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The midterm elections are eight months away, and candidates from all over the Empire State are gearing up for a long election season.  With the dismal job being done by President Joe Biden and the Democratic Majorities in the House and Senate, candidates running for federal seats are looking forward to their races with a certain level of optimism.  With the awful track record of Governor Kathy Hochul combined with the Supermajorities in the State Senate and Assembly, this may be the best chance that the GOP has had in decades to turn New York in their favor.

Amid the recent run of bad news, there is a positive development that deserves our attention: Congress recently passed, and President Biden signed, a $1.5 trillion appropriations bill, which may well be the most pro-Israel legislation ever passed. It includes $3.3 billion in security assistance to Israel, $1 billion in supplemental funding for the Iron Dome, $500 million for US-Israel cooperation on defensive missiles like the Arrow and David’s Sling, and $75 million for US-Israel cooperation in areas such as agriculture, health care, homeland security, and anti-tunnel and anti-drone technology. Under the Israel Relations Normalization Act, the US is required to support and expand peace agreements between Israel and its Arab neighbors. Also included is $250 million for security grants for shuls, yeshivos, and other at-risk nonprofit institutions. Our thanks go to Congressman Gregory Meeks, the Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Congresswoman Grace Meng, who spearheaded the effort for increased funding for security grants, for their leadership role.

What’s with Jews and drinking? Is there a Mitzvah I don’t know about? Because Purim is here, I always feel compelled to speak out in the strongest terms. Maybe someone out there will listen. Maybe some parents will reverse course and not let their kids go out unsupervised and unrestrained. It’s probably because of working many night shifts on a city ambulance and seeing more than my share of such young people die or get mangled from drunk driving.

If you thought a mere invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces would put the Democrats’ appetite for totalitarian control of the populace behind us, think again.  Restrictions are not gone; they were merely on hiatus until the news cycle tampered down.  Now that the death and destruction in Europe is hitting the one-month mark, the short-attention span of the media is refocusing on the best money-maker since Trump: COVID!

The war in Ukraine reminds me of one word: naiveté.    

Far too often we see how countries naively have given up their strategic advantages and/or resources, in exchange for security guaranties.

Earlier this week, Secretary of State Antony Blinken was in Israel for meetings with Israel’s leaders and a summit with the foreign ministers of Israel and four Arab states. For public consumption, the purpose of the summit was to show a united front against common enemies, foremost among them Iran. But beneath the surface, Secretary Blinken came to reassure Israel and its other allies in the region of American support. Israel and the Arab countries made the point that concessions to Iran like the nuclear deal on the table are counterproductive. Israel’s foreign minister, Yair Lapid, said it best: The way to stop our common enemies “is not hesitation and being conciliatory; rather it is determination and strength.”