RSS
After Review, New York Times Stands by Its Editorial on Pausing Aid to Israel
Israeli soldiers respond to an alert of an apparent security incident, in Ashkelon, southern Israel, Oct. 10, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Amir Cohen
An editorial in the New York Times — published online over the weekend as Iranian missiles and drones were about to head for Israel and in print the morning after the attack — called for US President Joe Biden to “consider pausing military transfers to Israel.”
“America cannot continue, as it has, to supply Israel with the arms it has been using in its war against Hamas,” the Times editorial board said.
In addition to being tastelessly timed, the editorial was rife with factual and logical errors.
One of the most glaring mistakes came in the third sentence of the editorial, which referred to “the US commitment to Israel — including $3.8 billion a year in military aid, the largest outlay of American foreign aid to any one country in the world.”
In fact, according to ForeignAssistance.gov, an official US government site, Ukraine got $16.7 billion in 2023 and $12.4 billion in 2022, while Israel got $3.3 billion in both 2022 and 2023.
Even if the Times‘s $3.8 billion figure, perhaps reflecting missile defense expenditures or a boost in post-Oct. 7 emergency assistance, was accurate for Israel, the Ukraine sums were still significantly larger.
I emailed the New York Times to ask whether it would correct that error. The Times opinion editor, Kathleen Kingsbury, wrote back directly to tell The Algemeiner, “We have reviewed and stand by the piece as it stands. The reference is to the fact that Israel is cumulatively the largest recipient of American foreign aid, even as Ukraine has surpassed it on an annual basis in recent years.”
The editorial said, “[Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu has ignored his obligations to provide food and medicine to the civilian population in the territory that Israel now controls. In fact, Israel has made it difficult for anyone else to provide humanitarian aid to Gaza.”
It’s not accurate that Netanyahu has “ignored” that obligation; to the contrary, he’s devoted considerable resources to inspecting aid shipments going into Gaza and to reopening border crossings, even while knowing that a portion of the aid would be stolen by Hamas once it entered Gaza. The Israeli government has said that out of 5,893 aid trucks it inspected in the past month, it denied entry to only 29. Even the Times itself conceded that Hamas “bears a major share of responsibility for the suffering inflicted on the people in whose name it purports to act.”
Regarding US military aid, the editorial tried to draw a distinction, following the Biden administration, between “air defense systems and others used for strictly defensive purposes” and “offensive weapons.” Yet that was a false dichotomy. The “offensive” weapons have been used defensively by Israel to fight a terrorist group that the Times itself conceded was “an enemy sworn to its [Israel’s] destruction.”
The editorial claimed that Netanyahu “has, until recently, resisted diplomatic efforts for a cease-fire that might have led to a release of hostages still in the custody of Hamas.” That ignored the November 2023 humanitarian pause that led to the release of more than 100 hostages.
Nor did the Times explain the inconsistency between its backing of consideration of a pause in aid for Israel and its support of additional aid to Ukraine. In a recent editorial about Ukraine, the newspaper said, “Allowing Russia to impose its will on Ukraine would be a devastating blow to America’s credibility and leadership.” Wouldn’t allowing Iran-backed Hamas or Hezbollah to prevail against Israel have similar effects?
American Jewish leaders and pro-Israel politicians denounced the editorial.
“The New York Times continues to be egregiously biased against Israel — this weekend an editorial calling to condition aid to Israel,” said Abraham Foxman, national director emeritus of the Anti-Defamation League.
US Sen. John Fetterman, a Democrat from Pennsylvania, posted to social media a picture of the Times editorial headline, “Military Aid to Israel Cannot Be Unconditional,” with the comment, “No conditions.” Fetterman added an Israeli flag emoji for good measure.
Times online commenters, on the other hand, mostly applauded the editorial or complained that it hadn’t been issued sooner.
