Since 2001, I’ve done a weekly email, currently titled “Here & Now,” subscribed to by hundreds Who-Put-Up-With-Me-Weekly. Today, with antisemitism, masquerading as “anti-Zionism,” rampaging even here in the U.S., we grassroots must not be silent. We must not only refute malevolent myths defaming our people’s three-millennia homeland history from “King David was as real as King Arthur” through Israel committing “genocide” of Arabs, but exhibit our pride in our homeland and peoplehood. That’s what this Grassroots American Jewish Street, my book Here & Now: U.S. Jews and the Issues Confronting Us, and my weekly emails posted here as a blog are about.
#1327 6/21/26
In Israel’s unprecedented isolation, it’s more important than ever for us grassroots U.S. Jews to stand with Israelis against “genocide!” etc. canards.
#1326 6/14/26
This week, I cite four readers’ website comments to last week’s emailed and posted blog on grassroots recognition of Israel-bashing to beguile you into joining in website commenting. Come speak on our Street.
#1325 6/7/26
Ok, so a poll this week shows our U.S. Jewish grassroots recognizes the reality of anti-Israel media bias. But, alas, given the self-destructive terminology of many of our major organizations, it rests with us grassroots to confront it.
#1324 5/31/26
What’s most disturbing about a new poll of U.S. Jews isn’t just younger ones favoring replacing Israel with a “binational” state, but almost four-fifths of all ages favoring either that or “two-state solution” that would turn our Jewish national home into a Jewishly meaningless indefensible Jewish national ghetto. What can we do? I make a suggestion, come see.
#1323 5/24/26
Israel bashing by political bigs, abetted by media and activists, has reached a disparagement tone and intensity point that dispassionate refutations are no longer adequate. Time’s come to toss in a bit of reciprocal irreverence. A commenter to our last week’s #1322 post links video of pro-Israel grassroots going at this in Europe.
#1322 5/17/26
Yes, the New York Times’ shocking “Israel dog-rapists” article, timed by the NYT to blunt Israelis’ shocking report on the magnitude of Hamas’ sexual violence in its Oct. 7 invasion, is a literal kick in us Jews’ groin. But that’s not the mainstream media’s most devastating kick at us this week. Losing sight of that exacerbates America’s Newspaper of Rectum’s intended impact.
#1321 5/10/26
Last week I quoted JNS’ Jonathan Tobin warning that many Jews “have internalized some of the most unfortunate tropes of traditional antisemitism.” Here this very next week are cases of many British Jews and a small group of JTS rabbinical students doing just that.
#1320 5/3/26
Jonathan Tobin has a thoughtful JNS article this week on what’s causing the precipitous decline in American public support for Israel, and what we Jews here can and can’t do about it. I throw in some suggestions.
#1319 4/26/26
This week in Israel was Yom Hazikaron followed next day by Yom Ha’atzmaut, memorial to the fallen followed by celebration of redeemed independence. Both have meaning and a call for action for us.
#1318 4/19/26
A majority of Democratic U.S. Senators voting this week to bar arms’ sales to Israel doesn’t just disrespect Jewish Dems, that Party’s taken-for-granted super-loyal ethnic constituency. It endangers our Jewish people’s homeland and disrespects all of us Jews. Jewish Dems, don’t switch to the GOP. Stand up in your Party against this unjust policy, regaining respect for Israel, yourselves and us all.
#1317 4/12/26
With Israel being unprecedentedly vilified the world over, it’s incumbent upon us grassroots American Jews to counter the deepest-cutting delegitimizing canard that “the West Bank, including East Jerusalem” is “Israeli-occupied.”
#1316 4/5/26
We all live on our grassroots American Jewish street. In this time of vicious assaults on Israel and Jews, come practice what President Trump encourages us, “Be proud of who you are,” by outspokenly commenting on posts on my and others’ blogs on Our Grassroots American Jewish Street on our grassroots website.
#1315 3/29/26
Among the misstatements we ourselves make, exacerbating calumnies hurled at our Jewish people’s homeland and us, is that “the Western Wall prayer area is all that remains of Jerusalem’s Temple Mount.” On the contrary, the Temple Mount substantially stands, eloquent evidence of our claim to Jerusalem written in stone.
