Mairav Zonszein
By Mairav Zonszein
-
Opinion Israel Brands Us On The Left As ‘Traitors’ – Like The Palestinians
Last week, Hagai El-Ad, the director of Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem, had the distinction of being called a “collaborator,” an “embarrassment” and a “liar” — by his own government. This may sound shocking. But it’s actually symptomatic of how politically isolated we are on the Israeli left. This kind of incitement to violence and…
-
Theater Is Israel’s Most Famous Playwright Too Political For His Own Country?
In 1985, “Palestinian Girl,” a drama by Joshua Sobol, Israel’s most famous and prolific living playwright, premiered in the Haifa Theater. A story about a love affair between an Israeli man and a Palestinian woman whose relationship is being destroyed by right-wing thugs, the play was controversial, but a huge success. This was a few…
-
Opinion How American Jews Laid The Foundation For Israel’s Blacklist
This week, the Israeli government announced its plan to ban the entry of key activists from 20 groups who advocate Boycott Divestment and Sanctions of Israel. The move is neither surprising nor new. Israel has for years been barring people from entering the country over their politics – even Jews. In 2010, it denied Noam…
-
Opinion Should I Give Up On Changing Israel from Within — and Take a Stand by Leaving?
A debate has been raging in the Israeli left over the past few weeks — primarily in the opinion pages of Haaretz and on my Facebook feed — about Israelis who are choosing to move away from Israel as a political statement. Although these leftists make up only a tiny percentage of Israelis, their departure…
-
Opinion Why the New York Times Owes Us All a Big Explanation on Israel ‘Occupation’ Blunder
When I saw the headline of the New York Times article, “A split over Israel threatens the Democrats’ hope for unity” I was immediately drawn to read the story. It sounded ominous. What exactly is it about Israel that is crushing the Democratic Party’s hopes and standing in the way of their unity? Just two…
-
Opinion What Ayman Odeh Teaches Us About the Limits of Open Dialogue
Arab Israeli MK and Joint List leader Ayman Odeh’s decision not to meet with the Conference of Presidents this week in New York — because the meeting was to be held in Jewish Agency offices — was the right move. As Odeh , “I came here to represent the Arab public in Israel to American…
-
Opinion Fighting for Israeli Democracy Atop a Wedding Cake
Last Sunday evening, just 24 hours before the latest ceasefire between Hamas and Israel was due to expire amid talks in Cairo, the top story on most Hebrew news sites was a small demonstration against a wedding of a “mixed” Israeli couple in central Israel. Morel Malka, a Jewish Israeli who converted to Islam and…
-
Opinion Israeli Teacher May Lose Job Over ‘Leftist’ Views
A schoolgirl listens to language class on November 4, 2002 in Jerusalem. / Getty Images An Israeli high school teacher faces dismissal after a student complained that he expressed radical “leftist” views in the classroom. In a letter to Education Minister Shay Piron, 12th-grade student Sapir Sabah accused Adam Verete — who teaches philosophy in…
Explore
Most Popular
- 1
Opinion Why I resigned as chairman of Amnesty Israel
- 2
News Scoop: Internal Project Esther documents describe conspiracy of Jewish ‘masterminds’ seeking to dismantle Western values
- 3
Opinion We’re watching Israel self-destruct — at the hands of its own leaders and citizens
- 4
Culture In ‘Wicked,’ the power of propaganda takes center stage
In Case You Missed It
-
Opinion I teach the children of immigrants. Here’s why birthright citizenship matters.
-
Culture The shuttering of Absolute Bagels on NYC’s Upper West Side is driving some to anguish — others to poetry
-
Yiddish World Blog ties weekly Torah portion with works of Yiddish writers
-
Fast Forward Despite ceasefire, residents of northern Israel are wary of return, fearing another Oct. 7
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
