I’m quite happy to be where I am, doing what I’m doing. I don’t want anyone to think (as some have done, mistakenly, before) that I wrote what I do because of some other personal ambition.
But I do have some ideas about how things ought to be done. And I’ve learned the hard way that in America, it’s best to be clear about what you want to achieve, rather than hoping people will notice.
So, with that… if I were in the Trump 2.0 administration, what would I want to do, and why?
1. U.S. ambassador to Israel - There is no shortage of good candidates, but what I would bring to the job is a record of thinking about how to achieve peace between Israelis and Palestinians. With a president committed to the “deal of the century,” I think it would be possible to lay the foundations.
2. White House press secretary - Generally, I do think it’s better handled by a woman than a man, as Trump seems to believe. But I enjoy the cut and thrust of daily debate, and I would challenge the assumptions behind many of the questions. I’d also introduce a prayer to the briefings (see below).
3. White House faith director - they will probably give this to a pastor, and appropriately so. But I would like to introduce a moment of quiet reflection to the White House briefings, as an example for the rest of the country. I’d also arrange for a rotation of faith leaders to offer a weekly national sermon.
4. Antisemitism czar - I’ve been engaged in the fight against antisemitism my whole life, and I think I’d bring some fresh ideas to the role. I’d focus on the importance of George Washington’s promise to the Jews of early America that they would never have to live in fear in their new country, as they did before.
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 ...