Most of the comments were posted on the Jewish sabbath, when traditionally religious Jews refrain from writing or using the internet. The Times let one commenter use only her first name to post that “there are no long [sic] any strategic excuses for abetting Netanyahu’s and Israel’s murderous criminality.” That comment was recommended by 1,048 Times readers as of this writing, offering a hint at the please-the-paying-online-readers dynamic that Kingsbury’s predecessor, James Bennet, has described as skewing the paper’s journalism for the worse.
Ira Stoll was managing editor of The Forward and North American editor of The Jerusalem Post. His media critique, a regular Algemeiner feature, can be found here.
The post After Review, New York Times Stands by Its Editorial on Pausing Aid to Israel first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Milan’s La Scala Theater Fires Usher Who Shouted ‘Free Palestine’ at Gala Event

People stand outside of the La Scala opera house on the day of the season opening of La Scala theater in Milan, Italy, Dec. 7, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Alessandro Garofalo
Milan’s famed La Scala opera house has fired one of its ushers after she shouted an anti-Israel slogan at a gala event attended by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni earlier this month, two trade unions said on Thursday.
The woman shouted “Free Palestine” as Meloni was taking her seat in the Royal Box at a May 4 concert in honor of the Asian Development Bank meeting in Milan, the theater’s trade unions said. Contacted by Reuters, La Scala had no immediate comment.
“In the dismissal order, signed by superintendent Fortunato Ortombina, it is emphasized that she betrayed trust by disobeying service orders, but we believe that she listened to her conscience,” the CUB union said in a statement.
“We will deploy all trade union actions to defend this brave girl who has our utmost solidarity,” CUB added.
Italy’s government has been a vocal supporter of Israel, but its foreign minister said on Wednesday Israel’s continued military campaign against the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas in the Gaza Strip had become unacceptable and had to stop immediately.
Israel launched its campaign on the Palestinian enclave in response to the devastating Hamas attack in southern Israel on Oct 7, 2023, that killed some 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage into Gaza.
In Italy, opposition parties are planning a rally on June 7 calling for an end to the war in Gaza, while unions at La Scala have asked for a banner to be put up before performances on June 6 and 11 saying “Ceasefire, stop the massacres.”
The post Milan’s La Scala Theater Fires Usher Who Shouted ‘Free Palestine’ at Gala Event first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Jewish Blood Is Spilled, and the Obamas Stay Silent
More than a week has passed since Israeli embassy employees Sarah Milgrim and Yaron Lischinsky were murdered in an antisemitic terror attack in America’s capital, Washington, D.C.
In the immediate aftermath of the heinous killing, which occurred at a May 21 event hosted by The American Jewish Committee (AJC), leaders from around the world and across the ideological spectrum offered words of support to the Jewish community, and expressed outrage at the brutal slaying.
Notably, one high-profile couple who preferred to stay quiet following last week’s murders is former US President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, who co-hosts the IMO Podcast with her brother Craig Robinson.
Nearly 10 years after leaving the White House, the Obamas remain pivotal and revered figures within the Democratic Party establishment. With almost 130 million followers, Barack Obama retains the second-largest following on the social media platform X.
Over the last decade, he has leveraged his influence to weigh in on a host of issues while campaigning alongside celebrities on behalf of Democratic candidates.
The choice of Obama to deliver the keynote address on the second night of last summer’s Democratic National Convention (DNC) illustrates how the former president is still setting the ideological tone of the Democratic Party and is considered the leader best suited to straddle the interests of progressives and centrists, as Democrats grapple with the direction of their coalition.
It is precisely this phenomenon that renders the Obamas’ actions since the October 7 massacre in Israel so troubling. Whether it’s feckless statements or marked silence, there is perhaps no couple that bears more responsibility for indulging the Democratic Party’s tolerance of the antisemitic and anti-Israel movement than the former first couple.