#1314 3/22/26
Our Jewish people’s homeland has NEVER been as internationally vilified as in these days. This affects its Diaspora supporters like you and me, as does so much of our U.S. Jewish community not sharing our homeland pride and support. Here’s my plea: Read a moving book about Israel, and plead with a less supportive fellow to read it.
#1313 3/15/26
Among the criticisms of the U.S. and Israel’s joint attacks in Iran is one not surprisingly aimed at us: “Trump’s Fighting Israel’s War.” It’s America’s war as well, and it has been going on since the ayatollahs took over Iran. All on our joint side must make that clear.
#1312 3/8/26
It’s American Jewish organizations’ role to conduct dialog with the hierarchy of American Christian denominations wrongfully demonizing Israel, but we grassroots should try to explain to their grassroots that their perception of our Jewish people’s claim to our historic homeland is fundamentally flawed. Join me in endeavoring to commence this discussion.
#1311 3/1/26
This week’s “Palestine’s Draft Constitution” reveals zero chance of “living side-by-side in peace and security,” but that’s not the fundamental unthinkability of “two-state solution.”
#1310 2/22/26
President Trump’s right at least about this: We grassroots American Jews must openly manifest pride in our lifestyle, our people and its homeland – i.e., in ourselves. Being personally part of my website’s “Grassroots American Jewish Street” is one way of doing this. We all live on this street. Come on out and live a little.
#1309 2/15/26
The “Two-State Solution” is very much out there, and we have to join with Israelis that to us it’s Unthinkable.
#1308 2/8/26
By me, among the most damaging of the loaded lexicon’s Jewish homeland delegitimizing pejoratives is “West Bank.” Those of us who’ve railed against this haven’t done particularly well getting even we American Jews to stop saying it. But a WSJ article this week shows we so-seen unrealistic fanatics are no longer alone.
#1307 2/1/26
During his October visit to Israel, VP Vance reiterated Trump’s “Israel will not annex the West Bank.” This came up again now with Israel’s PM’s restated rejection of “Two-State Solution.” My letter asks VP Vance to stand with Israel on this existential issue for us.
#1306 1/25/26
Gov. Shapiro’s approach to “saving the soul” of his political party must not be ours.
#1305 1/18/26
All of us grassroots American Jews should heed President Trump’s counsel to us in the Bondi Beach Hanukkah celebration’s shootings to “be proud of who you are.” Resolve to reinvigorate that feeling this year by reading a stirring gripping Israel book. Out of my thousand, I recommend one of those below on the Aliyah Bet.
#1304 1/11/26
Last week I stated my 2026 New Year’s Resolution. Here’s my suggestions for yours.
#1303 1/4/26
I incorporate three public persons’ statements in my New Year’s Resolution tonight: President Trump’s that we U.S. Jews should manifest pride in who we are; House Speaker Mike Johnson’s that “two-states” opposition’s bottom line is “Judea and Samaria belong to Israel”; and ZOA’s Mort Klein’s recognition that many American Jews who believe in “a two-state solution” are well-intentioned and believe they’re pro-Israel, from which I believe we should approach dissuading such Jews through persuasion, not calling them names.
#1302 12/28/25
Here’s my picks for our most inspiring and most self-disrespecting happenings in 2025, and most unlikely in 2026
#1301 12/21/25
What’s our strongest response to current murderous attacks upon us as Jews? Australia’s own Jews and President Trump are showing us the way – proudly openly manifest our lifestyle as American Jews. I invite you to consider doing so including through participating in my website’s Grassroots American Jewish Street.
#1300 12/14/25
So it seems not just me but the Congress has concerns over Trump’s “Israel will not annex the West Bank.” But the message for us Jewish grassroots, as one Israeli news service has put it, is that “a two-state solution” isn’t inevitable. It’s unthinkable.
#1299 12/7/25
President Trump again warned Europe this week it’s courting what BBC says he calls “civilisational erasure,” which, ironically, Europe’s calling for Israel through fatal “two-states.” May Europe wake up and see the common danger of both to Western civilization.
#1298 11/30/25
Recent statements by friends of Israel President Trump and Senator Graham on the heels of so many of us voting for no-friend Mamdani show we grassroots must more actively make our Jewish people’s homeland case to both of our country’s political parties.
