David Chesler

Widowed and remarried father of three, software engineer, originally from the Bronx, just moved from Woburn to Milford CT and working at BlackBerry

[David Chesler @chesler]

@Beaver_0x How do you beat roulette?

[David Chesler @chesler]

@NateSilver538 Early career might have been finance or biglaw.
Such people are not resentful, because they made their choices. And they're likely to be liberal and Democrat because they think that's what's best for the world. 2/2

[David Chesler @chesler]

@NateSilver538 At least some of the High Education / Low Earnings demographic is people who do not recent it because they decided to leave the rat race for teaching, social work, or other public interest. Sometimes there is family or spousal money, or wealth from their earlier careers. 1/2

[David Chesler @chesler]

@TeeMacTV @FoxNews How do you know someone wearing a mask and not presenting ID is law enforcement?

[David Chesler @chesler]

@VividProwess Easy for me to say from America, but I wish Israel would exchange dead terrorists for dead captives, using the Gilad Shalit exchange rate.

[David Chesler @chesler]

Benzinga's 'Stock Whisper' Index: 5 Stocks Investors Secretly Monitor But Don't Talk About Yet $AZN $INTU $NEE https://t.co/kLPFav0QyU via @Benzinga

[David Chesler @chesler]

@DarthBerticus @ABC Like before Oct 7?

[David Chesler @chesler]

@chipvibe @ABC The Gilad Shalit exchange already demonstrated the exchange rate is a thousand to one.

[AntonyGordonLive @AntonyGordonX]

Israel Has Enough Enemies ... We Don't Need Jews to Add to the Ranks!

On December 26th, 2024, @avi_steinberg penned an Op-Ed piece in Truth-Out which has a self-described mission statement as a “platform for progressive and transformative ideas, through in-depth investigative reporting and critical analysis.”

Several friends of mine who, like me, are part of the Harvard’s Jewish Alumni Alliance (HJAA) were horrified at the number of false statements contained in Steinberg’s article and how totally tone-deaf Steinberg must be to publish such an anti-Israel and antisemitic piece in these volatile times. The only feeling that one is left harboring after reading Steinberg’s Op-Ed piece is how little the author knows about some of the most axiomatic principles of traditional Judaism, and how clearly the piece screamed out “I have been drinking the Kool-Aid of radical left leaning propaganda for so long I have no clue what is brainwashing and what is reality.”

In addition to the fact that the article was clearly written by a person who is an ignoramus about Israeli history and many basic tenets of Judaism, the Op-Ed piece was so viciously anti-Israel and so riddled with inaccuracies that many of my Harvard colleagues were adamant that I publish a refutation to Steinberg’s article lest readers think that there is an ounce of veracity in his claims.

To understand what motivated me to write this public refutation after much deliberation and consultation with leaders in the Jewish world, it is important that I share a few words of my background to place my comments in context. I happen to be an observant Jew but as a former South African where categorizing Jews by denominational affiliation is a foreign concept, I prefer to see Jews as part of my extended family regardless of their level of observance.

I left South Africa to attend Harvard Law School on a Fulbright Scholarship as well as the most prestigious Human Rights Scholarship bestowed on a South African student to attend a foreign law school. Amongst the initiatives that I spearheaded in South African before I left – which no doubt was taken into consideration before the final interviews for the Fulbright Scholarship and The Attorney Trust Scholarship - was producing the largest Anti-Apartheid music concert in South Africa’s history.

I have dedicated my life to reach out to fellow disenfranchised Jews and over the past thirty years have been fortunate to become one of the most prolific speakers on the proverbial Jewish speaking circuit; selected as one of the top 100 TED Talks presented in 2022; became a WSJ and USA Today Best-Selling Author as well as a regular contributor to one of the leading publications in the Jewish world.

My speaking and writing have followed a specific pedagogical framework – helping to dispel myths or commonly accepted beliefs that are erroneous. My motive throughout my work is to capitalize on the many years of studying and research that I have pursued to educate as many fellow Jews as possible who have not had the opportunity that I have experienced to study both Torah and Secular subjects at the highest level of scholastic excellence.

One of the principles outlined in the Torah is called "Lifnei Iver” based on the pasuk “Lifnei Iver Lo Titen Michshol" - "Before a blind person one should not place a stumbling block." In this context, as a Torah Observant Jew, I am proscribed from sitting silently and allowing innocent readers of Truth-Out to believe that what Steinberg has posited as an accepted view echoes the traditional view, and certainly I cannot allow people to be influenced by statements that are not only antithetical to axiomatic principles of Judaism, but are also factually erroneous and may cause readers to perceive Jews and Israel with hatred based on Steinberg’s fallacious and baseless claims.

