Not For Jews Only

Category: Politics

Why Reform Jews should (partially) agree with Donald Trump about Pope Francis

At a press conference today Pope Francis, in a clear reference to Donald Trump’s immigration stance, said: “A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian. This is not in the gospel.” Donald Trump responded: “No leader, especially a religious leader, should have the right... Read more »

By Ed Nickow,
February 18, 2016 at 2:08 pm •

Scalia dies, Republicans plan for more obstructionism

Just hours after the death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, Conservative leaders and pundits have reacted with calls for obstructionism. Here’s a quick sampling on this quickly developing story. Sadly, it (the right-wing reaction, not Scalia’s death) should hardly be surprising. Here’s what Canadian-born Presidential candidate Ted Cruz had to say: Justice Scalia was... Read more »

By Ed Nickow,
February 13, 2016 at 5:59 pm •

District 211 bigots don't understand compromise, minority rights or the Bible

Yesterday the District 211 school board approved a settlement with a transgender student that will allow her access to the girls’ locker room. The student agreed to use a private area of the locker room, and the district says the settlement applies only in this case and does not establish a district-wide policy. The school... Read more »

By Ed Nickow,
December 3, 2015 at 2:50 pm •

Ted Cruz's Tisha B'av Pandering

Today is Tisha B’av – the 9th day of Av, a day on which Jews mourn the destruction of the first and second temples in Jerusalem, and many other disasters that have occurred on the same date. Actually, today is the 10th of Av. But because the 9th fell on Shabbat this year, the observance... Read more »

By Ed Nickow,
July 26, 2015 at 11:24 am •

The Week In Judaism: Interfaith Weddings, Netanyahu, Huckabee and Hatikvah

Here are a few interesting Jewish related stories which I came across last week. Interfaith Weddings On Tablet, Rabbi Adina Lewittes explains why she decided to officiate at interfaith weddings, even though it meant she would have to leave the Conservative Movement in which she has served for almost three decades. Although many Reform and Reconstructionist rabbis... Read more »

By Ed Nickow,
February 9, 2015 at 10:35 am •

Hobby Lobby's Birth Control Hypocrisy

A new article by Molly Redden in Mother Jones exposes the hypocrisy and dishonesty of the claims being made by the owners of Hobby Lobby that their deeply held religious beliefs mean they shouldn’t be required to obey the law and provide health insurance that covers certain medical services, including birth control, for women.... Read more »

By Ed Nickow,
April 2, 2014 at 11:42 am •

The Jewish Chicagoan Who Killed Lee Harvey Oswald

You no doubt know that today is the 50th anniversary of the assassination of President Kennedy in Dallas, Texas. You’ll hear and read a lot today about what America might be like had Kennedy not been killed. Although the Warren Commission concluded that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone, shooting JFK from a window on the 6th... Read more »

By Ed Nickow,
November 22, 2013 at 10:48 am •

The Death Penalty Challenge: Should We Have Killed Joseph Franklin?

Shortly after 6:00 this morning, the State of Missouri killed Joseph Franklin. A white supremacist trying to start a race war, Franklin was blamed for nearly two dozen killings between 1977 and 1980. He was on death row for the 1977 murder of Gerald Gordon outside the Brith Sholom Kneseth Israel synagogue in St. Louis.... Read more »

By Ed Nickow,
November 20, 2013 at 10:01 pm •

Senator Kirk Says Stroke Changed His Mind On Marriage Equality

Last month, Senator Rob Portman announced he was reversing his position on marriage equality. Two years after learning that his son was gay (and only after he had been considered as a potential running mate for Mitt Romney) the Ohio Republican decided that “the government shouldn’t deny [two people who love each other] the opportunity... Read more »

By Ed Nickow,
April 2, 2013 at 1:01 pm •

Mark Kirk Shows He's Not A Moderate

On Tuesday afternoon, as Chicago was being buried under a blanket of cold, wet snow, Mark Kirk gave the cold shoulder to the idea of cooperation and bipartisanship in the United States Senate. Joining such “moderates” as Rand Paul, Ted Cruz and James Inhofe, Kirk voted to continue the GOP’s obstructionist agenda by supporting... Read more »

By Ed Nickow,
February 26, 2013 at 8:00 pm •

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