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Can we talk about kitniyot?

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 Originally appeared in Arutz Sheva/Israel National News Without the kitniyot issues, we would be one more step closer to being simply “Jews of Israel”, instead of being Ashkenazi or Sephardi Jews, or Jews from Morocco, Ethiopia, or India.   Sukkot (Sukos) wasn’t even over, and I saw ads for Pesach (Passover) trips. So, I guess it is ok to bring up the topic of kitniyot now. Even though, it can be said that kitniyot is just a minor topic demonstrating how different groups practice Judaism, why won’t anybody talk about it?   Let’s start with defining what is kitniyot . It is an Ashkenazic minhag (custom) developed in the Middle Ages to not eat certain foods known collectively as legumes (“ kitniyot ”). There are three reasons for the minhag : (a) kitniyot  is harvested and processed in the same manner as chametz (leaven or food mixed with leaven); (b) it is ground into flour and baked just like chametz [so people may mistakenly believe that if they can...
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Imagine the World Without Alcoholic Beverages.

 As appeared in  Israel National News/Arutz Sheva .    Archaeological evidence of a large number of vineyards and wine presses in ancient Israel date back to around 3000 BCE, the early Bronze Age. Many people in the mid-East were employed in the growing and harvesting of grapes, wine storage, and transport of precious wines throughout the world. This entire wine industry was abruptly ended 3,600 years later upon the Muslim invasion of the Holy Land in 634 CE. A new religion founded only 24 years earlier; Islam was expanding throughout the Mideast by conquering and domination. According to Islamic Shariah law , Israel’s large Mediterranean wine industry was forbidden and therefore, destroyed, as alcohol consumption of any kind is forbidden to Muslims (Qur’an 2:219, 4:43, 5:90).  This decree remained largely in effect until the mid to late 1800s when the Ottoman Empire allowed Jews to return to the Land of Israel. Tens of thousands of them came from all par...
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The Imperial Museum Must Correct Its Own Errors.

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Appeared on my Times of Israel blog.    We have just returned from a wonderful vacation in London, England. As history enthusiasts, we visited a number of museums, one of which was the Imperial War Museum ( IWM ).   Recently, there have been articles ( The Guardian and The Times of Israel ) noting that a retired academic museum visitor, and two eminent historians, pointed out that the Explanation Card regarding the Nuremberg race laws is incorrect in the IWM’s Holocaust exhibit. I would like to add my visit experience and point out an additional misrepresentation.   First, it must be said that we had a moving visit to the Imperial War Museum, London. There was a wide variety of information and personal stories, which were all presented very interestingly in various ways.   However, in the Holocaust exhibit, the display (in German) depicting the Nazi perspective of racial genealogy determining who is a Jew (and thus, subject to genocide), the Ex...
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