In the interest of time as well as to ensure that this refutation does not morph into a PhD thesis, I have taken issue with only some of the claims that Steinberg raised - which I have dispelled below in the hope that reader will realize that the views that you Steinberg espoused are more in line with antisemitic and anti-Israel propaganda rather than having the gravitas of scholastic research based on accurate information. It is the furthest thing from the latter.

Claim # 1: Steinberg rejects the premise that lands can be bestowed upon people – in this case, the Jewish People.

Refutation to Steinberg Claim # 1:

The first words that Rashi, the preeminent Torah commentator, writes on the first verse in Genesis, is to ask why the Torah begins with the Creation account, and not from the first mitzvah (which is to sanctify the new month)? Rashi explains that the purpose of the Creation story is to establish G-d’s ownership over the world, to justify Jewish possession of the Land of Israel. The land belongs to G-d.

He can give it to whomever He wants and take it away from whomever He wants. G-d gave it to the Jewish People. The Jewish people were granted the Land of Israel by G-d, as is stated in Genesis 15:7 and . In fact, the very first thing that G-d said to Abraham was: "Go from your land of your birth… to the land that I will show you, and I will make you into a great nation" (Genesis 12:1). When Abraham and Sarah got to Israel, G-d promised them, "To your descendants have I given this land from the river of Egypt to the Euphrates River." In G-d's eyes the deal was considered set in stone, which is why He said "I have given this land" in the past tense, as if the thing were already done and impossible to undo. (Genesis , Rashi).

G-d specifically promised to give Israel to the Jews because Israel has a special holiness that other lands do not have. Even from before the giving of the Torah, Jerusalem and Israel had taken on great religious significance. The Talmud says that creation began in Jerusalem, and the world radiated outward from this place. Great religious leaders always lived there, such as Malchitzedek (Genesis ). It is there that the patriarch Isaac was bound for sacrifice, and it is there that his son Jacob dreamt of the ladder ascending to heaven. This inherent holiness is described in the Talmud, which says, "Even the air of the Land of Israel makes one wise."

Although Abraham knew that G-d had given him the land, he nevertheless chose peaceful measures and paid exorbitant amounts for a field in Hebron (Genesis 23:4, Rashi). This became the Jewish holy site, the Tomb of the patriarchs, 4,000 years ago. Similarly, Jacob purchased Shechem (Genesis ), and King David bought Jerusalem (2-Samuel ). Note that Jerusalem has been the Jewish capital for more than twice as many centuries as Islam has even existed!

In our time, the Jews have returned to the Land of Israel on the grounds that their ancestors not only bought this land, but were promised it by G-d. The League of Nations was aware of claims such as the claims that you made Mr. Steinberg, and yet they declared Israel to be the homeland of the Jewish people in 1922. The United Nations did the same in 1947. With due respect Mr. Steinberg, the Jewish claim to the land is far deeper than any political vote by the nations of the world.

The only counterpoint that Steinberg could raise to the points noted above which has been central to the transmission of our religion is that he does not believe in G-d and/or does not believe that the Author of the Torah is G-d. If that is indeed the case, I am happy to share with Steinberg the overwhelming evidence of both propositions beyond a reasonable doubt under separate cover but even if that is the case it still does not justify Steinberg’s vicious attack on the only democratic country in the Middle East.

Claim # 2: Steinberg rejects the premise that the Torah (or G-d) legitimately bestowed or could bestow the land of Israel upon the Jews.

Refutation to Steinberg Claim # 2:

Mr. Steinberg, I respect the fact that as a Secular Existentialist your point of departure is very different to mine. That said, for thousands of years our ancestors have embraced a traditional view which neutralizes your argument completely.

This traditional view is as follows:

G-d gave the Torah to Moses and the Jewish people at Mount Sinai. This was seven weeks after the Exodus from Egypt, on the sixth day of the month Sivan, in the year 2448 of the Jewish calendar. On that day, G-d revealed Himself to the entire Jewish people (which included some 600,000 adult men, in addition to women, children and the aged) and declared to them the Ten Commandments.

Afterwards, Moses ascended Mount Sinai where, for forty days, G-d taught him the entire Written and Oral Torah. Later, Yom Kippur, Moses descended with the second tablets of the Ten Commandments and began to teach the people what he heard from G-d on Mount Sinai.

This was the only event in history where G-d revealed Himself to an entire people, who simultaneously witnessed and experienced His will. "And G-d said to Moses, I come to you in a thick cloud, so that the people may hear when I speak with you" (Exodus: 19:9) ~"And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet G-d, and they stood at the bottom of the mount" (). "And G-d spoke all these words saying, I am the Lord your G-d" (20:1). "And all the people perceived the thundering, and the lightning, and the voice of the horn, and the mountain smoking" (). Moses himself emphasized to the people the uniqueness of this event: "Did ever a people hear the voice of G-d speaking out of the midst of the fire, as you have heard? To you it was shown that you might know that the Lord is G-d" (Deut. -35).

