Opinion

In what can only be described as hilarious, there was an exchange a few nights ago between Democratic Senator Adam Schiff and comedian host Bill Maher.

In a scene reminiscent of BLM riots or of protests in Iran, the unthinkable happened. It seems two Israeli policewomen, who were coming to visit a colleague in Bnei Brak, were surrounded by over a thousand people on Chagai Street. They were chased, screamed at, and called Nazis. Attempts were made to physically assault them. Police had to rush in and extract them from the crowd. During the ensuing turmoil, rioters overturned a police car and set a police motorcycle ablaze. T’filin and a siddur that had been inside the motorcycle were left burned.

Operation Epic Fury, named by the United States, or Roaring Lion by Israel, is now in its third day. It started with a strike that eliminated terror chief Ayatollah Ali Khamenei plus at least 40 of his commanders.

The country – and indeed a good part of the world – is riveted by the story of the abduction of Nancy Guthrie, mother of TV personality Savannah Guthrie. The scene is horrific: an ailing 84-year-old mom being taken to a place unknown, by persons unknown, to a fate unknown.

Last week, the Supreme Courts in the United States and Israel made some bold decisions. In America, the United States Supreme Court denied President Trump the right to levy tariffs at will. Tariffs were the cornerstone of the President’s economic policy in dealing with world trade. It is quite incredible that a court could interfere with the freedom of a president to choose his own economic tools. But the president was forced to deal with the new reality.

Many years ago, my brother-in-law Rabbi Meyer Berglas, then of Toronto, became acquainted with a Jewish convert named Rose (today Shoshana). My brother-in-law converted her. She was a very astute and bright young woman, a nephrologist at Toronto’s Northwestern University hospital.