Pro-Israel Americans might very well conclude that their refusal to publicly condemn Lischinsky and Milgrim’s Jew-hating murderer is tied to a warped belief that placing sole blame on the gunman is to discount the geopolitical reasons behind his wicked rage. (Though it’s recently come out that besides hating Jews, he was also hoping for a genocide of white people).
The Obamas’ perverse silence and inversion of reality can be seen to convey that because they supported and worked on behalf of Israel, the murdered couple bear some culpability for their demise.
It was within this contextual framework that Obama implored Israel, in an October 23, 2023, column that was published in Medium, to exercise restraint in its war against Hamas.
That piece was followed by a November 2023 interview he gave on the Pod Save America podcast, an outlet whose hosts are, incidentally, both Obama administration alums and who, during a recent episode, shamelessly accused Israel of genocide.
During the 2023 discussion, as Israelis were still in the throes of memorials and fighting against Iranian proxy attacks, it was former President Obama who advanced a narrative popularized in progressive political orbits by claiming that “nobody’s hands are clean” — seemingly attempting to draw a moral equivalence between Israel and Hamas, a US-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO).
For her part, former first lady Michelle Obama, who has consistently tried to position herself as a paragon of feminist virtue, has yet to say a word about the October 7 brutal rape, torture, and mutilation of Israeli women at the hands of Palestinian terrorists.
Horrifying accounts by female captives of the sexual violence they were subjected to daily have failed to move the former first lady, who seems to devote most minutes of her new podcast to talking about herself and dispensing with any divorce rumors surrounding her marriage to “Barack.”
Michelle Obama’s stony silence in the face of Hamas’ assault against Israel stands in stark contrast to her expressed outrage back in 2014 over the ISIS-aligned foreign terrorist group Boko Haram kidnapping hundreds of Nigerian school girls. At the time, the former first lady appropriately and publicly joined the global “Bring Back Our Girls” campaign.
The Obamas’ refusal to acknowledge the murder of Sarah Milgrim, who was the same age as the former first couple’s eldest daughter at the time of her killing, and Yaron Lischinsky join their pattern of behaving with indifference and outright malice when it comes to confronting antisemitic violence.
The operational freedom that the “Free Palestine” movement enjoys across US cities and campuses, coupled with recent polling showing nearly half of younger Americans back Hamas over Israel, are crucial data points confirming that the grievance-driven playbook seemingly backed by the Obamas has inculcated a generation of Americans that is openly hostile to Israel and, by extension, Jews.
According to the Obamas’ intersectional worldview, Jewish victims are complicit in fomenting the antisemitic terror that now haunts them. Years after leaving the White House, they continue to permit this distorted thinking to enter the political consciousness of millions of Americans, and at least for the foreseeable future, the former president will be primarily tasked with shaping the Democrats’ discourse that, with rare exception, is turning against Israel. That is a very troubling sign for the future — both for Jews and all Americans.
Irit Tratt is an American and pro-Israel advocate residing in New York. Follow her on X @Irit_Tratt.
The post Jewish Blood Is Spilled, and the Obamas Stay Silent first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
The Solution to Israel’s Political and Judicial Discord Runs Through Each of Us

A general view shows the plenum at the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, in Jerusalem. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
In the midst of Israel’s ongoing political and judicial tensions, each side has become increasingly convinced that the other represents an existential threat to the nation we all love. The right fears that judicial overreach is undermining democratic will; the left fears democratic erosion and the loss of crucial checks and balances. Both sides believe they are fighting to save Israel, yet it is this polarization itself that poses, perhaps, the greatest danger to our collective future.
The question we must all ask ourselves, as honestly as possible, is deceptively simple but deeply challenging: How do I know whether I am part of the problem or part of the solution?
Years ago, while lecturing in America during the Obama administration, I proposed a litmus test: If you cannot name three positive aspects of the opposing political perspective, there is a high probability that, regardless of whether your position is factually correct, you are contributing to the problem rather than helping solve it.
