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Major free speech fight in river city.
My Hudson Valley village is trying to force a Vietnam vet to take down a Trump flag on his property, citing an allegedly "content-neutral" code…
Sep 8
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Michael Balter
4
2
August 2025
Last stop on the English road: The Kew Royal Botanical Gardens in London.
Last day of the author's two week trip to England to visit family from London to Devon with stops in between. A glorious sunny day to see me off.
Aug 29
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Michael Balter
2
Right and wrong ways to fight antisemitism.
Gaza and antisemitism become issues in a small Hudson Valley village.
Aug 26
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Michael Balter
1
On the road in England: Corsham, a historic market town in Wiltshire, at the edge of the Cotswalds.
Second stop on our post-pandemic UK tour.
Aug 20
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Michael Balter
3
Utagawa Hiroshige at the British Museum.
"Artist of the open road."
Aug 14
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Michael Balter
3
2
The senior rabbi at my local temple speaks out about Israel's actions in Gaza.
I had not been to temple for sixty years. The time was right to return.
Aug 9
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Michael Balter
The many sides of Diane Arbus, at New York's Park Avenue Armory.
No one captured people on the margins of society like Arbus, and that is what she is best known for. But her focus was wide-ranging and deeply human.
Aug 6
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Michael Balter
July 2025
Washington Post publishes names of many of the 18,500 children killed in Gaza.
Experts say the data is reliable and probably an undercount of the true death toll.
Jul 30
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Michael Balter
4
3
Jayne Mansfield and me.
I met her when I was about ten years old. It was an unforgettable moment, but not for the reasons you might think.
Jul 30
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Michael Balter
4
"So Long, Mom (I’m off to drop the bomb)" [Updated August 4]
Tom Lehrer is gone. Many members of younger generations may not even know who he was, but for boomers he was one of the first to challenge Cold War…
Jul 28
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Michael Balter
6
4
Jews Cry Out: Monday evening at the Israeli Consulate in New York City.
Jews have always been in the forefront of the fight against war crimes and other injustices, no matter who is committing them. This is what Judaic…
Jul 26
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Michael Balter
2
Israeli leaders say clearly that they are committing genocide in Gaza. We should take them at their word.
Israel is committing the sin of chillul hashem, the desecration of God's name.
Jul 25
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Michael Balter
2
4
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