Opinion

• Opinion

  Reversal of Fortune

  President Obama’s first White House sit-down with Jewish communal leaders has gotten tongues wagging about whom he chooses as friends and what ulterior motives might lurk behind his hospitality. It seems that the list of 14 organizations represented at the July 13 meeting had a more liberal cast than the invitation lists that used to…

  2 min read
• Opinion

  The NAACP at 100

  The inauguration of our first president of African descent was a turning point in this nation’s struggle against racism, but it was not the end of the struggle. Black people still suffer more poverty than their white neighbors, poorer education, worse health and shorter life expectancy. There are still fears and divisions among us and…

  Jul 15, 2009 | 3 min read
• Letters

  July 24, 2009

  A Price Paid in Terror for Prisoner Releases Haim Watzman correctly observes that there are terrible dilemmas involved in seeking to secure the freedom of kidnapped Israelis like serviceman Gilad Shalit (‘Gilad Shalit’s Plight, and Israel’s Dilemma,’ July 10). At the end of the day, however, logic and experience have shown that freeing Palestinian terrorists…

  Jul 15, 2009 | 2 min read

Columnists View All

• Jay Michaelson What can really be done to prevent antisemitic attacks like Bondi Beach?

  

• Rob Eshman Australia shooting terrifies Jews worldwide — and strengthens the case for Israel

  

• Nora Berman Did crypto-Jews invent the modern tarot deck?

  

• Dan Perry An Israeli media mainstay is crumbling. Will liberal democracy go with it?

  

• Emily Tamkin The Holocaust survivor writer who can help us through this ominous era

  

The Latest

• Opinion

  What We Could Learn From Pope Benedict

  ‘Turn it and turn it again, for everything is contained therein” — so says the Talmudic compendium of wisdom known as the “Ethics of the Fathers,” in trying to describe the value of the Torah. It’s got everything you need right inside, tradition teaches. It’s the all-in-one roadmap for living in this world. After all,…

  By J.J. Goldberg Jul 15, 2009 | 4 min read
• Opinion

  Prophecy Is Not Policy

  Liberal Jewish activists profess a great regard for the prophetic tradition and its message to the modern world. In these weeks leading up to our traditional day of mourning, Tisha B’Av, our weekly haftarot are peppered with messages of disapproval for a society deaf to God’s word. And it is hard to read those messages…

  By Noam Neusner Jul 15, 2009 | 4 min read
• 
  Opinion

  As Iran Extends Its Reach, a Lesson From Argentina

  On July 18, 1994, terrorists bombed the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association building in Buenos Aires, killing 85 and wounding 300. Since then, we have learned that the bombing was carried out at the behest of key leaders of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Now, as we mark the 15th anniversary of that devastating assault on…

  By Daniel S. Mariaschin Jul 15, 2009 | 2 min read
• Opinion

  In Machers vs. Obama, the Youth Have Voted

  Nearly every month, it seems, another establishment Jewish organization launches some new, well-funded initiative to involve young American Jews like me in traditional Jewish institutions. As a 26-year-old American Jew, I appreciate these efforts — particularly those that focus on creating meaningful Jewish experiences that move beyond a simplistic focus on Jewish continuity. As I…

  By Isaac Luria Jul 15, 2009 | 3 min read
• Opinion

  Jewish Organizations Should Spare the Change

  Innovation, we are often told, is the great savior. It will remake Detroit, cleanse the atmosphere and educate every child. Years of steady drops in the membership rolls and donor bases of many American Jewish institutions, from national advocacy organizations to community federations, have led many to conclude that innovation is also the key to…

  By Matthew Ackerman Jul 15, 2009 | 3 min read
• 
  Opinion

  Who Is an Israeli?

  The “Who Is A Jew?” question has long been with us, often quite acrimoniously. In Israel, the debate has immediate legal implications. In America, too, the question arises frequently, whether in Jewish population surveys, in responses to the offspring of intermarried Jews or even in discussions of Jewish identity. At first blush, the question “Who…

  By Leonard Fein Jul 8, 2009 | 4 min read
• Opinion

  Breaking the Cease-Fire Between Science and Religion

  What is portrayed as the debate between religion and science feels increasingly like watching the very bitter dissolution of a doomed marriage. The relationship started out all roses and kisses, proceeded to doubts and regrets, then fights and silences, a mutually agreed separation, and finally to curses and maledictions: “I wish you were dead!” In…

  By David Klinghoffer Jul 8, 2009 | 4 min read
• Opinion

  UJC’s Dilemma: When To Lead?

  With the appointment of Jerry Silverman, a highly successful nonprofit and corporate executive, as the new CEO of United Jewish Communities, the troubled umbrella organization for North America’s Jewish community federations is hoping to turn a new page. So far, Silverman, most recently the executive director of the Foundation for Jewish Camp, is saying the…

  By Jacob B. Ukeles Jul 8, 2009 | 4 min read