I am going to Israel on Sunday for a week -- my fourth trip in less than 6 months, and my third since the start of the war October 7.
I knew I would be back soon; the question was what I would focus on when I planned my trip. I soon found the answer: Argentinian President Javier Milei is going to Israel next week. So I am going to go as well, and cover his visit -- his first major foreign trip as president.
The trip is significant because Milei is one of the most pro-Israel leaders in the world at a time when Israel is worried about losing international support. For me, this is also a significant event because Milei brings together libertarian conservative thought on the one hand, with religious thought (and particularly Jewish thought, in which he is steeped, though Catholic himself) on the other.
I feel as though there is tremendous positive potential in the visible intersection of all of these strands. I want to be there to witness the trip -- as I have been there at other moments -- and write about it.
This week's show will be slightly different from the norm: we'll focus on clips and topics, rather than guests -- and that, hopefully, will mean more input from the callers (unless you are all watching football on opening weekend).
Topics:
- The state of the economy
- The fight against crime
- The midterm election fight
- The struggle for peace between Russia and Ukraine
- The airstrike on the Venezuelan drug cartel
- The attempt to sink Kennedy
- The war in Gaza
- The case against Harvard
- The Trump presidency
Tune in: SiriusXM Patriot 125, 7-10 p.m. ET / 4-7 p.m. PT
Call: 866-957-2874
This week's Torah portion includes several laws about conduct in civic and personal life, the common theme of which is boundaries -- setting bounds to what one may do at home, at work, and even in the battlefield.
One noteworthy passage concerns Amalek, the evil nation that attacked the Children of Israel as they made their Exodus from slavery to freedom. Deuteronomy 25:17-19 commands Jews to obliterate Amalek's memory.
The South African government accused Israel of genocide on the basis of a story about Amalek in the Book of Samuel, in which King Saul was commanded to wipe out the entire evil Amalekite nation.
Because Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu quoted this week's portion -- "Remember what Amalek did to you" (25:17), the South African government claimed he was commanding soldiers to commit genocide.
It was an absurd and malevolent misreading of the Bible and of Jewish tradition. The commandment, as observed by Jews today, is to remember the evil of Amalek and fight ...
