The president recently announced that the United States will shift American foreign policy strategy from military intervention to “relentless diplomacy.” Translated into the jargon of the foreign policy establishment, this means a downgrading of “ha...

As the pandemic extended into the second year of the High Holidays I found myself teetering between attending religious services in person or virtually as a participant in a live-streaming congregation. Last year, as a senior citizen and unprotected...

It was a warm summer day in June 1968 when California Democrats went to the polls in the presidential primary and delivered a resounding victory to Senator Robert F. Kennedy over democratic rival and then vice president Hubert H. Humphrey and...

As America licks its wounds and wrings its hands at the debacle of the last several weeks in the humiliating retreat and defeat at the hands of the Taliban in Afghanistan, let us pause to remember the brave and courageous men and women of our armed...

Rosh Hashanah is the time of year when we as individuals find ourselves at the center of the universe in direct communication with God. For a brief moment the present stops, the past does not recede and the future refuses to beckon us. The High Holy...

One of the great ironies revealed by the Covid-19 pandemic is the action of many Americans who profess to be lovers of freedom and of their fellow Americans, but who have ignored common sense and betrayed that love, in their irresponsible exercise...

Lately, the delicious flavors of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream have started to taste very bitter. Could it be the sudden introduction of antisemitic ingredients into the recipe have contaminated a great American product along with the story of a great Am...

One of the factors in the early formation of humans into social groups was a common belief in spiritual powers, mythical gods and superstitions. The consensus of so-called religious beliefs within these groups at the dawn of civilization was as much...

A friend of mine and faithful reader of my column (I hope!) asked me to share with him my perspectives on the new political situation in Israel and the impact it will have on future relations between Israel and the U.S. government, American Jewish...

Next Sunday, June 20, is Father’s Day. In the more than 30 years I have been writing this column I have never devoted an entire column to my dad. I have often thought about it, but my feelings of loss for him have always overwhelmed my ability to w...

As Hamas creates a war crime with every rocket it fires into Israel solely for the purpose of killing civilians, a biased media, along with supposedly creditable human rights organizations, BDS backers, Students for Justice in Palestine and naive pro...

The word “folly” has become associated with only one policy decision in all of our nation’s history. That policy decision was to purchase Alaska from Russia immediately after the end of the Civil War. The primary advocate of the purchase for $7,00...

I have been writing my Everywhere column for the Heritage Florida Jewish News for almost 20 years. It began in the early 1980s and continued until just after the High Holidays of 1997, when I suspended writing the column in favor of devoting more tim...

As the Holocaust recedes further and further into the past, the anti-Semites of the future (and for sure they will exist) will have an easier time promoting the falsehood that the Holocaust never occurred. Who will replace the first generation of sur...

As the sun sets tomorrow evening and the Sabbath wanes, Jewish people around the world will be welcoming in the holiday of Passover, with the holiday’s most notable event, the Passover Seder. The Passover Seder is a family and community gathering c...

In the past few weeks we have witnessed a Black comic on SNL (who should know better) taking a cheap shot at Israel, explicitly and falsely accusing the Israeli government of discriminating against its Arab citizens by intentionally withholding...

Today marks the one-year anniversary since my wife and I attended our last Jewish social or religious gathering. That event was attending services to hear the reading of Megillat,The Book of Esther, and to enjoy the festivities, food and beverages...

As the Biden administration takes shape it is becoming increasing clear, through the president’s appointments to the State Department, White House staff and other federal bodies dealing with Middle East policy formulation, that he sees U.S. r...

Although never a member of the Republican Jewish Coalition, I have endorsed their efforts over the years in being at the Republican Party table and promoting Republican candidates who support a strong American/Israel relationship. Their work has...

Let us forget for a moment that Israel is not the nation-state of the Jewish people. Let us fantasize that it is not engaged in an intractable conflict with Palestinian Arabs who refuse to recognize or make peace with the legitimacy of an indigenous...

In past years I have written about the dichotomy between Chanukah and Christmas in terms of their intersectionality and convergence in secular terms; even though not related at all in terms of religious significance and observance. This...

The recent per curium (unsigned) decision by the U.S. Supreme Court granting a temporary injunction prohibiting the governor of New York from enforcing a poorly drafted, over-bearing and constitutionally defective executive order has been...

The out-going Trump administration has implemented many policy decisions regarding the Middle East during its term in office that have resulted in a paragon shift in the Arab World’s perception of Israel from non-recognition and enemy to r...

In the aftermath of a close election and the improbability of the nation coming together, irrespective of who finally wins the presidency, one thing is certain: The existing sharp political divisions in the American Jewish community must be...

By Mel Pearlman As America limps toward completion of the 2020 election campaign this coming Tuesday, it has become increasing clear that a majority of Americans are frustrated, angered and fatigued by the American political process. A major factor...