Free Republic

On July 11, the American Jewish establishment tried to prove that it could fight anti-Semitism and be progressive at the same time. It failed. Outside of Congress that day, dozens of American Jewish groups co-sponsored a rally against the rising tide of Jew-hatred in America. The organizers had hoped that tens of thousands would show up for the event, and for good reason. In April 2002, a hundred thousand American Jews from all over the country congregated in Washington on short notice to rally in support of Israel during “Operation Defensive Shield.” And here they were supposed to rally...

British media has long been accused of a strong anti-Israel bias, and even generating anti-Semitism. Those claims have surfaced once again when during an interview with UK Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis for International Holocaust Memorial Day on Tuesday, a TV anchor with Sky News went as far as to suggest that Israel “fuels anti-Semitism.” The anchor, Adam Boulton, began by asking whether the fact that “people revisit this issue” of anti-Semitism is “because of Israel.” In response, the rabbi explained that anti-Semitism far pre-dates the establishment of the renascent Jewish state, and in fact can be observed from the beginning...

Orthodox Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis, who replaced Lord Jonathan Sacks as Chief Rabbi of Britain and the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth on Sunday, said he would maintain traditional Jewish values, including support for natural marriage, while stressing that he wants all Jews to find a home and feel comfortable in orthodox synagogues. “We have a clear Biblical definition of marriage which is the union of one man and one woman and through that we value traditional family life," Rabbi Mirvis told the BBC in an interview before Sunday’s installation ceremony.