By Rabbi Joshua Levine Grater from the Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center in Pasadena, CA.

I had the honor of hearing Israeli President and elder statesman Shimon Peres last week in Los Angeles. Coming off a week where the tenor for war against Iran was being ramped by Prime Minister Netanyahu and in the halls of AIPAC, it was refreshing to hear President Peres say that diplomacy is always the preferred option, that Israel is a nation that values and cherishes peace, and that the morals of our people, based on the Torah, call us to a higher purpose in life than political expediency.