Dick Cheney, torture and teshuvah

Published on August 31, 2011

According to press reports, Dick Cheney’s memoir, set to be released this week, is one long exercise is not regretting any decision he made while serving as Vice-President of the United States. This is a shame. The first step in teshuvah, repentance, is recognizing the wrongs that one has committed. Cheney, rather, articulates his continued support for interrogation tactics, including waterboarding, extremes of heat and cold, sleep deprivation, long-term isolation, sensory deprivation and stress positions. It’s clear he will continue to defend his authorization of such torture and has no remorse for the criminal acts of torture he authorized. Cheney could have helped in the effort to repair the harms caused by torturing prisoners by expressing some regret for his actions. He has not.

Gabay’s new book makes the case for moderate Judaism

By Karmel Melamed
Published on June 12, 2011

Abe Foxman: Latter-Day Jeremiah

By Jonathan Kirsch
Published on December 7, 2010

Abraham H. Foxman is the go-to guy when it comes to the anxieties and interests of the Jewish community in America. As national director of the Anti-Defamation League, he is called upon whenever the headlines carry a story with a Jewish angle. To put it another way, when Foxman speaks, people listen.