Benjamin Lau, at The Blogs

Benjamin Lau

Jun 3, 2026, 3:05 PM

Easy to enter, hard to leave: Israel’s return to Lebanon

Troops of the Golani Brigade's Reconnaissance Unit operate at the Beaufort Castle in southern Lebanon, in a handout photo published on May 31, 2026. (Israel Defense Forces)

With Israelis divided sharply for decades over an IDF presence in Lebanon, leaders must explain the war's objectives to win the people's necessary support

Jul 30, 2023, 7:06 AM

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The Knesset’s Pyrrhic victory

Coalition lawmakers take a celebratory selfie in the Knesset plenum, as they pass the first of the judicial overhaul laws, July 24, 2023. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

The desire to subjugate the other side threatens the Jewish homeland; now, everyone must set aside being right in favor of peace

Dec 11, 2020, 3:54 PM

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On same-sex couples in the Orthodox Jewish community

Illustrative: Religious Jewish activists protest same-sex parenting and LGBTQ families, across from LGBTQ advocates in Tel Aviv, December 16, 2018. (Tomer Neuberg/Flash90)

'It is not good for a person to be alone' – regardless of their sexuality. On coming out, finding a partner, tying the knot, and having children

Mar 26, 2020, 10:53 AM

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Can Kaddish be said in a virtual minyan?

Kaddish at home. (Photo montage, Gil Be'eri)

Guidelines to enable those who are reluctant to give up communal daily prayer to fulfill their prayer needs, by remote connection

Dec 23, 2019, 12:39 AM

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Not my Jewish Home

There is no room in the religious Zionism I know for any party that accepts Meir Kahane's racist doctrine

Feb 25, 2019, 4:05 PM

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To my community I say: This is a terrible stain

I stand by what I told my congregants this Sabbath: The Otzma Yehudit party is based on race theory and this should horrify us

Jan 10, 2019, 3:16 PM

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Jewish terror undermines our right to our land

Illustrative: Students pray at the Pri Haaretz yeshiva in Rehelim (Screen capture/YouTube)

There must be one consistent law in Israel, for Jews and Arabs alike

Feb 10, 2018, 10:53 PM

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A Jewish response to the plight of Israel’s African migrant workers

Illustrative: Students and teachers from Seminar Ha'kibbutzim protest against the deportation of African asylum seekers, in Tel Aviv, January 24, 2018. (Tomer Neuberg/ FLASH90)

Both Judaism and democratic values demand that we treat African migrants humanely, for they too are created in the image of God

Jan 26, 2018, 6:17 AM

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Hearing the cry of God’s children

A father and son protest the planned deportations outside of the Rwandan Embassy on January 22, 2018. (Melanie Lidman/Times of Israel)

These are children who lost their families to war, ethnic cleansing and murder; how can we ignore them?

Feb 6, 2017, 10:29 PM

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There’s no stopping women’s spiritual leadership

Maharat Ruth delivered the sermon on the second day of Rosh Hashanah just one month into her new job. (photo credit: Ben Zehavi)

The Orthodox Union's statement against female spiritual leaders is an expression of weakness and fear

About Me

Rabbi Dr. Benjamin “Benny” Lau is the head of the Bavua Center, an educational initiative in Israel dedicated to advancing the educational, social, and cultural charter of "Judaism that sees the human face," which promotes inclusivity, tolerance, and human rights.