A page of Talmud. Photo: Chajm Guski/Wikimedia

JNS.org – I wrote last week about the most famous biblical commandment: “love thy neighbor.” We shared commentary by Nachmanides (the Rambam) on how we mustn’t harbor hate in our hearts but rather confront the person who we believe wronged us. That way, we will be able to keep the peace between us and ultimately be able to fulfill the commandment to love thy neighbor.

The problem is that not everyone enjoys being confrontational. I don’t have any statistics, but I would imagine that most people tend to shy away from confrontation. The average person has neither the desire nor the gumption for a fight. That’s why we usually turn a blind eye to an affront and overlook it, or say that we’ve forgiven the other person or that it’s not important, and drop it from our agenda. It’s easier and less stressful to just “forget about it.”

But if we truly loved the other person, we wouldn’t just walk away. We would address the issue at hand so this person doesn’t make it onto our “enemies list.” Furthermore, if we cared about that individual, we would actively seek their betterment. We would show them where they erred, so it might help them improve their conduct and character to become better human beings.

Starting at nightfall on May 15 and continuing through the following day is Lag B’Omer, the 33rd day of the omer, which is the counting of 49 days between Passover and Shavuot. It is a festive day in an otherwise mournful period. The legendary Talmudic sage Rabbi Akiva had 24,000 students, but a terrible plague took their lives with a few notable exceptions. On Lag B’Omer, the plague ceased, hence the celebrations on that day.

The Talmud says that the plague occurred because the students “did not conduct themselves with respect toward one another.” But this raises a serious question. Of all people, surely, it was the students of Rabbi Akiva who should have exemplified brotherly love and healthy relationships. After all, it was their very own teacher—Rabbi Akiva himself—who taught those immortal words about the mitzvah to love thy neighbor, saying: “This is the great principle of the Torah.” So, how could his students be so unknowledgeable about such a core Torah teaching?

In a brilliant and rather original approach, the Lubavitcher Rebbe—Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson—explains that the students’ “disrespect” actually stemmed from their love for their colleagues. Its origin was from a place of concern for their friends and fellow students.

Seeing as we are taught that “there are 70 faces (interpretations) to the Torah,” each of Rabbi Akiva’s students interpreted his teachings from their singular perspective. Because their friends did the same, they each saw it differently. And precisely because they loved one another, they tried to convince their colleagues of the error in their thinking and bring them onto what they considered to be the “right track.”

Sadly, though, as they each had the same concern for their fellow and each one was convinced that his understanding of their teacher’s lesson was correct, there were unhealthy disagreements and disrespect. While that was unfortunate, it did come from a good place. You see, if you really love someone, you will try to get them to see the authentic truth as you see that truth.

It applies in many areas of life. The old American safe-driving slogan “Friends don’t let friends drive drunk” was simple, but clever. If you are truly a friend, you will not allow another to kill himself or others by driving under the influence. A friend will take away the keys. Give him a lift, call an Uber, let him spend the night and sleep it off.

People are often told to “mind your own business.” But there are times when we must make something our business; otherwise, innocent lives may be lost.  When it’s a matter of life and death, minding our own business is hazardous. It’s not only indifferent, it’s insensitive and uncaring—and downright dangerous.

Sure, most people don’t want or choose to get involved. They say, “I don’t need this in my life!” But if they really care, they get involved.

It is general practice that if we see someone standing on a bridge or top of a building and threatening to jump, we try to stop them in any way we can. Not only firemen and emergency workers, but total strangers and passers-by will do their level best to coax the person down to safety.

Yes, people have the “democratic right” to do with themselves as they please. But, thankfully, humanity still has some values left, and we generally do our very best to save a life, even if it is a troubled one. (Some say especially if it is a troubled one.)

It may be none of our business, but if we care, we will make it our business. While it’s usually much easier to mind our own business, very often, true love demands we get involved.

The post Mind Your Own Business? Not When You Care first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

The Al Jazeera Media Network logo is seen on its headquarters building in Doha, Qatar, June 8, 2017. Photo: REUTERS/Naseem Zeitoon

JNS.org – If you ever doubted that universities care more about money than principles, look no further than their willingness to accept donations from Qatar.

For those unaware, Qatar is a hereditary autocracy that bans political parties, criminalizes dissent, censors the press and has a long record of human-rights abuses, including labor exploitation and human trafficking. Its state-run media network, Al Jazeera, is the principal media source of anti-Israel propaganda in the Middle East. Qatar has also long funded and hosted terrorist groups that are sworn enemies of the West, including the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, Al-Qaeda, the Taliban and ISIS.

“Qatar’s ideological alignment directly contradicts the values of Western nations that recognize these groups as terrorist organizations,” observed Michael Milshtein of the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies. Yet that has not stopped American universities from cozying up to Qatar for cash.

Doha has poured nearly $6 billion into American universities since 1981, making it the largest Arab donor in US higher education. In just one year, between 2023 and 2024, it donated $527 million. Much of this money is funneled through the Qatar Foundation, chaired by Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, mother of the current emir and wife of the former one. In the words of its founders, the foundation exists to “realize their ambitions for the future of Qatar.”

