Rabbi Jay Michaelson is a contributing columnist for the Forward and for Rolling Stone. He is the author of 10 books, and won the 2023 New York Society for Professional Journalists award for opinion writing.
Jay MichaelsonContributing Columnist
By Jay Michaelson
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Opinion George W. Bush Embraces Jews for Jesus
Who’s surprised that former President George W. Bush is speaking at the Messianic Jewish Bible Institute benefit? Not anyone who understands Christian Zionism, ‘Jews for Jesus,’ and the many links between them. Christian Zionists are now the leading supporters of Israel’s settler fringe. They are showering the Israeli Right with money, tourists, and political lobbying….
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Culture Zen and the Art of the BuJu
I admit, I am a BuJu. I admit, I am a BuJu. Of course, I am not alone. Not only do a disproportionate number of American Buddhist teachers come from Jewish backgrounds, but many Jews practice both Judaism and Buddhism, and many more practice a Jewish spirituality influenced by Buddhist-derived meditation practices and values. The…
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The Schmooze Beat Poet Finally Found What He Was Looking For
How much of our yearning for transcendence is actually a yearning for love? The sublimation of desire takes many forms. Mystics longing for the divine, clearly, but more subtly, even those religious who aver no such emotional fire, but who nonetheless gain senses of connection from the observance of rituals. And it appears in poetry,…
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Opinion Can Catholic Church Thrive Without ‘Obsession’ on Gays and Abortion?
Like every other gay person I know, I rejoiced at the recent statement by Pope Francis I that, in his view, the Catholic Church has been overly “obsessed” with homosexuality, abortion and birth control. For one thing, I hope that the pope’s statement ends the massive crusade on the part of the United States Conference…
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Culture Bob Dylan Rescues His Worst Album
The line on Bob Dylan is that he never released his best material. Whether or not that’s entirely true, the best evidence is surely the period from 1967 to 1974 — from the motorcycle accident that ended Dylan’s second, electric incarnation, to the comeback hit “Blood on the Tracks.” During this period, Dylan and The…
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Opinion Chelsea Manning’s Identity Crisis Is One Jews Should Relate To
‘Yes, but is it good for the Jews?” We Jews know this question well. Henry Kissinger: good for the Jews? Brandeis? Koufax? Seinfeld? As an American minority, Jews are naturally sensitive to the way we are perceived, and to the messengers who — without our endorsement or permission — represent us to the world. Likewise…
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Opinion Forgetting the Mideast Conflict Is Easy in Israel — and That’s a Big Problem
The best place to forget the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is Israel. In American Jewish circles, we talk about it all the time. But enjoying a café hafuch in southern Jerusalem’s Anglo-populated neighborhoods such as the German Colony or Katamon, it feels a world away. Ironic, isn’t it — since from those cafes, the conflict is actually…
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Opinion Mixed Blessing of Supreme Court’s Decisions on Gay Marriage and Voting Rights
What does it feel like to be gay and Jewish, after the Supreme Court affirmed same-sex marriage? It depends on what being gay and being Jewish means. If these identities are like teams (or tribes) to which one belongs, then this last week was a glorious time to be gay, and a basically irrelevant one…
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Fast Forward Tucker Carlson calls for stripping citizenship from Americans who served in the Israeli army
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Opinion This German word explains Trump’s authoritarian impulses — and Hitler’s rise to power
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Fast Forward Mike Huckabee denounces killing of Palestinian-American in the West Bank as ‘terrorist act’
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Fast Forward Andrew Cuomo lists several Jewish endorsements on his website. But do they still apply?
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Fast Forward Antisemitic memes fail to disqualify Elon Musk’s ‘MechaHitler’ bot from Department of Defense contract
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