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Douglas Aronin is a retired attorney living in Forest Hills, Queens, who is continuing his lifelong involvement in the Jewish community. His writings have appeared in a wide range of print and online forums.

Feedback on Neighbors and School Budgets:East Ramapo

A reader who is familiar the school situation in East Ramapo e-mailed me privately to clarify some......

Neighbors and School Budgets: Thinking about East Ramapo

It’s a familiar scenario. In some corner of suburbia a new or expanding community of Orthodox Jews takes root. Hoping to attract others – particularly young families -- the......

Changing of the Guard: Thoughts About Israel’s New President

Through an unusual combination of circumstances, Israelis and their supporters abroad have found themselves thinking recently about an institution that usually receives little attention. With Shimon Peres’s seven-year term......

The mayor and the Jewish question

When it comes to strengthening his relationship with New York City’s diverse and fractious Jewish community, Mayor Bill DeBlasio, who has held that office for a little over five......

Two lectures, unexpected connection

I have to admit that I was annoyed at first. It was the second day of Pesach, and the organizers of the hotel Pesach program we were attending had......

More than the sum of its problems: a Thought for Yom Haatzmaut

Of the variety of lectures and other presentations that were part of the hotel Pesach program my family attended this year, there is one whose title stands out in......

Counting Plagues: A Pre-Pesach Reflection

No matter how hard we try to bring a fresh perspective to each Seder, there’s no getting around the fact that the text of the Haggadah that we recite......

Blaming the messenger

The article, which ran on the front page of Saturday’s New York Times, was disturbing – but let’s not be too quick to jump on the Times. What I......

Eight years later: Thoughts on the passing of Ariel Sharon

If Ariel Sharon had died immediately after he suffered a massive stroke in January of 2006,......

Institutions predictions and journeys: Thoughts on Conservative Judaism

Almost all the findings of the Pew Research Center's comprehensive survey of American Jewry were bad news, but they were not all equally bad. Among those for whom the......

Principles and Peace: thoughts on the passing of Nelson Mandela

I’ve been thinking quite a bit over the last few weeks about one of my all-time favorite books. Harper Lee’s classic novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, depicts Depression –......

The value of calendrical coincidence: a post-Chanukah thought

Chanukah is over, but the holiday season of which it is often thought to be part is just getting started. In twenty-first century......

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