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 Israel’s hostage deal makes the best of an impossible situation
In a conflict marked by moral absolutism, today’s hostage deal is a triumph of difficult compromise
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Opinion When soldiers are hiding in hospitals, what is the morality of attacking them?
The raid on Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City is a stark example of the moral dilemma Israel faces in its campaign against Hamas
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Opinion Rep. Tlaib’s Israel-Hamas statements were offensive. Censuring her was even worse
The House censure was an abuse of power, a denigration of the Congress and a successful political trap set by Republicans
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Opinion What the ‘genocide’ charge in this war gets right — and wrong
Genocide is an emotionally powerful word, but also a dangerous one
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Opinion Calling Israel’s actions ‘genocide’ harms the cause of human rights everywhere
'Genocide' has a very specific legal definition within human rights law — it shouldn't be used carelessly to make polemical points
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Opinion What does Jewish law say about the war between Israel and Hamas? Depends where you look.
For both hawks and doves, there's a lot that's troubling about the Jewish law of war
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Opinion Spare us your explanations about what’s happening in Israel — now is the time for grief
Nearly every Jew knows someone directly affected by the violence in Israel, and in a sense, we're all sitting shiva
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Opinion Dianne Feinstein was tenacious and contradictory — just like American Jews
Sen. Feinstein’s combination of views reflected the general center of the American Jewish community
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FIRST PERSON As a rabbi, he helped others mourn. So why wouldn’t his daughter say kaddish for him?
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Fast Forward In a Jewish neighborhood of Los Angeles, the presidential election is all about Israel
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