Two weeks ago, just before I left for vacation, I was so upset by the UNSC vote-and in particular by the U.S. abstention--that those who attended services in the Chapel knew I was not myself that Friday night. The following morning, coming less than 24 hours after that vote, was not the right time for me to offer any sort of cogent reaction - and thank God we had 5 wonderful college students participating in a forum that morning, anyway. (In the final analysis, their experiences are summed up by: no news is good news. And, surprisingly, things seem to be worse, relatively, at Brandeis, then at Berkeley!).

Then, last week I was away...and so tomorrow morning I will endeavor to give you my take on that UNSC resolution and the speeches by Amb. Power and Secretary of State Kerry.

Well, my upset with the UN and the US has, once again, been supplanted by my upset and frustration with Israel. It comes in the form of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's suggestion on the day of his conviction, that Sgt. Elor Azaria should be pardoned. Thank God, under Israeli law, the Prime Minister is not granted the same authority to pardon that our President has! And thank God for Israeli courts, both military (in which, Azaria was convicted of manslaughter), civil (especially the Israeli High Court of Justice). You may recall some months ago that I shared with you series of articles about the disappointing, right-wing choice for Chief Chaplain of the Israel Defense Forces, including an analysis that in the long run, he will weaken rabbinic authority within the military, and that will allow the top brass to more forcefully press their enlightened, moral agenda. In the conviction of the Azaria we have just witnessed another shining example of Israeli justice, and I do not believe that he will be pardoned by the military or that his conviction will be overturned on appeal.

So why did Bibi weigh on this case if he has no say in the matter and no jurisdiction? Politics. He is currying favor with, and looking for votes down the road in the Sephardic/ Edot haMizrach (Middle Eastern communities), from which, Azaria comes. As I'm getting tired of saying, Bibi is a consummate politician, but he is no statesman. And as if this was not enough, Netanyahu's promises about a government-funded, aesthetically pleasing space along the Western Wall are moribund at best, his coalition seems to be on the verge of passing legislation that will attempt to legalize the stealing (yes, stealing, not confiscation), of Palestinian land in the West Bank, and he is allowing the Ministries of Religion, interior and Absorption to throw up more and more roadblocks against Masorti converts to Judaism who wish to make aliyah and be recognized as Jews by the State. Some of this is shameful out-and-out racism (especially with respect to olim from Africa); some of it is just sticking it to the non-Orthodox movements. It feels almost schizophrenic to be worried-sick about Israel and to defend her passionately one moment, and then to turn around and to condemn Israeli leadership with equal passion in the next.

And just to finish things off, with perhaps another ironic turn, I hope that more and more of you will consider joining me at

AIPAC's Policy Conference in Washington, DC on March 26, 27 and 28! Shab Sha!