Opinion

• Opinion

  Why We Fear Sarah Palin

  A friend of mine in the media covered the Republican National Convention and brought me back a souvenir: a navy blue yarmulke with “McCain ’08” printed on it in English and Hebrew. I guess there wasn’t time for the campaign to make them up with Sarah Palin’s name, too, which is a shame. With all…

  By David Klinghoffer

  4 min read
• Opinion

  Breaking Fast With a Hate-Monger

  Iftar is a beautiful custom within the liturgical practice of Islam. During Ramadan, the month of fasting, sunset marks the time when food may be taken again. Families and communities offer meals for friends and neighbors, often inviting those who are not practicing Muslims to join with them in sharing special dishes. This can be…

  By Bruce Chilton Oct 2, 2008 | 4 min read
• Opinion

  Putting Politics Above Israel

  Policies that endure require bipartisan political support. And because Israel’s American supporters historically have placed its security ahead of partisan politics, Israel has enjoyed strong bipartisan backing in the United States. During the 10 years in which I served as a member of the United States Congress, I often introduced bills that were described by…

  By Mel Levine Oct 2, 2008 | 3 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 It’s a classic trick of liars and crooks — and it’s shaping Israel’s response to war and disaster

  

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

  

The Latest

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  Opinion

  Why My Grandpa Was No Hitter on Yom Kippur

  Yom Kippur is rather inconveniently timed. Just ask any Jewish baseball player. It invariably falls during either the pennant race or the post-season, which poses a dilemma for players with teams that are championship contenders. In 1934, my grandfather, Hank Greenberg, was the first big leaguer to sit out a game on the Day of…

  By Melanie Greenberg Oct 2, 2008 | 3 min read
• Opinion

  The Kingdom of Judea vs. the State of Israel

  At second blush, it seems the work of a lunatic fringe. First blush, of course, is the actual explosion of the pipe bomb that lightly wounded Professor Ze’ev Sternhell, an internationally renowned political scientist and a winner this year of the Israel Prize. That happened around midnight on Thursday, September 25, just outside Sternhell’s home…

  By Leonard Fein Oct 2, 2008 | 4 min read
• Opinion

  Hekhsher Tzedek’s Law Problem

  The Jewish community has been roiled by the continuing charges against kosher meat giant Agriprocessors. Kosher consumers are angry that practices which are supposed to bring credit to Jewish tradition are instead sullying its image. But Jews have been divided on how to respond. The Conservative movement has proposed a new kind of certification, called…

  By Michael Broyde and Yitzchok Adlerstein Sep 25, 2008 | 4 min read
• Opinion

  Orthodoxy’s Kosher Crisis

  Over the course of the past five months, the American Jewish community has observed with dismay the gradual unfolding of the Agriprocessors scandal. Agriprocessors may be a private corporation, but as the nation’s leading producer of kosher meat, it is one that operates under the Jewish communal banner. Its actions have been followed closely, not…

  By Eric Yoffie Sep 25, 2008 | 4 min read
• Opinion

  New Priorities for Tzipi Livni

  Tzipi Livni’s public image, both in Israel and abroad, is most closely associated with the peace talks she has administered in recent months with the Palestinians. And yet, it would be a mistake to assume that the Palestinian track will be her top priority now that she has been elected leader of the Kadima Party….

  By Yossi Alpher Sep 25, 2008 | 3 min read
• Opinion

  Judaism: Our System of Vocational Education

  Some weeks ago, I concluded a column with these words: …we need to find a compelling way to finish the sentence that begins with the words, “It is important that the Jewish people survive in order to…” In order to what? There is, I believe, one core idea that defines us and could, perhaps, bring…

  By Leonard Fein Sep 25, 2008 | 4 min read
• Letters

  October 3, 2008

  Rally Leaders Failed Us By Excluding Palin I recently attended a Holocaust studies conference where the overriding theme was the failure of Jewish leadership and the Jewish establishment while the Holocaust in Europe was raging. The failure of Jewish conscience and unity — along with the obstructionism of the U.S. State Department and Franklin Delano…

  Sep 25, 2008 | 3 min read
• Opinion

  Taking Back the Street

  For all its malodorous air of refueling a getaway car, the upcoming federal bailout of Wall Street is a lifesaving emergency operation, and it must go forward. It could become a fat giveaway to the rich, as progressives rightly fear, but it doesn’t have to be. Handled properly, the emergency measures will douse the fire…

  Sep 25, 2008 | 3 min read