Opinion

CCTV footage of a “suspicious” person taking photos on the morning of Monday, December 16, outside of the Young Israel of Queens Valley was shared recently on a local Facebook group for Kew Gardens Hills. A lot of people posted their comments, most were concerned, and a shul representative said that the NYPD also thought it was suspicious and was looking into it. It was not just the taking of photos, but some of his mannerisms that called out a question.

Although January 1 is an important date on the secular calendar, it usually has little significance in the Torah community. Other than getting used to writing a different number on checks and having an extra day off (in Chutz LaAretz), it generally does not engender much excitement.

This past week, President Trump took the courageous and bold action and ordered the hit on Iranian General Qasem Soleimani, killing one of the leaders in global terror and a man responsible for the death of hundreds of Americans and countless others. Under normal circumstances, this would have been seen as a strategic and morally good decision, and would have received praise from the media and Democrats, with some outlying wonderment as to the ramifications of the act. These, however, are not normal times, because Donald Trump is President and he is reviled by the Left. Therefore, much of the reaction to this event has been thoroughly insane, even by the political standards of the day. Those reactions basically break down into five different groups:

Following a few bloody weeks in the New York/New Jersey area, there has finally been some outcry over the spate of anti-Semitic attacks on the Jews living there.  The belatedness of this outcry can be attributed to the fact that the Democrats in the area are having a tough time finding a way to blame President Trump.  Attacks on Jews do not matter unless the attackers fit a beneficial political narrative.  It is time to change that.  

 By now it may or may not have been widely covered – well, certainly covered in “fringe rags” like the New York Post and the Daily Mail, and barely covered in Leftist shill outlets like The New York Times and the Washington Post – that anti-Semitic hate crimes, and specifically violent attacks against Jews, are on a major upswing over the last couple of years.

Even after a rash of terrifying Anti-Semitism, the Jewish left still does not get it

As the secular year 2019 ends, we looked back last week at the top eight reasons that made Donald Trump the “first Jewish president.” So much positivity, and yet during this administration, our people have never experienced so many acts of violent anti-Semitism in this country, with the week of Chanukah having as many incidents in this state alone as the candles on a menorah.