture the notion that the word “Christmas” is deeply offensive. I think we Jews may be making a grievous mistake in allowing them to banish Christmas without challenge. We see obsequious regard for faiths like Judaism and even Islam, while Christianity is treated with contempt. I don’t want Judaism treated with less respect. I want Christianity...

NEW YORK - Institutionalized Christianity in the U.S. has grown so extremist that it poses a tangible danger to the principle of separation of church and state and threatens to undermine the religious tolerance that characterizes the country, the national director of the Anti-Defamation League, Abraham Foxman, warned in his address to the League's national commission, meeting in New York City over the weekend. (Haaretz Newspaper, Israel.) We Jews aren’t chic any longer. Not too many people care for Jews these days. Europe, including England, makes little secret of how it feels towards Jews. If possible, they care even less...

During the 19th century Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch wrote, "The more enlightenment you gain in the knowledge of history, the clearer will be your insight into the Torah." Since the theater of world history follows the screenplay of Torah, history can provide guidance to understanding God’s plans. For instance, the holocaust did not start in Poland, where most Jews lived openly as religious Jews. Instead it erupted in Germany, the country whose Jews were most invisible and assimilated. This valuable lesson validates ancient Jewish wisdom’s explanation of the Bible verse “The voice is Jacob's voice but the hands are the...

<p>Every few weeks or so Rabbi Daniel Lapin finds a reason to fly east from his home in Mercer Island, Wash., near Seattle, and spend a few days in Washington, D.C. He might be leading a Bible study on the Hill, having dinner with his ''close friend'' House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, breakfast with Karl Rove. Last year he came for a private Shabbat dinner with President Bush. ''The president recognizes my enthusiasm for his faith,'' says the rabbi.</p>

We've been close friends for years. We have shared Sabbath meals and addressed one another's constituencies. One of us is a very large black man, the other is an average size white guy. One of us raises Rottweiler dogs, the other sails boats. One of us is a Christian pastor while the other is an Orthodox Jewish rabbi. Yet for all these differences, something recently united us. And it was not that we're both bald or that we both have beards! What happened is that the senior rabbi of one of Seattle's largest Reform congregations attacked us in a local...

By Jews Against Anti-Christian DefamationJews Against Anti-Christian Defamation | April 27, 2005The announcement of the formation of Jews Against Anti-Christian Defamation (JAACD) came at a press conference yesterday (April 21st) at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. Present were JAACD President Don Feder, and several members of the group’s Advisory Board -- syndicated columnist Mona Charen, popular talk-show host Barry Farber, Rabbi Joshua Haberman, and Rabbi Yehuda Levin.Others involved with the group include: David Horowitz (Center for the Study of Popular Culture), Morton Klein (Zionist Organization of America), Herb London (Hudson Institute), Bruce Herschensohn (professor, Pepperdine University), Rabbi Daniel...

I am an Orthodox Jewish rabbi sadly denouncing one of the box office hits of 2004. Which movie has earned my wrath? Here is a clue—it surprised everyone by selling over one hundred million dollars of tickets in its first week in theaters. No, it’s not Mel Gibson’s Passion. The movie causing me deep distress is a Rosenthal/Tenenbaum production starring Dustin Hoffman, and Barbra Streisand. I was sorry to see Barbra Streisand involved in the flagrant defamation of Judaism found in this, her latest movie hit. While she was making her film Yentl, for which I served as a consultant,...

Monday, January 3, 2005 Don't blame God for Asian casualtiesPosted: January 3, 20051:00 a.m. Eastern By Rabbi Daniel Lapin © 2005 WorldNetDaily.com With the final death toll in Asia yet unknown, analyzing the calamity can appear callous, especially in the light of ancient Jewish wisdom's advice to refrain from even comforting mourners whose dead still lie before them, let alone analyzing their loss. Still, once we have, in some human way, associated ourselves with the disaster by means of financial or other contribution, we surely are obliged to try and learn something from it. Sometimes before the answers can be found, the...

God Isn’t to Blame for Asian Casualties.December 29th, 2004 By Rabbi Daniel LapinPresident, Toward Tradition With the final death toll in Asia yet unknown, analyzing the calamity can appear callous, especially in the light of ancient Jewish wisdom’s advice to refrain from even comforting mourners whose dead still lie before them, let alone analyzing their loss. Still, once we have, in some human way, associated ourselves with the disaster by means of financial or other contribution, we surely are obliged to try and learn something from it. Sometimes before the answers can be found, the right questions must be...

One-time girlfriend of quirky California Gov. Jerry Brown in the '70s, singer Linda Ronstadt has been busy lately. She dedicated her song "Desperado" to Michael Moore and his bogus-mentary, "Fahrenheit 911," she got herself tossed out of the Aladdin casino in Las Vegas, and she gave an interview to a newspaper. Although I doubt this was her intention, she has actually taught us three lessons: One, she and many of her fellow entertainers do have a religion – I'd call it "secular fundamentalism." Two, it's open season on Christians, the last unprotected minority in America. Her third lesson, well, I'll...

It's open season on Christians – again By Rabbi Daniel Lapin One-time girlfriend of quirky California Gov. Jerry Brown in the '70s, singer Linda Ronstadt has been busy lately. She dedicated her song "Desperado" to Michael Moore and his bogus-mentary, "Fahrenheit 911," she got herself tossed out of the Aladdin casino in Las Vegas, and she gave an interview to a newspaper. Although I doubt this was her intention, she has actually taught us three lessons: One, she and many of her fellow entertainers do have a religion – I'd call it "secular fundamentalism." Two, it's open season on Christians,...

On Wednesday afternoon the United States Senate voted against moving forward on a proposed amendment which would have added to the constitution these words, “Marriage in the United States shall consist only of the union of a man and a woman.” Some Americans are celebrating this as a triumph of tolerance while others are mourning it as the defeat of decency. However, I suspect that many Americans, whose basic credo is live-and-let-live, are ignoring it entirely. It is to these readers, who regard the Senate vote as largely irrelevant in their lives, that I address myself. The majority of us...

For a while now America has been trending secular. Prior to that time, being wise and educated meant knowing God. That is why most universities and schools of earlier periods were established and attended by religious Christians. The same is true in Jewish history. Until the 19th century education and knowledge were inseparable from religion. Even the etymological origin of the word "secular" is linked to the Hebrew word for a fool. (SaCaL as in "Am sacal-oh foolish nation" Jeremiah V: 21) This obvious link between God and education was clearly recognized in the wording of that great document that...