U.S. pressing Israel, Turkey to reconcile

Published on September 7, 2011

The Obama administration is pressing Israel and Turkey to renew reconciliation talks.

Ziman and Lee hold hands, pledge friendship

By Tom Tugend
Published on May 1, 2008

A highly charged controversy between two self-described "passionate" advocates, one African American, the other Jewish, appears to have ended on Thursday (May 1), with pledges of mutual friendship and future cooperation.

Ex-JDL member urges faith without fanaticism

By Amy Klein
Published on February 28, 2008

Review of former Jewish Defense League member Brad Hirschfield's "You Don't Have to Be Wrong for Me To Be Right: Finding Faith Without Fanaticism" (Harmony Books, Random House, 2007).

John Paul II and the Jews

By Rabbi Marvin Hier
Published on April 7, 2005

With the passing of Pope John Paul II, we have lost the strongest advocate for reconciliation with the Jewish people in the history of the Vatican. This pope was determined to embark on a new course and leave that shameful period behind. From the very beginning of his papacy, when he first visited his native Poland, there were hints that this pope was going to break with tradition and not follow the centuries-old script, with respect to the Jews.

Another Chance

By Rabbi Lisa Edwards
Published on March 3, 2005

With great sadness my friends decided to divorce in January 2001. They had given themselves one year into the new century to see if they could make it work, and it didn't seem as if they could. Then, in 2002, they happily reconciled. When asked why, they say Sept. 11 brought them back together; it helped them refocus their priorities.

The Nation and The World

Published on January 6, 2005

The Nation And The World.

Familial Forgiveness

By Rabbi Susan Laemmle
Published on January 4, 2001

The syllabus for my USC general education class includes both Shakespeare's "The Tempest" and chapters 37-50 of Genesis -- the Joseph story or "novella." These two narratives share themes that commend themselves: forgiveness and reconciliation. Both Prospero and Joseph were set upon by their own brothers and narrowly escaped death. Both protagonists contributed to their victim role -- Prospero through neglecting governance and Joseph by insensitive boasting. In the end, though, both forgive those who abused them -- enabling their family circle to be repaired and the next generation blessed. Just as Prospero realizes that "the rarer action is in virtue than in vengeance," so too does the instinct for reconciliation surge through Joseph.

A Misstep on the Road to Reconciliation

By Jonathan S. Tobin
Published on March 2, 2000

Though the agreement signed by the Vatican and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) last week was aimed at strengthening Arab-Catholic ties, it will probably go down as having a greater influence on Catholic-Jewish ties.

Payback Time

By Marlene Adler Marks
Published on May 14, 1998

You'll never find "The Cadillac," on any critic's list of top 10 "Seinfeld" episodes, but I don't care. "The Cadillac,"episode 124 in the Seinfeld oeuvre, IMHO (in my humble opinion, for those who don't use Internet shorthand), is the real thing, among the show's most authentically Jewish episodes, revealing the uncircumcised heart within a sitcom generally acknowledged to reflectonly callousness, narcissism and an urbane hipness in post-shtetl America. And, in a small way, "The Cadillac" changed my life.

Here's the plot of the show that ran February 8,1996 as a 60-minute "Seinfeld" special.