In 2004, the Dover Area School District added a disclaimer to the beginning of the Biology curriculum telling students that Evolution is “just a theory” and proposing Intelligent Design as an alternative explanation. In Kitzmiller v. Dover, a group of parents from the school district challenged the policy as unconstitutional. JSPAN spearheaded an amicus brief on the case, arguing that the disclaimer was a serious infraction on First Amendment rights.

In a 139-page ruling, Judge Jones contended that both the purpose and effect of the school district policy was to “impose a religious view of biological origins into the biology course, in violation of the Establishment Clause.” His decision even went so far as to state that religion was the sole possible motivation for the introduction of Intelligent Design into the curriculum.

After the spirited program presented Jewish teachings, in addition to the political viewpoints, were presented, the JSPAN Board adopted a resolution that called upon the Administration immediately to provide more transparency regarding all aspects of the war and a clear exit strategy to the American public with specific goals for troop withdrawal.

Jewish law allows defensive wars; there is no defense interest with regards to the War in Iraq. Each life lost in Iraq, both American and Iraqi, not only represent a single death, but all the children, grandchildren, and further lineage that individual would might have produced.

We urge you to contact President George Bush immediately and urge him to to assume global leadership by speaking out personally in condemnation of Iran’s President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s highly offensive remarks which deny the authenticity of the Holocaust and the legitimacy of the existence of the State of Israel.

We ask President Bush to remind the world that General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Commander of the Allied Forces during World War, along with other military leaders of that coalition, reported on the atrocities to Congress after he had visited the liberated camps in 1945. Archival documentation and their testimony resulted in an Act of Congress being passed in 1980,under President Jimmy Carter, which established the US Holocaust Memorial Museum and United States Commemoration of the National Days of Remembrance of the Holocaust.

Months after the Sept. 11 attacks, President Bush secretly authorized the National Security Agency to eavesdrop on Americans and others inside the United States to search for evidence of terrorist activity without the court-approved warrants ordinarily required for domestic spying, according to government officials.

Citing his authority in protecting the American people from terrorists, President Bush asserted that his actions were legal and necessary under Article II of the Constitution. Under a presidential order signed in 2002, the intelligence agency has monitored the international telephone calls and international e-mail messages of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people inside the United States without warrants over the past three years in an effort to track possible “dirty numbers” linked to Al Qaeda, the officials said. The agency, they said, still seeks warrants to monitor entirely domestic communications.

Last week's IPF Friday on the "war on Christmas" hit a chord with many readers. I am clearly not the only Jew who feels that attacks on "secular liberals" and “Hollywood types” who happen to be Jewish sometimes borders on anti-Semitism. On the other hand, I was surprised to read the reactions of those Jews who believe that that because the far right is ostensibly pro-Israel, its views on promoting a Christian America are acceptable.

A typical response appeared in the Jerusalem Post (which ran my piece as an op-ed). It read, "The only friends we have are evangelicals. Why can't they protest against watering down their religion? O' Reilly, Hannity, Coulter etc are friends of Israel." One person e-mailed me to say that "we Jews need to stop biting the hands that feed us. Let them have Christmas so long as they support Israel." Of course, as I pointed out last week, no Jews favor taking away Christmas. The whole point of the column was that there is no "war against Christmas" and that those commentators who argue that wishing someone "Happy Holidays" rather than "Merry Christmas" threatens the Christian faith are simply creating controversy where there is none.

Judaism has survived as the faith of a tiny minority for thousands of years. Arguing that Christianity is threatened by non-Christians wishing each other "Happy Holidays" in a country that is 90% Christian is pretty insulting to a faith with over two billion adherents worldwide. I cannot help but conclude that some of those who invented this phony conflict want to establish an explicitly Christian America, one in which Jews, among others, would be a tolerated minority.

It's hard to imagine any Jew signing on to that agenda. But some Jewish conservatives do and have joined the attack on President Bush -- as well as on Costco, Target and other wholesalers who are sensitive to the feelings of non-Christians at this time of year.