Melissa Langsam Braunstein

Washington, D.C., United States

Wife, mother, & writer. “Iconic smile” haver. Red fish in a blue sea. Find my writing in @jewishchron @dcexaminer @nro @jns_org and elsewhere on the Interwebs.

Articles

Why Huckabee is a great choice for US ambassador to Israel - The Jewish Chronicle

Mar 25, 2025 | thejc.com | Melissa Langsam Braunstein

Luke Moon, executive director of the Philos Project, another Christian group, adds that Huckabee’s selection is "a strategic choice.” Moon observes, “His love for Israel is rooted in his love for the Bible and [the] people who brought the Bible to the world. He will help further the blossoming relationship between Christians and Jews. Secondly, because Huckabee is not Jewish, he will potentially not get caught up in the intra-Jewish politics.
Democrats split over activist’s arrest - The Jewish Chronicle

Mar 18, 2025 | thejc.com | Melissa Langsam Braunstein

Nadler isn’t unique, though.
USAID funds flow to terrorist-tied organizations

Mar 7, 2025 | washingtonexaminer.com | Melissa Langsam Braunstein

The Left is livid. Witness the protests and sympathetic media stories about United States Agency for International Development staff and grantees prompted by President Donald Trump’s funding freeze. But USAID has also funded terrorist-tied organizations, and the agency’s own inspector general previously expressed concerns about its operations’ weak vetting and vulnerability to “armed groups.”Two recently released reports present damaging details.
American Jews buck the US trend and turn away from religion - The Jewish Chronicle

Mar 5, 2025 | thejc.com | Melissa Langsam Braunstein

Jews are less likely than other Americans to gravitate toward increased religious observance or spirituality. Twenty eight per cent of all American adults have become more religious, while 29 per cent have “grown less religious”. Among Jews, though, 18 per cent have “become more religious,” while 29 per cent have become less so. Forty-three per cent of all Americans have grown “more spiritual”, while only 34 per cent of Jews say likewise.
A New York protest turned violent, but there is hope - The Jewish Chronicle

Mar 3, 2025 | thejc.com | Melissa Langsam Braunstein

Open antisemitism was already surging in the US before October 7, but it has only grown bolder and more widespread, regardless of Israel’s current ceasefire. Exhibit A of this new normal is New York City, a city of eight million with nearly a million Jews. NYPD recorded 671 hate crimes in calendar year 2023, 323 – or 48 per cent – of which targeted Jews. Last year, 345 – or 54 per cent – of the 641 recorded hate crimes targeted Jews.
At last there’s progress on fighting antisemitism in the US - The Jewish Chronicle

Feb 11, 2025 | thejc.com | Melissa Langsam Braunstein

Jew-hatred famously shape-shifts, but Congress’ response is evolving too. Consider the Antisemitism Awareness Act (AAA)’s journey. AAA passed the Senate by unanimous consent in December 2016. That is, it was considered so anodyne, there was a voice vote. Last year, though, then-Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (who is Jewish), wouldn’t even hold a stand-alone vote, lest it publicly split Democrats. So, after passing the House 320-91 last May, AAA went nowhere. Last week, Reps.
Can Trump actually crack down on campus antisemitism? - The Jewish Chronicle

Feb 5, 2025 | thejc.com | Melissa Langsam Braunstein

Sixteen months after Jew-hatred exploded on American campuses, President Donald Trump has issued an executive order to combat antisemitism. The First Amendment protects antisemitic speech, but Trump has put individuals targeting Jews on notice: Washington will no longer wink at their “discrimination, vandalism, and violence”.
Syria’s new rulers need to show Israel and the rest of the region that it will not be a threat - The Jewish Chronicle

Jan 29, 2025 | thejc.com | Seth J. Frantzman |Melissa Langsam Braunstein |Yaakov Katz |Jake Wallis Simons

V On December 8 the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad fell from power. I was on Israel’s Golan border with Syria as the momentous events unfolded. The border was quiet, except for distant bursts of gunfire – apparently people shooting in the air in celebration at Assad’s fall. The Assad regime was a mainstay of the Middle East for 50 years. It wasn’t as brash and outspoken at the Gaddafi regime in Libya, and it wasn’t as powerful as Saddam Hussein’s Iraq once was.
After UAE murder, global Jewry must be vigilant - The Jewish Chronicle

Jan 29, 2025 | thejc.com | Jason Brodsky |Melissa Langsam Braunstein |Yaakov Katz |Jake Wallis Simons

The murder of Rabbi Zvi Kogan in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), allegedly by three Uzbek nationals, should serve as a warning shot for Jewish communities around the world. Iran has been seeking to settle accounts with Israel after a series of losses in its proxy network and its own air defence system on Iranian soil. A heightened terror campaign against soft targets in the Jewish world is a very real threat.
If we want peace, Unrwa and Unifil must both be completely reformed - The Jewish Chronicle

Jan 29, 2025 | thejc.com | Seth J. Frantzman |Melissa Langsam Braunstein |Yaakov Katz |Jake Wallis Simons

Israel is fighting full-scale wars on two fronts. Hamas continues to control central Gaza and parts of northern Gaza, while Hezbollah continues to control a swathe of southern Lebanon and its terrorists operate in other areas of the country. On November 24, Hezbollah launched 250 rockets at Israel, according to the IDF. In both Gaza and Lebanon the UN was supposed to play a positive role, yet in each place massive UN bureaucracies have ended up shielding terror groups and enabling their growth.