Rabbi Joshua Gutoff is Director of the MA in Jewish Education program at Gratz College. He has rabbinic ordination and an EdD from the Jewish Theological Seminary.

We turn to the Torah, many of us, for wisdom.   And this week when we turn to the parsha, this is what we find:  a command to the Israelites that, when encountering an enemy town, to enslave all the inhabitants.  Unless they put up a fight, in which case all the adult males are to be slaughtered, and the women and children enslaved.  And that’s outside the Promised Land.  When conquering the Land, none of the indigenous population is to be spared.  (Deut. 20:10-18)

Where we might have been hoping for something that would demonstrate a respect for all human life, even anticipate the Geneva Conventions, we find instead an invitation (or command!) to participate in forced enslavement or genocidal slaughter. 

This week, Alpher discusses the mixed messages we seem to be getting from Israel regarding the Iran deal with Netanyahu and even Herzog and Livni vociferously opposing it, and many in the security and academic establishments either equivocating or supporting it; the views of the Israeli majority on the Iran deal; why Israeli political opposition leaders Herzog and Livni seemingly support Netanyahu’s campaign in Congress; and how to explain Netanyahu’s appointment last week of a prominent right-wing Italian Jewess as Israel’s ambassador to that country.

There is an old truism that holds that the best defense is a good offense. Or, more colloquially, when you find yourself in hot water, flip the script and go on the attack. Allies of and apologists for Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu are today doing just that. They are peddling a new narrative that President Obama and others, by speaking openly and critically about the extraordinary efforts of the Israeli government and some U.S. Jewish groups to kill the Iran deal, are guilty of feeding anti-Semitism or smearing American Jews, or are unmasking themselves as anti-Semites.

Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren declared her support for the Iran nuclear deal last week — and that should come as no surprise. A thoughtful, dispassionate consideration of the agreement leads to the clear conclusion that it’s good for both the United States and for Israel.

Regrettably, however, there is tremendous pressure on the American public and on Congress to reject the deal. Some of that pressure is simply partisan: Many Republicans came out in opposition before the details were even announced.

My father, Victor Goldberg was in 195th Field Artillery Battalion during World War Two, landing on Utah Beach nine days after D-Day. Like other members of his unit he was given Battle stars for being in five bloody battles against the Nazis in Normandy. Later he was among those American troops who liberated the Buchenwald concentration camp in Germany.

Last week, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.) – prominent Jewish members of Congress – announced they will oppose the deal negotiated between Iran and the P5+1 (China, France, Germany Russia, the United Kingdom, the United States) to curb Iran’s nuclear program.  Earlier in the week, two other leading Jewish members of Congress, Reps. Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.) and Ted Deutch (D-Fla.), did likewise. All of these members of Congress should reconsider this misguided, flawed position.

This week, Alpher discusses the European Union and Israel's shared issues and interests that mitigate against tensions on Israel regarding the settlements and the peace process including energy, illegal immigration, and intelligence; how European Jewish immigration to Israel affects Israeli-European ties; where the Greek financial crisis fits in; and what happens if EU economic sanctions against Israel because of the Palestinian issue grow stronger and even develop into political and cultural sanctions; where this leaves the European-Israeli relationship and what Israel should do about it.

There's a lot of noise right now about the Iran nuclear deal. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and some Jewish community organizations have declared war on the deal. They and their allies – including members of the right-wing Evangelical movement and point-scoring political partisans – are bombarding members of Congress, the public and the media with a barrage of anti-deal talking points and sound bites.
 
I fear that lost in this din are key facts that members of Congress – who will soon have the responsibility to vote whether to approve the deal – as well as the public at large, need to know.

Last week’s arson attack in the West Bank village of Duma burned to death a Palestinian baby and severely injured his parents and his brother. It also re-introduced to the term “Price Tag,” the violent attacks by settlers – mainly against Palestinians, and sometimes against Israelis – that range in severity between vandalism and murder.

The attack again demonstrated the misperceptions among Israelis and Americans about the nature of the violence perpetrated by extremist settlers. Contrary to what many would like to believe, these acts of violence – including murderous attacks such as last week’s – are typically not carried out by lone psychopaths or even by a handful of lunatics.