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Jul 5, 2018, 8:48 PM

Free Speech Rights for Corporations and Unions

In Citizens United versus the Federal Election Commission, the Supreme Court ruled in 2010 that political spending is a form of free speech that is protected under the First Amendment. This decision allowed corporations and unions to spend unlimited amounts of money on political activities,...

Jun 15, 2018, 7:05 AM

Academic Achievement Versus Diversity

Years ago, elite schools restricted the admission of Jews. Today is the turn of Asians. The mission of the eight specialized public high schools in NYC is to educate the highest achieving students. Their academic achievement is measured solely by their score on an admission...

May 30, 2018, 1:29 AM

College Exchange Programs with Israel to Strengthen Ties

A few American college campuses appear to have become hostile environments for pro-Israel students. On these campuses “progressive” student organizations which demand equal rights for all minorities exclude Jewish groups because they enjoy “Jewish privilege” and support Israel. The most extreme of these progressive organizations...

May 20, 2018, 11:22 PM

Defending Gaza Border with Unarmed Volunteers

Many nations and individuals have denounced Israel for using deadly force against “unarmed” protesters at the border fence separating Gaza from Israel. Israel has also been accused of using disproportionate force. Israel has replied that it must act to defend its sovereignty against assaults on its...

Apr 29, 2018, 7:30 AM

Assault on Gaza Border

On April 27, hundreds of Palestinians, urged on by a Hamas leader, mounted a coordinated assault on a security barrier at Gaza City and tried to cross into Israel. Dozens made it through, using wire cutters, hooks and winches. The assailants who breached the fence...

Apr 17, 2018, 10:13 PM

German Precedent for Nullifying a Right of Return

After World War II ended in 1945, the Soviet Union annexed territory from eastern Poland to produce a buffer zone between itself and Germany. To compensate Poland for this lost territory, the borders of Poland were moved westward. The eastern German territories of East Prussia...

Apr 12, 2018, 9:33 AM

Jewish Homeland

An Islamic state is a theocracy which uses Sharia law as its basis for government, laws, and social norms. Both Iran and Saudi Arabia are Islamic states. Israel is not a Jewish state because it is not a theocracy that bases its government on Jewish...

Mar 30, 2018, 6:32 AM

Amend the Second Amendment

Major American Jewish organizations have called for stricter gun-control laws following the mass shooting in February at a high school in Parkland, Florida. In a March 27 Op-Ed in the New York Times, retired Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens argued that to enact constructive...

Mar 21, 2018, 10:00 PM

Sharing Responsibility for African Asylum Seekers

The Israeli government intends to deport about 40,000 asylum seekers from Eritrea and Sudan. These refugees were notified that they must return to their own countries or to a third nation, or be put in jail until they are deported. If they leave by March...

Feb 18, 2018, 12:18 AM

Recommend Israeli Submarine Launched Cruise Missile

The downing of an Israeli F16 warplane on Feb. 10, 2018, by a Syrian antiaircraft missile first deployed by Russia almost 40 years ago surprised and saddened Israel. The Israeli fighter jet was returning from bombing an Iranian control center in Syria which had launched...

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About Me

Ted Sheskin is an emeritus professor of industrial engineering and the author of a textbook, Markov Chains and Decision Processes for Engineers and Managers. He has published peer-reviewed papers on engineering systems and mathematical algorithms. His letters to editors addressing politics, economic policy, and issues facing Israel and American Jews have appeared in the NY Times, Daily News, Cleveland Plain Dealer, Cleveland Jewish News, Jewish Week, and Jewish Voice.