Rabbi Joseph Albo (Spain, c. 1400) comments on the significance of the way in which G-d gave the Torah: "That which is perceived by the greatest number of people is most widely believed; therefore the Holy One wanted the Torah to be bestowed through Moses with the greatest possible publicity and before a multitude of more than six hundred thousand…comprised of intelligent and astute men of diverse characters and attitudes so as to leave not the slightest shadow of a doubt in the minds of its recipients or in the minds of subsequent generations. Thus, its reception would be both as correct and as fully credited as possible".

The Written Torah is the word of G-d that He dictated to Moses word for word, and which Moses wrote in the first Torah scroll. It incorporates all the commandments, including the Ten Commandments. It is called the Written Torah because it was to be passed throughout the generations in written form, each Torah a copy of a previous one such that all Torah scrolls are identical to that written by Moses. The Oral Torah, which was also given to Moses at Sinai, is the explanation of the commandments of the Written Torah and was to be passed down through the generations in an unbroken oral transmission. Eventually the Oral Torah was compiled in written form in the Mishna and Talmud.

Claim # 3: Steinberg subscribe to a universal school of ethics which precludes special treatment for the Jews.

Refutation to Steinberg Claim # 3:

All human beings are G-d's people, as it says that Adam and Eve were created in the image of God. Further, the great prophet Malachi said, "Have we not all one father? Has not one G-d created us?" (Malachi ). The Talmud likewise points out that one reason the entire human race descends from a single set of parents, Adam and Eve, is so that no one would be able to claim his ancestors are greater than his fellow's (Sanhedrin 37a). Judaism does not believe there is an inherently superior race of human beings.

Historically, however, the world slipped away from its relationship with G-d, and eventually the entire world was worshipping idols. Approximately 4,000 years ago, Abraham re-discovered the one G-d and chose to accept the challenge of spreading the ideas of monotheism and morality to the world. Through his dedication and willingness to give up everything for G-d, he was chosen – and his descendants after him – to become the guardians of G-d’s message. In other words, Abraham chose G-d, and thus G-d chose Abraham.

Abraham then passed this responsibility to his sons Isaac and Jacob. That mission was formalized 3,300 years ago at Mount Sinai, when G-d put these ideas into a written form (the Torah). Till today, the Jewish mission is to be a "light unto the nations," to go out and teach what it means to be "created in the image of G-d." Abraham demonstrated how a human being must take responsibility for the world. Abraham's undertaking was the first progressive, liberal movement the world had ever seen. And how it succeeded!

Yet Judaism is not exclusionary. The Torah presents seven mitzvot for non-Jews to observe. These seven laws are the pillars of human civilization, and are named the "Seven Laws of Noah," since all humans are descended from Noah. Maimonides explains that any human being who faithfully observes these laws earns a proper place in heaven.

Furthermore, in G-d's great kindness, he opened the door for every human to potentially become part of the Jewish people. Anyone who is sincere can accept upon himself to keep all the commandments and convert to Judaism in the proper way. Once she converts, she then becomes a Jew in every regard and her relationship with G-d is the same level as that of every other Jew.

Claim # 4: The Palestinians were displaced during the 1948 war and violently precluded from returning to their homes by the Jews.

Refutation to Steinberg Claim # 4:

This anti-Jewish and anti-Israel bigotry has been repeated by the likes of Dan Bilzerian, Candace Owens, and Jackson Hinkle based on their lack of research and knowledge. I am not putting you in the same category as these vile ignoramuses but as someone who is contributing to a Jewish media platform it is shocking how you embrace as gospel one of the many lies that has been dispelled publicly numerous times.

Briefly stated, the Arabs residing in Israel before Israel was declared an independent state left their homes in 1947-49 for a variety of reasons. Thousands of wealthy Arabs left in anticipation of a war; thousands more responded to Arab leaders' calls to get out of the way of the advancing armies. In short, most Arabs residing in Israel at the time fled to avoid being caught in the crossfire of a battle.

Anti-Israel media platforms have spun the story that 800,000 to 1,000,000 so called ‘Palestinians’ became refugees between 1947-49. The last population census was taken by the British in 1945. It found approximately 1.2 million permanent Arab residents in all of Palestine. A 1949 Government of Israel census counted 160,000 Arabs living in the country after the war. In 1947, a total of 809,100 Arabs lived in the same area. This meant no more than 650,000 Palestinian Arabs could have become refugees. A report by the UN Mediator on Palestine arrived at an even lower figure (i.e.) 472,000 and calculated that only about 360,000 Arab refugees required aid.

