Opinion

• Opinion

  On Gaza, Sense and Centrism

  Wars sicken me, even wars that I support. I support Israel’s offensive in Gaza, but watching it on TV — the images of bombed-out buildings, crying women and, inevitably, the bodies of innocent bystanders — is a painful experience. I suspect that most American Jews feel the same discomfort that I feel. They support the…

  By Eric Yoffie

  4 min read
• Opinion

  Obama’s Gaza Opportunity

  When Israel unleashed its warplanes on Gaza on December 27, a collective gasp could be heard around the globe. The sudden fury of the bombardment brought visions of another Lebanon-style debacle: neighborhoods in rubble, mass civilian deaths, angry mobs surrounding Western embassies, furious diplomatic brinkmanship leading to a humiliating Israeli withdrawal. What actually happened, at…

  Dec 31, 2008 | 4 min read
• Opinion

  A Danger Greater Than Denial

  The news that Herman Rosenblat’s Holocaust memoir “Angel at the Fence” is a fraud has the press buzzing and the publishing world reeling. The book, which the publisher apparently anticipated would be a best-seller, was pulled right before it was to be shipped to bookstores. No one who has paid close attention to the story,…

  By Deborah E. Lipstadt Dec 31, 2008 | 4 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

  Holding Hamas Accountable

  Operation Cast Lead, initiated in response to resumed Hamas rocket attacks on communities in southern Israel, represents Israel’s most furious attack on Hamas since the terrorist group assumed control of Gaza. For the past six months, an Egyptian-brokered cease-fire maintained an uneasy status quo, during which time Hamas smuggled some 80 tons of explosives, roadside…

  By Matthew Levitt Dec 31, 2008 | 3 min read
• Opinion

  Changing the Game, or More of the Same?

  Here’s the context: A few days after the Thanksgiving holiday, at a party he attended reluctantly, he met and chatted up a young woman. Somewhat to his surprise, she gave him her phone number. A few days later, he called her and arranged a dinner date for December 28. Having asked around about her, he’d…

  By Leonard Fein Dec 31, 2008 | 4 min read
• Letters

  January 9, 2009

  Warren Pick Doesn’t Speak to This American Would you explain again how honoring Rick Warren at Barack Obama’s inauguration is, as your editorial put it, “speaking to all Americans” (“Praying With Rev. Warren,” January 2)? For whom will he be praying? And what will he pray for — our conversion? It’s one thing to work…

  Dec 31, 2008 | 4 min read
• 
  Opinion

  For Sderot, Help Is Not on the Way

  Living near Gaza can be a traumatic experience. Over the past six years, thousands of rockets and mortar rounds have been launched across the border into Israel. On a bad day, every few hours there is a bang, or a number of bangs. One does not know where the next rocket will land. Now that…

  By Martin van Creveld Dec 24, 2008 | 3 min read
• Opinion

  We Are All Madoff’s Enablers

  I got to know Bernie Madoff through his service to Yeshiva University’s Sy Syms School of Business. Until news of the scandal broke, he served as chairman of our board. I, and other faculty members, worked closely with him on an academic committee, meeting frequently at his now-infamous Midtown office. He is charming, soft-spoken and…

  By Moses L. Pava Dec 24, 2008 | 3 min read
• Opinion

  Bidding Bush Adieu, Gladly

  Many on the political right are dreading Barack Obama’s inauguration. But for all the rhetoric that issued from the Jewish right about the dangers a Democratic victory would pose to Israel during the past year, can any conservatives honestly say that they’re particularly pleased with President Bush’s recent Middle East policies? Sure, there are a…

  By Jonathan S. Tobin Dec 24, 2008 | 3 min read
• Opinion

  Cringing at Madoff, and Counting Cabinet Jews

  Let’s say it’s the day the Earth stands still, or UFOs have landed all over the place and disgorged mean-spirited aliens. You are alone in a strange city, devastation is everywhere, and all you have in your possession is a local telephone book. You try 911, but there’s no answer. What’s your next move? Here…

  By Leonard Fein Dec 24, 2008 | 4 min read
• Letters

  Jan 2, 2009

  Court Didn’t Mandate Hebron House Eviction In your December 19 editorial “Hebron and the Rule of Law,” regarding the evictions of Jews from Hebron’s Beit HaShalom, you write: “In November the court authorized the army to evict the squatters. The troops went in to enforce the law.” That is misleading. The Supreme Court did not…

  Dec 24, 2008 | 4 min read