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January 23, 2025

Thoughts of a Rabbi Addressing His President

And video of the first rabbi to give an inauguration prayer.

At Donald Trump’s inauguration on Monday, Rabbi Ari Berman, the president of Yeshiva University, was invited to deliver a prayer. Berman was only the tenth rabbi to do so; the first was Rabbi Samuel Thurman of St. Louis, who spoke at Harry Truman’s inauguration. President Truman, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency notes, “had gotten to know Thurman in part through the Masonic fraternal movement.” You can see footage of Thurman’s benediction here. (Video, 2 minutes.)

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January 23, 2025

  1. Turkey’s Syrian Ambitions, and What They Mean for Israel

    Dreams of returning to the Ottoman Levant.

  2. The U.S. Must Stop Treating Islamists as Representatives of American Muslims

    Ban the Muslim Brotherhood.

  3. To Fight Anti-Semitism, and Crime, New York State Needs an Anti-Masking Law

    Both a popular policy and a smart one.

  4. Thoughts of a Rabbi Addressing His President

    And video of the first rabbi to give an inauguration prayer.

  5. Another Ancient Mikveh Discovered in Jerusalem

    A feature of an upscale Jewish house.