Along with “abolish the police” another slogan has emerged recently from the radical left: “abolish foster care.” Behind the slogan are complaints about real failures of an imperfect system mixed with irrational claims that foster care is inherently racist. A parallel argument condemns white parents who adopt babies of other races. In a wide-ranging discussion, Malka Groden, Kathryn Lopez, and Naomi Schaefer Riley address these arguments and other problems affecting efforts to care for vulnerable children. Groden, herself a devout Jew and the adoptive mother of two biracial children, notes that when it comes to adoption only “religious voices” and “faith-based institutions” are committed to looking beyond race. (Video, one hour.)

After several weeks of passionate political conflict in Israel over judical reform, the tensions seem to be defused, or at least dialed down, for the time being. In light of this, and in anticipation of the Passover holiday soon upon us, Eric Cohen considers the way forward for both the Jewish state and the Jewish people. (Video, 8 minutes. A text is available at the link below.)