Have you ever considered how ironic it is that although much is heard about the plight of the Palestinian refugees, little is said about the Jews who fled from Arab states. Their situation had long been precarious. During the 1947 UN debates, Arab leaders threatened them. For example, Egypt's delegate told the General Assembly: "The lives of one million Jews in Muslim countries would be jeopardized by partition."

Mr. Steinberg, you simply cannot make claims that are antithetical to Torah, are pure heresy, and call yourself an ‘Observant Jew’ at the same time. Your call to readers to “join the Palestinian-led resistance. If you cannot do these things, leave, and resist from abroad. Take material steps to dismantle this colonial edifice …” echoes the calls of people like Yahya Ibrahim Hassan Sinwar and Louis Farrakhan who dedicated their twisted lives to causing death and destruction to the Jewish People.

The results of the recent Presidential Election should be jarring wake up call to people like Steinberg. America is not buying the pseudo woke culture that espouses some of the concepts that Steinberg site in his article like colonialism and ethnic cleansing. There is only one kind of person that is more of a threat to the Jewish People than the millions of uniformed ignoramuses screaming antisemitic epithets, and that is someone who claims to be an observant Jew who is at pains to do everything possible to bring hatred upon Israel at the Jewish People. I do not know what Steinberg’s motive was in penning an article that is filled with inaccurate and false claims, but it is very clear to anyone with a strong background in Jewish learning and who has an emotional connection to Israel that it would behoove Steinberg to spend a few years learning Torah at a deep level and our mesorah so he does not sound like a total ignoramus.

I would simply ask Steinberg to take heed of some of the thoughts I have shared so that he may assume the role of being more of an ‘ambassador’ of the Jewish people rather than a person who is insensitive to the time and place we are currently living in. If it is easier for Steinberg to dismiss what I have said out of hand, I would welcome the opportunity to have an open discussion/debate with him. Just so he can rest assured that I have no desire to cause him any extra pain or embarrassment, I would invite Steinberg to reach out to Eric H. Yoffie, the President Emeritus of the Union for Reform Judaism who I debated in 1997 back at Harvard Law School in Pound Hall.

While I believe Yoffie would concede that I was always respectful, I believe the audience saw the dangers of making public statements that are false and furthermore only makes it harder for those of us that are trying hard to be diamonds in a very rough world.

Mr. Steinberg, G-d sends Jewish souls into this world to ignite a spark in a shadowy world and to set the standard of morality and decency for the world, not to ignite feelings of hatred based on platitudes that are a mile wide and a half inch thick.

[David Chesler @chesler]

@MattNBCBoston @danielle_noyes Back then I woke to a TV tuned to NECN, and looked forward to your forecasts and contests. Then technology changed, and I couldn't use the TV as an alarm, and then I left greater Boston so I rarely follow you for weather. I miss that part of those days. Good luck in what's next!

[David Wolpe @RabbiWolpe]

This was posted today by ‘Harvard faculty and staff for justice in Palestine.’ The cartoon is despicably, inarguably antisemitic. Is there no limit?

[Lawrence H. Summers @LHSummers]

It is the last hour. Everyone who can, should support challenges to Harvard’s traditional leadership from Sam Lessin, Harvey Silverglate, Alec Williams, and others. Harvard governance needs a thorough shakeup after recent disasters. The approach Harvard Alumni Association has taken to requirements for being on the ballot is reminiscent of Tammany Hall at best and Brezhnev at worst.

[David Chesler @chesler]

@BruceGoveia @AoDespair It does matter because the enabling law for cameras is for school zones.

[David Chesler @chesler]

@BrianHoweActor @AoDespair School zone speeding tickets are on the car, like parking tickets, not on the driver. They send the ticket by mail, increase the fine if you don't answer or even if you do, and eventually can hit the registration or boot/tow the car.

[David Chesler @chesler]

@TeacherArthurG @AoDespair If they left home at 5am they weren't in their school's zone then.

[David Chesler @chesler]

@MIBMARAUDER @AoDespair Are people safer now?

[David Chesler @chesler]

@jefposk @AoDespair Do you remember the "Rolling Roadblock" protests against the national 55 mph limit?

[David Chesler @chesler]

@MtAiryGrl @AoDespair I've driven much faster than 35 mph many times and never killed anyone -- where do you get 40%?

[David Chesler @chesler]

@AoDespair Me too. 36 on Sedgewick Ave Bx on a Sunday bc there is a school around the corner. No school zone sign. Sent GPS log showing one 27 mph, rest < 25, went shorter betw pix than speed claimed. And while they were deciding the Dept of Finance (honest!) added $25 for my non-response.

[David Chesler @chesler]

@PensionedA @washingtonpost What are the regulations for bottom-of-the-ocean submersibles?