Opinion

• Opinion

  Netanyahu’s Second Chance

  It’s not every day that a prime minister who squandered his first term gets a second chance. Between 1974 and 1977, the inexperienced and anxious Yitzhak Rabin stumbled and failed, bringing to an end 29 years of Labor rule in Israel. Fifteen years later, he returned to power, vowing not to repeat his past blunders….

  By Uri Dromi

  3 min read
• Opinion

  Omer in America

  With its roots ostensibly in seasonal farming routines, the Jewish ritual of counting the Omer between Passover and Shavuot doesn’t at first seem ripe with contemporary significance. But I often remember Rabbi David Lapin’s comment that he is surprised at how previous generations found as much meaning in Jewish observances as they did, when the…

  By David Klinghoffer Apr 15, 2009 | 3 min read
• Opinion

  The State of the Two-State Solution

  Perhaps you’ve noticed, but what with all the spring cleaning, Obama’s 24/7 whirlwind and Pesach, it may have escaped your attention: Our world is upside-down. In the context of the Israeli-Palestinian dispute, the term “hard-liner” is used to refer to a person who opposed the idea of an independent Palestinian state. There were such people…

  By Leonard Fein Apr 15, 2009 | 3 min read

Columnists View All

• Alyssa Katz My summer plans prove it: The Jewish Catskills are alive and kicking

  

• Rob Eshman ‘Remember the Liberty’ has become code for ‘Israel Is Evil’ 

  

• Dan Perry The Iran war ended terribly for the US, and even worse for Israel

  

• Emily Tamkin Outrage over Nicholas Kristof’s op-ed on sexual assault of Palestinians is missing the point

  

• Jay Michaelson You’re wrong, Ken Paxton: Obviously God is nonbinary

  

The Latest

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  Opinion

  Shifting From Myth To Function

  There was once a prisoner who yearned for freedom. One day, the prophet Mohammed appeared to him, and gave him a set of keys to his cell, saying “Your piety has been rewarded. Allah has set you free.” So the prisoner took the set of keys, mounted them on the wall, and prayed to them…

  By Jay Michaelson Apr 15, 2009 | 7 min read
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  Opinion

  For Students, A Spiritual Journey Through the Wilderness

  Nearly two dozen teenagers looked out over the ravine at Bear Mountain in New York, pausing from their hike to take in the vista of treetops spreading out in front of them. Their guide and group leader, Jordan Rosenberg, quieted the eighth graders so that they could say the traveler’s prayer*, t’filat haderech*, asking for…

  By Devra Ferst Apr 15, 2009 | 4 min read
• Opinion

  Making Jewish Beliefs Accessible To More

  At a time when many pulpit rabbis have fewer congregants to attend to, a Jewish institution is urging them to turn their attention to a larger flock — American society. Rabbis Without Borders aims to bring Jewish wisdom into the public sphere by translating the beliefs and traditions of Judaism into an accessible and usable…

  By Lana Gersten Apr 15, 2009 | 3 min read
• Opinion

  Portrait of the Rabbi as an Artist Explaining Another Artist’s Portrait

  I stand in the gallery pointing out to them the play of light and dark, lines curved and straight, cubes and angles, all alluding to the Artist’s ardor, as I coax their adoration. Some half doze and politely yawn. Others dismiss with candor the painted objects of veneration. And others get entranced with how He…

  By Rabbi Dan Ornstein Apr 15, 2009 | < 1 min read
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  Opinion

  The Regime Change Israel Needs

  It is difficult for Israelis not to be a little bit envious as we watch the early days of Barack Obama’s term as president. From the economy to foreign policy, America’s new president is taking bold actions aimed at addressing the formidable challenges facing his country and the world. Israel also faces critical challenges. Unfortunately,…

  By Yehezkel Dror Apr 8, 2009 | 3 min read
• Opinion

  Marching on Umm al-Fahm

  Pesach seems at first (and second, and third) blush to be about Big Things. You don’t get much bigger than slavery and freedom, than exodus and liberation. But reading the story reminds us that most, if not all, big things are composed of an array of little things. The happenstance witness of an injustice leads…

  By Leonard Fein Apr 8, 2009 | 3 min read
• Opinion

  Making Hebrew a Priority

  Florida’s Ben Gamla Charter School may be America’s only Hebrew charter school — with another on the way in New York — but the fledgling movement to create more such schools across the country is spurring vigorous debate within the Jewish community. At issue are the relative merits of publicly funded charter schools and private…

  By Reuven Kalifon Apr 8, 2009 | 3 min read
• Opinion

  Progress, But Not Equality

  The ground shook beneath the Jewish world a few weeks ago at a synagogue in the Bronx. It happened quietly, not part of any noisy revolution — the person at the center of this historic change hardly looks or sounds like a rabble-rouser, not with her covered hair and modest demeanor, and her frequent praise…

  Apr 8, 2009 | 3 min read