Without a Major Shift in U.S. Policy, There’s Little Hope for Syria in 2018
Neither Russia, nor Iran, nor Assad seeks compromise.
January 16, 2018
The Halakhic and Moral Challenges of Gene Editing
What’s wrong with playing God?
In recent years, scientists have developed a technology known as CRISPR, which allows for the manipulation of an organism’s genetic code. Medical researchers have already experimented with using CRISPR to treat diseases, and it promises to yield many breakthroughs in the coming years. If applied to what are known as germ cells, this technology could also be used to halt the transmission of heritable diseases, create “designer babies,” or even engineer children of abnormal height, strength, and so forth. J. David Bleich, a rabbi and halakhic authority, Edwards Burns, the dean of Einstein Medical School, and Neville Sanjana, a cancer researcher, discuss the ethical implications of gene editing, touching on such questions as whether Judaism has a conception of natural law and if there is, indeed, anything immoral about playing God. (Audio, 75 minutes.)
January 16, 2018
While Israeli Christians Thrive, Those under Palestinian Rule Suffer
Fear of Muslims outweighs animosity toward Israel.
Children of the Kibbutz
A history of the future that wasn’t.
The Halakhic and Moral Challenges of Gene Editing
What’s wrong with playing God?
From a German Dissenter’s Diary Comes a Sense of What Ordinary Germans Knew about the Holocaust
They knew enough.