Barbaric Acts Kill Palestinian Sympathy

By Larry Derfner
Published on May 27, 2004

know there are many Palestinians out there who are sickened and ashamed by what happened in Gaza to the remains of the six dead Israeli soldiers.

I don't hold them responsible; I don't associate them with those acts just because they are Palestinians or Arabs, not in any way.

In fact, I think it's important now to remember Arabs like the Palestinian man who drowned in the Sea of Galilee a couple of years ago trying to save a drowning Israeli boy. I remember a Jaffa Arab who was killed in 1992, I think, trying to stop a wild man from Gaza who was slashing at Jewish children with a saber.

Craving Silence

By David Suissa
Published on January 9, 2003

My father passed away this morning.

As I grieve quietly on an Air Canada nonstop to Montreal, there's a part of me that can't help but dread the next seven days. My parents' house will be inundated with visitors, many of whom will bend over backward trying to make me and my family feel better.

I don't begrudge them. I'd do the same thing. In fact, eight months ago when my father's identical twin brother passed away, I found myself caught up in that familiar whirlwind of chatty sympathy that often visits the solemn days of shiva.

Have You But One Blessing?

By Rabbi Ed Feinstein
Published on November 7, 2002

It began with the first two human born into this world, the world's first brothers.