This insight traces back to the Garden of Eden. According to Maimonides’ interpretation of Genesis, humanity’s original sin was essentially subjectivity, confusing what feels good with what is good, and what feels bad with what is bad. Once trapped in this subjective bubble, we convince ourselves that those we dislike do only wrong, while those we admire do only right. The human mind becomes an exceptional attorney, skillfully marshaling evidence to support our predetermined conclusions while dismissing contradictory facts.
This pattern repeats across contexts: in marriages heading toward divorce, in fragmenting communities, and in nations tearing themselves apart politically. If you cannot engage in self-criticism while acknowledging something positive about your opponents, you usually have become part of the destructive cycle.
After proposing this test during my American lecture, an audience member immediately responded, “I completely agree, I wish the Democrats understood that.” I just paused, and after letting her statement sink in, I responded, “Okay, can you say three good things about Barack Obama?” And she said, “Sure.” I said, “Go on.” And she paused, for a long while until she finally said, “He’s a good family man.” I said, “No, can you tell me anything about his policies or his politics?” She was stuck. I told her, “I’m not blaming you, but the statistical likelihood that all the good is on one side and all the problems are on the other side is statistically zero.” The same holds true for us here in Israel, and in every polarized society. The statistical probability that all wisdom and virtue reside on one side of a complex political divide — while all error and vice occupy the other — is effectively zero.
Israel’s situation demands this same honest self-reflection. Our judicial reform debates have exposed deep fault lines in Israeli society, with each side viewing the other through lenses clouded by fear and anger. These emotions, while natural, distort our perception and impair our judgment.
The healing of our nation begins with individual responsibility. We must learn to see the world through the eyes of other — not necessarily to agree with them, but to understand why reasonable, ethical people might hold views diametrically opposed to our own. Often, we discover that others share our fundamental concerns, but approach them from different angles.
Half the country did not suddenly decide to embrace evil. Whether left-wing or right-wing, our leaders’ rhetoric responds to and amplifies genuine worries felt by large segments of the population. If you cannot recognize the legitimacy of concerns on both sides, you are contributing to our national discord rather than its resolution.
The Torah teaches us that before we can repair the world, we must first repair ourselves. Israel’s healing will emerge first through individual transformation, then through small community dialogues, and only then will our national leadership respond to this grassroots change. Our leaders reflect our divisions because we, the people, remain divided.
This approach requires tremendous courage. It means questioning our certainties, acknowledging our biases, and recognizing that wisdom rarely belongs exclusively to any single perspective. It means being willing to say, “Perhaps I don’t have all the answers. Perhaps I need to listen more and judge less.”
The path forward for Israel requires us to move beyond seeing political opponents as enemies and instead recognize them as partners in a shared national project, even when we profoundly disagree. Our strength has always come from our diversity of thought and our capacity for vigorous debate within a framework of mutual respect and common purpose.
The solution to Israel’s discord runs through each of us individually as well as collectively. It begins when we look in the mirror and acknowledge our own contributions to the problem. It continues as we build bridges across divides, listen with genuine curiosity rather than waiting to respond, and seek understanding before demanding agreement.
Only then can we transform this period of conflict into an opportunity for growth and emerge as a stronger, more united Israel, not through imposed uniformity of thought, but through a richer, more nuanced appreciation of our shared destiny and diverse perspectives.
Rabbi Daniel Rowe currently serves as the Educational Visionary of Aish, a global Jewish educational institution, and resides in Jerusalem. He is originally from Manchester, UK, and is writing several books as well as his doctoral thesis on the Philosophy of Mathematics. Rabbi Rowe studied for almost a decade in Israel in various Talmudic institutes. Rabbi Rowe is known for his ability to tackle difficult topics and has numerous videos and articles online. He is an expert on Jewish and Muslim history and has given several talks on the subject of the Judeo-Muslim dynamic and interactions in the modern world.
The post The Solution to Israel’s Political and Judicial Discord Runs Through Each of Us first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login