In thinking about Israel's strike on the Houthis, I've been considering why it is that the Palestinian cause has been the reason for so much misery in the world -- including onerous airport security requirements, made necessary by the spectacular and destructive Palestinian practice of hijacking airplanes (which was perfected by Palestinian terrorists before it was taken up by Al Qaeda).
Presumably, a Palestinian advocate would retort that it was Israel that had caused so much misery -- that the reactions from Israel's enemies was only natural and to be expected, and that with Israel's disappearance, the death and destruction would disappear as well. This is a point of view that abdicates all responsibility or agency for Palestinians and the broader Arab/Muslim world.
I believed as recently as last September that there might be a resolution to all of this -- that the Arab and Muslim world were slowly reconciling with Israel, and that the Palestinians had despaired of destroying it. How wrong I was to indulge that hope or expectation. We may yet have peace, but it will only be with a crushing defeat of the evil powers that motivate and fund the hatred.
I have been thinking about a story from the Talmud, which explains the fading of the prophets from the world as a parallel movement with the disappearance of idolatry. Once the evil of idolatry was gone, there was no need for prophecy, only instruction. Perhaps Israel, as good as it is, has entered the world in parallel with the evil of Palestinian terror? Perhaps there is a balance, somewhere?
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!
...
