Opinion

• Opinion

  Freedom From Hunger

  This Passover reminded us again of how food and freedom are inextricably linked. It’s not just that, around day six or seven, one wishes to be liberated from yet another meal of fried matzo and Seder leftovers. It’s that we are commanded to eat differently to better understand exodus, deprivation, longing and the need not…

  < 1 min read
• Letters

  April 17, 2009

  An Ungenerous Epitaph An otherwise useful article on the problems facing United Jewish Communities unfortunately misrepresents American Jewish communal organizational history (“UJC’s Future at Stake as Local Charities call for Dramatic Cuts,” April 10). Your article characterizes UJC’s predecessor agency, the Council of Jewish Federations, as merely a “trade organization, convening the federations’ General Assembly…

  Apr 8, 2009 | 5 min read
• Letters

  April 10, 2009

  The Delicate Dance Of Muslim-Jewish Dialogue As a sometimes skeptical participant in dialogue, I was pleased to read of the recent vote by the Jewish Council for Public Affairs in support of strengthening Muslim-Jewish ties (“JCPA Approves Effort To Build Dialogue With Muslim Groups,” March 13). To be honest, most Muslims and Jews will continue…

  Apr 1, 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

• Opinion

  A Responsive Community

  First, there was the stump speech, delivered without amplification from a makeshift podium. Then the fireside chat. Then the televised press conference. And now this — Barack Obama, a creature of the Internet age, recently conducted the first online town hall meeting ever hosted by a sitting president. Nearly 93,000 people submitted more than 104,000…

  Apr 1, 2009 | 2 min read
• Opinion

  Hearing Their Pain

  The tale of the Palestinian youth orchestra players from the Jenin refugee camp who performed for Holocaust survivors in Israel is a classic illustration of the way giddy hope is squashed by political reality in today’s Middle East. It began with warm feelings and good intentions — bring Palestinian teenagers from one of the West…

  Apr 1, 2009 | 2 min read
• Opinion

  True Freedom

  This isn’t the most difficult Passover in Jewish history, but for many, the awful combination of economic collapse and global unrest will make it a challenge. Consumerism too often takes a seat at the Seder, corrupting the holiday’s central mission, which is not to spend, but to imagine. Passover is about doing with less for…

  Apr 1, 2009 | < 1 min read
• 
  Opinion

  Bursting the ‘Bubble,’ as Tel Aviv Turns 100

  Every few weeks, gay Arab men from all over Israel gather for a party at a rented nightclub on Tel Aviv’s Herzl Street. The highlight of the evening is a drag show, with heavily made-up amateur performers dressed as sexy, pouting Arab pop stars. They are followed by Raafat, a performance artist from Jaffa, who…

  By Lisa Goldman Apr 1, 2009 | 5 min read
• Opinion

  As Miriam’s Cup Runneth Over, Jewish Men Go Missing in Action

  The feminist project of rethinking the Seder has begun — and my home is its next front. My eldest daughter, who recently became bat mitzvah, received as a gift a Miriam’s Cup. I’m not wild about such feminist flourishes, but as a father of three daughters, I dare not oppose them even if I find…

  By Noam Neusner Apr 1, 2009 | 3 min read
• Opinion

  A New Era, and New Paths to Peace

  With Benjamin Netanyahu taking the reins of power in Israel, his critics are wasting no time in making the case that his ascension to the post of prime minister is bad news for peace, and even worse news for relations with Washington. They are wrong on both counts. In fact, chances of arriving at a…

  By Zalman Shoval Apr 1, 2009 | 3 min read
• Opinion

  When the ‘Most Moral Army’ Goes to War

  At the end of her rendition of “Had Gadya,” the Israeli singer Hava Alberstein adds new lyrics: “On all other nights I ask the four questions, but tonight I have one more: ‘How long will the cycle last? How long will the cycle of violence last? The chased and the chaser, the beaten and the…

  By Leonard Fein Apr 1, 2009 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  The Pity of Bernie Madoff

  Bernard Madoff is in prison. All indications are that he will spend the rest of his days there, which is surely where he belongs. Still, many express concern that he will get off too easy, and urge that he be made to suffer as his victims have suffered. Some would have him assigned to clean…

  By Louis E. Newman Mar 25, 2009 | 2 min read