Day schools are a powerful tool in ensuring lifelong commitment to Judaism, but the number of non-Orthodox Jews enrolling their children in such schools has been in steep decline. To reverse the current trend, argues Liel Leibovitz, some things will have to change:

Let’s begin with the lowest hanging fruit, Jewish foundations and philanthropists who, while talking so brave and so sweet about Jewish continuity and other buzzwords, have failed to provide the basic infrastructure for Jewish education to thrive. . . . [N]ot a single Jewish federation—organizations whose only raison d’être should be answering challenges like this one—has made education a serious priority.

The fault is also, finally, ours. Many of us non-Orthodox Jews can’t afford the exorbitant cost of Jewish education. Many more prefer more cosmopolitan, multifaceted educational environments. That’s perfectly understandable. Others, however, are in a position to pledge their resources and make Jewish education a priority and yet choose to limit their engagement with Jewish life to vague laments about the disappearance of liberal Judaism and mild nostalgia for its glory days. That’s a shame. If we realign our commitments and our budgets, we can change the numbers on Jewish education and, with it, just about every other statistic we deem vital to the preservation and prosperity of a robust and diverse Jewish community.

For some time, opponents of U.S support for Israel have been urging the White House to end the war in Gaza, or simply calling for a ceasefire. Douglas Feith and Lewis Libby consider what such a result would actually entail:

Ending the war immediately would allow Hamas to survive and retain military and governing power. Leaving it in the area containing the Sinai-Gaza smuggling routes would ensure that Hamas can rearm. This is why Hamas leaders now plead for a ceasefire. A ceasefire will provide some relief for Gazans today, but a prolonged ceasefire will preserve Hamas’s bloody oppression of Gaza and make future wars with Israel inevitable.

For most Gazans, even when there is no hot war, Hamas’s dictatorship is a nightmarish tyranny. Hamas rule features the torture and murder of regime opponents, official corruption, extremist indoctrination of children, and misery for the population in general. Hamas diverts foreign aid and other resources from proper uses; instead of improving life for the mass of the people, it uses the funds to fight against Palestinians and Israelis.

Moreover, a Hamas-affiliated website warned Gazans last month against cooperating with Israel in securing and delivering the truckloads of aid flowing into the Strip. It promised to deal with those who do with “an iron fist.” In other words, if Hamas remains in power, it will begin torturing, imprisoning, or murdering those it deems collaborators the moment the war ends. Thereafter, Hamas will begin planning its next attack on Israel:

Hamas’s goals are to overshadow the Palestinian Authority, win control of the West Bank, and establish Hamas leadership over the Palestinian revolution. Hamas’s ultimate aim is to spark a regional war to obliterate Israel and, as Hamas leaders steadfastly maintain, fulfill a Quranic vision of killing all Jews.

Hamas planned for corpses of Palestinian babies and mothers to serve as the mainspring of its October 7 war plan. Hamas calculated it could survive a war against a superior Israeli force and energize enemies of Israel around the world. The key to both aims was arranging for grievous Palestinian civilian losses. . . . That element of Hamas’s war plan is working impressively.