The Jerusalem Post - Israel News

Uri Pilichowski

Rabbi Uri Pilichowski grew up in Fair Lawn, New Jersey and studied in Mevaseret Zion for eight years, earning a Bachelor of Talmudic Law and Rabbinic Ordination. While living in Israel, Rabbi Pilichowski taught and mentored gap year students. Rabbi Pilichowski then moved to Beverly Hills, CA to become the Assistant Rabbi of the famed Beth Jacob Congregation. While at Beth Jacob, he created a national model for teen and youth departments. From Beverly Hills Rabbi Pilichowski moved to Boca Raton, Florida where he was the Rosh Beit Midrash and Gap Year advisor at Scheck Hillel Community School and served on the Rabbinical staff at The Boca Raton Synagogue. Rabbi Pilichowski created the first teen pro-Israel group in the country that taught students to advocate in Congress for a stronger US-Israel relationship. His students gained a national reputation as they lobbied on THe Hill and in the White House. Rabbi Pilichowski continues to teach his students in America from Israel via Zoom. In July 2014 Rabbi Pilichowski moved to Israel. Fulfilling his dream of living and teaching about Israel, Rabbi Pilichowski landed his dream job as the Senior Educator at Nefesh B’Nefesh’s Zionist Education Initiative. The Nefesh B’Nefesh Zionist Education Initiative inspires dialogue about Zionism with thousands of visitors a year to its campus. Rabbi Pilichowski also enjoys writing and speaking; he is the author of three books, a book on time management, on the weekly Torah portion and on the Jewish festivals. He writes a weekly column for The Jewish Press called a “Settler’s View,” and for the Jerusalem Post called, “Living the Dream.” He has been a scholar in residence in synagogues across the world, from Richmond, VA to Santa Barbara, CA. Rabbi Pilichowski is happily married to his wife Aliza, the mayor of their Yishuv, and has six wonderful children in Mitzpe Yericho.
DEMONSTRATORS TAKE part in an Emergency Rally: Stand with Palestinians Under Siege in Gaza at Harvard University in 2023.

Why American support for Israel remains strong despite campus antisemitism - opinion

Only a statistically insignificant number of university student presidents, valedictorians, and student-selected speakers become American leaders.

JUNE 8, 2025
HEZBOLLAH MEMBERS hold flags during a rally marking the annual Hezbollah Martyrs’ Day, in Beirut’s southern suburbs, last month

Who should you trust on Israel's war with Hamas? Experts, not internet pundits - opinion

The discerning person will strive to ensure they are learning from insightful experts with personal experience.

MAY 25, 2025
US SENATOR Bernie Sanders speaks at a May Day rally in Philadelphia earlier this month. In a Senate committee meeting, Sanders said: ‘We can agree that antisemitism is unacceptable in all forms, but some of us happen to believe that the response of the Netanyahu government to the Hamas attack is al

Are Jewish leaders afraid to fully call out antisemitism? - opinion

There would be outrage if a resolution against racism, sexism, or Islamophobia were amended with an objection to antisemitism.

MAY 11, 2025

Welcome to Israel, Ambassador Huckabee - opinion

Great days are promised to people who strive to help Israel and her people, and may Ambassador Huckabee always be a steward of that great blessing.

APRIL 27, 2025
WE ARE excited for US Ambassador Mike Huckabee’s tenure to begin. Israelis were thrilled that his first official activity wasn’t political in nature. Ambassador Huckabee visited the Western Wall, where he placed a note from President Trump, praying for the peace of Israel, says the writer.

The Internet and AI should not be used to answer questions on Halacha - opinion

While the Internet and AI can’t aid in the original thought and analysis that is the essence of Torah study, they can act as helpful resources to begin one’s study of a subject.

APRIL 14, 2025
Wikipedia homepage on the computer screen under magnifying glass. Wikipedia is a free Internet encyclopedia.

Pursuing peace after a massacre: A naive dream or a commendable attribute? - opinion

This attraction to peace is firmly rooted in Jewish tradition.

MARCH 30, 2025
JEWS CELEBRATE in Tel Aviv after the UN voted on November 29, 1947, in favor of the Partition Plan, paving the way for the creation of the State of Israel in May 1948. The state has centered the Land of Israel in Jewish life in a position it hasn’t played in two millennia.

In a dark period for Israel, Jews must find at least the smallest light to have hope - opinion

This is a dark time for the Jewish people; it is a time when the Jewish people need light.

MARCH 16, 2025
SOLDIERS STAND at the site of the October 7 Nova music festival massacre, as a siren sounds on Remembrance Day last May.

Israel has compromised for peace – why haven’t the Palestinians? – opinion

The world pushes Israel to decide on Palestinians, but what about Palestinian decisions on Israel?

MARCH 2, 2025
YASSER ARAFAT reaches to shake hands with Yitzhak Rabin, as Bill Clinton stands between them, after the signing of the Israel-PLO Declaration of Principles, at the White House on September 13, 1993.

Can Zionism bridge its religious-secular divide? - opinion

While many ultra-Orthodox Jews support Israel as the Jewish homeland, they oppose early Zionism's secular values. Understanding this distinction is crucial for building a more inclusive movement.

FEBRUARY 16, 2025
SATMAR REBBE Aaron Teitelbaum attends a Lag Ba’omer celebration in Kiryas Joel, New York, in 2016. ‘Every Jew is a Zionist, depending on their orientation; it’s just a question of how they manifest their Zionism,’ said Rabbi Efrem Goldberg.

Mr. Witkoff’s efforts: Israeli hopes and disappointment - opinion

Witkoff’s efforts at pushing for a deal were the key factor that brought these hostages home from the hell of captivity they suffered for over 450 days.

FEBRUARY 2, 2025
STEVE WITKOFF delivers an address at the presidential inaugural parade in Washington on January 20. He deserves congratulations from all of us in Israel on successfully completing a hostage-ceasefire deal before starting his role as Middle East envoy for US President Donald Trump, says the writer.

Zionism means Jewish people must put their own needs first - opinion

The debate in the Zionist camp over Carter’s legacy as it relates to his relationship with Israel teaches a lesson that extends far past president Carter and the US-Israel relationship.

JANUARY 18, 2025
THEN-US PRESIDENT Donald Trump stands alongside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the foreign ministers of the UAE (right) and Bahrain at the signing of the Abraham Accords at the White House in 2020.

Unfair to hold Israel to impossibly high expectations in war with Hamas - opinion

This form of racism is where people hate a group so much that they place impossibly high standards on the group and criticize them when they don’t reach that level of impossible behavior.

JANUARY 1, 2025
Journalist, television presenter and former Daily Mirror editor Piers Morgan returns to his home in London, Britain, February 9, 2024.

Jews must fight back to achieve independence according to Jewish values - opinion

Understanding taking the initiative to be a meritorious act is consistent with Jewish tradition as seen by Abraham, Jacob, and the Jewish kings. 

DECEMBER 23, 2024
IDF SOLDIERS operate in Beit Lahiya, in the northern Gaza Strip, last month. When foreign forces attempt to curtail Jewish sovereignty on the historic homeland of the Jewish people, the Jews must fight back – even violently – to achieve their independence, the writer asserts.