Rabbi Seth Goldstein has served as the rabbi of Temple Beth Hatfiloh in Olympia, WA since 2003, after graduating from the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in Philadelphia. He is a member of the board of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association, served as a co-chair of an RRA task force examining issues of Jewish status and identity, is a participant in the Clergy Leadership Program of the Institute for Jewish Spirituality and a fellow of CLAL's Rabbis Without Borders.

Tisha B’Av (“the ninth of Av”) is a day of fasting and mourning for the destruction of the ancient Temples in Jerusalem, and is observed this year beginning the evening of July 25. Like Yom Kippur, it is a full day fast (The fast is being observed on the 10^th of Av this year because the 9^th falls on Shabbat, and thus the fast is postponed.)

The Temple holds an important place in the collective spiritual consciousness of the Jewish people. It is seen as the place where the community was in deep and close connection to God. The destruction of the Temple led to the separation from the land, the dispersion of the community and a need to rebuild the ritual infrastructure of Judaism, so its loss is remembered as a great tragedy. In addition to setting aside this one day to mourn, prayers for the rebuilding of the Temple and Jerusalem punctuate our liturgy.

This week, Alpher sums up the Iran nuclear deal, discussing additional pros and cons for Israel; the most important criterion for Israel in addressing the Iran nuclear agreement; what should be on the agenda for Israeli-American talks regarding security assurances; and given the discussed rationales for Israel to line up behind the Iran deal, what still concerns him about the deal and its aftermath.

APN's daily news review from Israel

Sunday July 19, 2015
 

Quote of the day:

"It's possible he'll tell you 'Hello' and even make small talk with you. No need to be taken aback by the the niceness attack..."
--Yedioth writes about a new initiative in Israel: saying 'hello' to strangers.

Take Action to Support the Iran Deal – 6 Things You Can Do to Make a Difference

APN Press Release 9/10: APN Welcomes Senate Vote on Iran Deal

APN Press Release 9/10: APN Urges Congressional Opponents of Iran Deal to Stop Game-Playing

APN Press Release 9/2: APN Applauds 34 Senators Supporting Iran Deal; Urges Opponents to Halt Efforts to Kill the Deal

APN Board member Mark Silverberg in The Cleveland Jewish News 8/27: Why I support the proposed Iran nuclear deal

APN Board member Robert O. Freedman in The Baltimore Sun 8/5: The next 15 years for the U.S. and Israel

APN's Lara Friedman in the Huffington Post 8/14: Cheap Claims of Anti-Semitism Can't Change Reality of Iran Deal Lobbying

APN Board Member Sidney Topol in the Boston Globe 8/12: Listen to the experts and support the Iran deal

APN Board Member Danny Goldberg in the Huffington Post 8/12: My Dad and Chuck Schumer

APN’s Lara Friedman in The Hill, 8/10: Schumer, Engel, et al: Change your position on the Iran deal

APN Board Member Mark Silverberg in the Cleveland Plain Dealer 8/5: Make No Mistake, Iran Nuclear Deal Also Has Key Jewish Support

APN Board members Luis Lainer & Dick Gunther in the LA Jewish Journal 7/29: We Support the Iran Deal

7/13: APN Welcomes Iran Nuclear Agreement, Urges Congress to Support the Deal

• Obama Administration on the JCPOA 1-Year Anniversary, 7/14/16

  • President Barack Obama
  • Secretary of State John Kerry
  • Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz 

• Obama Administration on Implementation Day of the JCPOA, 1/16/16
  • President Obama (video)
  • US Department of Treasury
  • Secretary of State John Kerry
  • Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz
  • Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew
  • Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power
  • Other US Govt resources on Implementation Day

• Presidential Memorandum -- Preparing for Implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action of July 14, 2015 (JCPOA) 10/18/15

• Adam Szubin, Acting Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence - Beyond The Vote: Implications for the Sanctions Regime on Iran - Keynote transcript from the conference "Beyond the Vote: Implications of the Iran Nuclear Agreement" - The Washington Institute for Near East Policy 9/16/15

• Secretary of Energy Moniz - Letter to Jewish Leaders on the Iran Nuclear Deal 9/8/15

• Secretary Kerry - Debunking Myths Around the Nuclear Agreement With Iran Medium.com 9/3/15

• Secretary Kerry - Remarks on Nuclear Agreement With Iran - Remarks at the National Constitution Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 9/2/15

• Science-based Nuclear Security and the Iran Agreement U.S. Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz in Medium.com 8/31/15

• The Full Transcript of Forward Editor-in-Chief's Interview With Obama 8/31/15

• President Barack Obama Speaks to Jews in Historic Interview With the Forward - Interview with President Obama in The Forward - 8/31/15

• Webcast - Special address by President Barack Obama #JFedTalks: Iran Nuclear Agreement 8/28/15

• The President Speaks on the Iran Nuclear Deal at American University 8/4/15 - video, text

• Secretary Kerry before the Senate Armed Services Committee -Testimony: Iranian Nuclear Agreement Provides Support of International Community;  Q&A: Could the U.S. Continue Sanctions Instead of the Iran Deal?; Deal Focuses on Preventing Iran from Having a Nuclear Weapon 7/29/15

• Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter before the Senate Armed Services Committee 7/29/15

• Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz before the Senate Armed Services Committee 7/29/15

• Secretary Kerry - Iran Nuclear Agreement: The Administration's Case - Opening Remarks Before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs 7/28/15

• Remarks by Secretary Kerry -Discussion at the Council on Foreign Relations on Iran  7/24/15

• Secretaries Kerry, Moniz, and Lew on the Iran Deal - C-SPAN coverage of Senate Foreign Relations Committee Hearing 7/23/15

• Testimony of Secretary of State Kerry in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee 7/23/15

• Testimony of Secretary of Energy Moniz in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee 7/23/15

• Testimony of Secretary of the Treasury Lew in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee 7/23/15

• Secretary Kerry & Secretary Moniz: The Case for the Nuclear Deal With Iran - Oped in the Washington Post 7/22/15

• Secretary of State Kerry on Meet the Press (transcript) 7/19/15

• President Obama -- press conference 7/15/15

• Tom Friedman interviews President Obama in the New York Times (article & video) 7/14/15

• White House Briefing Page: The Historic Deal that Will Prevent Iran from Acquiring a Nuclear Weapon 7/14/15

• Background Conference Call on Iran 7/14/15

• Readout of the President’s Call with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel 7/14/15

• Readout of the President’s Call with King Salman bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia 7/14/15

• Readout of the President’s Call with Crown Prince Mohammed Al Nahyan of the UAE 7/14/15

• President Obama Announces Iran Deal 7/14/15 (video)

• President Obama’s Email to Americans on Iran Deal 7/14/15

• State Department Update - Near East: Updating the EU/P5+1 Ongoing Negotiations With Iran 7/9/15

Interview with Iran expert Meir Javedanfar. An Iranian-born Israeli who co-authored a book on Iran's leadership and teaches courses on contemporary Iranian politics at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya, Javedanfar is well-positioned to analyze attitudes toward the agreement both in Israel and in Iran. The interview is about 10 minutes long.