“Qatar’s goal is not to promote antisemitic or pro-Palestinian messages,” Gulf expert Ariel Admoni says, “but antisemitism and pro-Palestinian sentiments are byproducts of policies convenient for them.”

He added that “in Western countries, particularly within educated circles, the pro-Palestinian struggle is perceived as a ‘convenient’ cause. Consequently, from the Qatari perspective, this portrayal positions them favorably on what they consider to be the right side of public opinion, especially among the youth.”

Qatar has made 1,143 donations to 63 American universities. In the US Department of Education (DoE) database, only 101—just 9%—disclose what the money was used for.

Cornell University is the biggest beneficiary, receiving more than $2.1 billion. In 2001, it launched the Weill Medical College in Qatar, with the emirate pledging $750 million in 11 years, including undisclosed “fees” to Cornell. According to a 2024 report from the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy (ISGAP), Cornell failed to report $1.4 billion of this funding (out of $3 billion in unreported contributions for campuses in Qatar).

More than $1.2 billion in Qatar funding previously attributed to Northwestern and Georgetown universities was also inexplicably deleted from the February 2024 DoE report.

Qatar also attempts to exert influence through donations to prestigious university centers. It has contributed, for example, to the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy at Rice University in Texas, which was also supported at one point by the Al Jazeera Media Network of Qatar. Diplomats can also get an education from Georgetown University in Qatar, initially called the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar. The Qatar Foundation collaborated with the Institute for Global Law and Policy at Harvard Law School to establish a graduate law school at Hamad Bin Khalifa University in Doha. Harvard received a $1 million donation from Qatar in 2024, but no further details were provided.

Academic freedom suffers when oppressive regimes control the purse strings. Northwestern’s campus in Doha censored a Lebanese band with a gay lead singer. A professor was reportedly dismissed for expressing pro-Israel views. These are not isolated incidents; they are symptoms of a deeper rot. Money from autocratic regimes inevitably comes with strings, spoken or unspoken. When universities accept these funds, they assume those strings.

In a rare act of financial sacrifice, Texas A&M announced that it would close its program in Qatar after 21 years, just three years after renewing a 10-year contract. To that point, the DoE recorded seven contributions worth almost $105 million. According to The Washington Post, the previous contract was worth more than $750 million, so the decision was costly. The public reason given was regional instability and changing institutional priorities; however, some believed it was related to a report by ISGAP raising concerns about Qatari access to nuclear-energy research. The university claimed this was misinformation and had no bearing on the decision to leave Qatar.

The Department of Education under the first Trump administration warned that Qatar, along with China, Russia and Saudi Arabia, was “targeting their investments to project soft power, steal sensitive and proprietary research, and spread propaganda.” The hope was that the administration would take measures to prevent universities from taking Qatari cash, or at least demand transparency and accountability.

But what chance is there of that now that we know Trump is prepared to accept a $400 million airplane from the emirate that is seen by many as a bribe?

American universities are supposed to stand for truth, freedom and critical inquiry. Many, however, are willing to trade those values for petrodollars from a regime that criminalizes dissent, bankrolls terror and censors scholars. It’s not just a betrayal of academic integrity. It’s a betrayal of the very ideals that higher education is meant to uphold.

The post Universities Are Selling Out to Qatar, and Selling Off Their Integrity first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

Nael Sami Samara, a 36-year-old from Bruqin, the West Bank, who is believed to be connected to the murder of Tze’ela Gez while she was on her way to hospital to give birth. Photo: 27A according to Israeli copyright law

i24 News – The Israel Defense Forces and Shin Bet security agency believe that the murderer of Tze’ela Gez last week, who was slaughtered in cold blood while on her way to give birth in the hospital, was killed on Saturday by security forces in the West Bank.

Nael Sami Samara, a 36-year-old Palestinian, is suspected of being connected with the terror attack, although it is unclear if he was the shooter.

Samara was killed in Bruqin, near the Jewish community of Bruchin in the northern West Bank and close to where the attack occurred.

Samara’s brother was also captured by the forces for interrogation, as well as several members of his extended family. The Shin Bet detained several more suspects for investigation. In parallel, the siege on the two villages, Bruqin and a-Dik, continues as the terrorist has not been definitively identified.

“As part of the manhunt for the terrorist who carried out the shooting attack in which Tze’ela Gez was killed, targeted sweeps were performed by IDF soldiers directed by the Shin Bet in the village of Bruqin, close to the scene of the attack,” the IDF and Shin Bet spokespersons said in a joint statement. “This morning, several suspects were arrested for involvement in the attack. During the arrest of one of the suspects, a terrorist was identified running towards the forces while holding a bag carrying suspected explosives and shouting ‘Allahu Akbar.’ In face of the immediate threat, the soldiers engaged and neutralized the terrorist. None of our forces were injured.”

The post Terrorist Murderer of Pregnant Woman Believed to Have Been Eliminated first appeared on Algemeiner.com.