Code of ethics

Jewish ethical dilemma: What does Halacha say about coercing medical treatment?

In respecting a competent patient’s wishes, rabbis have upheld that choice in such cases reflects not a disregard for life but a sober recognition that the obligation to prolong life has limits.

 An illustrative image of a hospital bed.
JUSTICE MINISTER Yariv Levin and Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara attend a farewell ceremony for retiring acting Supreme Court president Uzi Vogelman, last October. Levin has been appropriately adamant that Justice Yitzhak Amit’s case should be investigated, the writer maintains.

We just witnessed the Supreme Court's breathtaking hypocrisy - opinion

 In such circumstances, the ventilator becomes a ‘bridge to nowhere’ (Illustrative).

Assisted dying – mercy or murder? - opinion

 Shayna Dollinger, photographed on campus before the relocation of American Jewish University and its Ziegler rabbinical school.

Investigation clears Ziegler rabbinical school deans of ethics code allegations


'Ethics at the Center': Jewish ethics and its relevance for our time - review

This is a highly relevant book for our time, for scholars and laypersons alike, who are concerned with leading a moral life as people and as peoples.

 Rabbi Elliot N. Dorff

Ethically bankrupt: The US needs to take a serious look at corrupt courts - opinion

The Congress and president must share blame for not demanding – and imposing, if necessary – higher standards on US courts.

 US PRESIDENT Joe Biden greets Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts before the president’s State of the Union address, in March.

Bar-Ilan scientists pioneer use of worms rather than rats to model human muscle diseases

Instead of testing rodents that display species-related differences and present ethical and budgetary concerns Bar-Ilan University researchers develop innovative new method.

 Photo (left to right): Bar-Ilan University doctoral students Rewayd Shalash and Coral Cohen, Dr. Mor Levi-Ferber, Prof. Sivan Korenblit and Prof. Chaya Brodie

To decide not to decide: Kicking the can down the road in Gaza - comment

The IDF needs to ask itself tough questions about breaches of protocol – not after the war, but right now.

 A Palestinian inspects near a vehicle where employees from the World Central Kitchen (WCK), including foreigners, were killed in an Israeli airstrike. April 2, 2024.

There should be a time limit for a donor's name on a building - opinion

While those who invest their dollars in Jewish causes should without question be appreciated and applauded, putting names on our buildings specifically has not necessarily had a positive effect.

 BENEFACTORS OF Hadassah Hospital are listed on a glass plaque.

Good intentions, bad outcomes: Path to AI runs through strong governance - opinion

The AI deployment landscape is ripe for innovation, the author explains.

 Itay Inbar

NYT journalist accused of infiltrating into Israel on Oct. 7 wins award

The organization said they won for “chronicling Israel’s bombardment and invasion of their homeland, Gaza. The two photographed the conflict from its opening hours on Oct. 7."

 Palestinians react as an Israeli military vehicle burns after it was hit by Palestinian gunmen who infiltrated areas of southern Israel, at the Israeli side of Israel-Gaza border, October 7, 2023.

How can Jews keep their faith amid the Israel-Hamas war? - opinion

While we may be unsure as to why we have crises, we are certain that we will somehow overcome them.

 JACOB WRESTLES with the angel of Esau as painted in 1659 by Rembrandt. When Joseph disappeared, Jacob was so angry that for over 20 years he did not talk to God, says the writer.

Bach, Beatles, or hip-hop? Study links music tastes to inner moral compass

The study involved a dataset of over 1,400 participants who completed psychometric questionnaires assessing their moral values and provided information about their favorite artists.

 A fan holds an album by the seventies rock group The Doors and a candle near the tomb of late singer Jim Morrison during a ceremony marking what would have been Morrison's 60th birthday at the Pere Lachaise cemetery in Paris, December 8, 2003.

The struggle to live up to an ethic of Jewish power - opinion

The majority of Jews were mature enough to realize that we must give up the self-righteousness of being victims.

 AN IDF SOLDIER is seen in an armored personnel carrier at a staging area near the border with Lebanon last week. According to accepted principles of international law, an army goes to war only if warfare is the only way to enable life to go on.

Eradicating Hamas is the only moral option for Israel - opinion

Crushing Gaza does not mean that we are no longer moral.

 Smoke rises following a blast amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Gaza City, October 18, 2023, as seen in this screen grab taken from a handout video.