In today's world, though some people may like to think otherwise, discrimination happens in many places every day. Today I read an article talking about the Diaspora Affairs Ministry's report on anti-semitism in the world today. According to the statistics stated by the report, there is much more anti-semitism than anyone would think. The report also said that 55% of Muslims living in Western Europe have some anti-Semitic beliefs. I believe that this number is too high. I feel that, while there are certainly some anti-Semitic feelings in the world, there is not that high of an amount. Surely, with all of the progress that has been made, more than 45% of Western European Muslims aren't anti-Semitic. I feel that the report may have been a little to a lot exaggerated. I do not believe that the figures stated in the report are fully accurate. Even though much of discrimination has been diminished, it is important for us all to remember that if we see someone being discriminated against, we must help them get through that, and perhaps join forces to stop the discrimination

For the article, click this link:
http://www.timesofisrael.com/israels-2015-report-on-anti-semitism-paints-dismal-picture/

Today, in Jewish History class, we were discussing the idea of separation of church and state. The argument was whether public transportation should be allowed to continue during Shabbat. In my opinion, I believe that it should be allowed to keep running, simply because this country of Israel is home to more people than just Orthodox Jews, and in order to help them as well, we must leave public transportation running. The counter argument is that, because Israel is widely considered a "Jewish State," we must follow Jewish law. Now, what exactly makes a country dedicated to one religion? Is it that that religion has majority? No, because if that were true, America, England, and many other countries would be considered Christian states. Is it that the country was founded by members of that religion primarily for that religion? No, because if that were true, America would once again be called a "Christian State" which it is not. Until "Jewish State" can be clearly defined, it is hard to make a point that a country should follow that religion's rules. Once a "religious state" can be clearly defined, then an argument can be made. But until then, the answer is fairly clear.

My name is Jack, and I'm a student from Washington D.C. studying in Israel for four months.  In Jewish history class on Thursday, we were talking about if all of the choices for how to partake in Judaism have led us all too far from each other.  Yesterday, I was walking around the Kotel, and it suddenly occurred to me, as I looked at all of the other guys wearing yalmulkes, I realized that I was wearing a ski cap with "Steelers" (the name of my favorite American football team) written on it, while walking around the Western Wall.  Today, during Shabbat services, we said a prayer to the tune of the song "Hey There Delilah".  I then started to think about the question of, have we come too far from our roots as Jews?  With everything that we, as reform Jews do differently from tradition, do we move too far away from our starting point?  In my opinion, we have not.  I believe that every time we do something differently, it enables us to become more connected in our own specific way. If we all tried to connect in only one way, more than half of us would likely not be successful.  It is important for us to remember that we are all our own person, and we each require separate methods to partake in Judaism.