#1297 11/23/25
With Israel being bashed worldwide worse than ever, we US Jews must stand with Israelis in uncompromisingly calling the land of Israel Ours. Our adversaries don’t call Jerusalem and Judea-Samaria “disputed.” They call them “Occupied Palestinian Territories,” i.e., Theirs.
#1296 11/16/25
Dershowitz just quit the Dems over their anti-Israel wave. But better to stay and strive to restore that Party’s historic support.
#1295 11/9/25
This week a third of New York’s Jewish voters voted Mamdani, spreading a stain of self-disrespect upon not just themselves. We all live, whether we proudly promenade on it or quietly practice sha shtil, on our Grassroots American Jewish Street. Come help Americans see we’re a proud vibrant community, living our American Jewish lifestyle and openly supporting our people’s historic homeland of Israel.
#1294 11/2/25
There’s one front in defending our Jewish people’s homeland in which we American Jews, not Israelis, must be in the forefront in claiming it’s ours, when our American President disses our claim to a core part, like calling applying sovereignty to Judea-Samaria “Israel annexing the West Bank.”
#1293 10/27/25
Hopefully, President Trump doesn’t fully grasp the double damage done by his statement “Israel will not annex the West Bank” – the denial of our claim to the heart of our homeland, and the pejorative terms in which he spoke that denial. I cited this double damage and asked him to reconsider.
#1292 10/26/25
WHILE YOU STAND ON ONE LEG: For quite a while now, I’ve increasingly felt a mounting disrespect by political powers that be here in America for our Jewish people’s historic homeland of Israel. And now the worst has come from where I’d thought unimaginable. We U.S. Jewish grassroots have to take a sober look at where things now stand and resolve on a realistic course aimed at rectifying it.
#1291 10/19/25
What has this collage of bar mitzvah and Jewish holidays photos to do with my weekly plea to you this week? Standing up for our people’s homeland starts with pride in our peoplehood. Here’s a place for us to share in showing it.
#1290 10/12/25
What I began back in 2001 as a weekly email to my fellow Jewish grassroots commenting on issues confronting us has now grown into a book and a website, affording you ability to help build a grassroots public square expressing all sides of issues plus a your-photos portrait of our U.S. Jewish life. Here’s a brief look at the site’s Grassroots American Jewish Street and at how you can contribute to its depiction of us.
#1289 10/5/25
We grassroots U.S. Jews need a website of our own, with multiple views on issues confronting us and comment threads, unaffiliated with any organization. So here’s Our Grassroots American Jewish Street. You live on it. Come make yourself heard.
#1288 9/28/25
I hope I’m wrong, but I fear that President Trump doesn’t adequately appreciate that Judea-Samaria is not just what makes Israel militarily defensible, but alongside historic Jerusalem makes our people’s land of Israel homeland more Jewishly meaningful than Uganda. Whose Job One is detoxifying Americans’, all the way up to the President’s, poisoned perceptions of western Palestine’s, the land of Israel’s, Jewishness? That of we grassroots American Jews. Read on for one grassroots way to play.
#1287 9/21/25
Wednesday night in Philly, ZOA’s Mort Klein called on Israelis to go on offense by deservedly demonizing their foes. Instead, we too often demonize ourselves. Here, in the shadow of the UN about to “recognize a Palestinian State,” is an example, an Israeli paper’s news article demonizing our people’s homeland and us.
#1286 9/14/25
What a week … anniversary of 9/11, assassination of inspiring influential American voice Charlie Kirk, UN General Assembly overwhelmingly adopting “Two-States.” What’s Jews’ appropriate response to that last? Bibi said it best.
#1285 9/7/25
America’s allies are pressing for “the two-state solution” this month at the UN. To my consternation, many of us grassroots U.S. Jews favor “Two-States,” which by me would be Jewishly and militarily fatal. I hope to present on a new website “for my book,” two contrary views, soliciting your evaluation and comments, on “Two-States,” by me and a fellow grassroots friend. In anticipation thereof, I appeal to you this week – beyond arguments based on history, geography and treaty niceties – that you look at “the two-state solution” not just as an objective Judge but as a partisan Jew.
