Apologies for my delay the last 48 hours… it has been quite a whirlwind! Thus far we have toured Tel Aviv on the coast, and the settlement of Ariel in the interior. I have also taken the liberty of visiting the port city of Haifa for dinner last night.
A few reflections:
1. Israel is still a vibrant, dynamic, beautiful place, regardless of whatever is going on politically.
2. Tel Aviv is a wonderful mess — crowded and chaotic, but also brilliant and innovative. The new subway is incredible. The beach is, well, awesome.
3. The fault lines over Netanyahu’s judicial reform are not entirely ideological or cultural. Some on the right oppose him just because of the division it has provoked within Israeli society (familiar, perhaps, to the emotions evoked by Trump in the USA).
4. The Palestinians want jobs and the chance to earn a good living more than they want a state. If anything, attempts at peace — or struggle — have complicated their lives. Judea and Samaria are a maze of roads and boundaries and there seems no easy resolution — nor, perhaps, any urgent one.
5. Palestinians do not generally understand why Jews want to come to Israel and support Israel. To the extent that face-to-face interaction is possible, it can help break that barrier of understanding.
6. It’s good to remember that in addition to the religious connected Jews have to the land, a big reason Israel exists is because of the cultural revival that Tel Aviv represents. That Israel counts, too; it is the Israel that many on the left want to preserve, and not because of partisan politics.
This is my first broadcast from the new office and studio in Washington, DC, where I'll be for a couple of years my neighborhood back in L.A. cleans up -- and as we follow the Trump administration from a little closer up than usual.
Topics:
- The anniversary of the attempted assassination of President Donald Trump
- The escalating tariff battle with various different trading partners
- The future of the Middle East peace talks, and ongoing antisemitism
- The Jeffrey Epstein files and whether they mean anything at all
- The continued crisis of the Texas floods, and stories of heroism and survival
And more!
Special guests:
- James Rosen - Newsmax chief Washington correspondent
- Bob Price - Breitbart News Texas reporter, on the ongoing floods
- Robert Cahill - Trafalgar Polling, on a new alliance of reliable pollsters
- Rabbi Yaakov Menken - Coalition for Jewish Values - on Israel & antisemitism
Tune in: 7-10 p.m. ET, 4-7 p.m. PT
Call: 866-957-2874
This week’s portion tells the grand story of the prophet who tried to curse people of Israel and instead ended up blessing them.
I am reminded that these portions continue to be relevant anew, as this particular reading lent the title for Israel’s recent 12 Day War against Iran, “Operation Rising Lion.”
This week's portion includes the commandment of the red heifer -- one of the classic "irrational" commandments whose fulfillment is an expression of faith. It also includes the regrettable episode in which Moses strikes the rock.
I referred to this story in a wedding speech last night. Why was Moses punished for striking the rock in Numbers, when he struck the rock without incident in Exodus -- both for the purpose of providing water to the people?
The answer is that in the interim, the Jewish people had received the Torah, which is like the marriage contract between the people of Israel and God. In a marriage, you do not resolve things by breaking boundaries, but through love.
The additional reading, from Judges Chapter 11, is the story of Jephthah (Yiftach), a man whom the leaders spurn, but to whom they must turn to save the nation. The parallels to our present political circumstances are striking.
Shabbat Shalom and Happy Fourth of July!
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