Opinion

• Opinion

  Capitalism in Crisis

  The fallout of America’s sub-prime mortgage crisis goes beyond the economic realm. More than even its military failures in Iraq, the decline in America’s economic fortunes has damaged its global standing, as well as the attractiveness of its political and economic model in the eyes of many Europeans. Even for sympathetic observers, the events that…

  By Eric Frey

  3 min read
• Opinion

  What Makes a President?

  Let us speak of political virtues. There’s oratorical skill, long since recognized as a major asset, obviously a Barack Obama strength. Here’s how Aristotle frames the matter in his “Rhetoric” (Book One, Chapter Two): “Of the modes of persuasion furnished by the spoken word there are three kinds. The first kind depends on the personal…

  By Leonard Fein Jan 23, 2008 | 4 min read
• Letters

  January 18, 2008

  Worker Safety and Health Are Priorities In a December 28 opinion article, Avram Lyon reports that a former Smithfield employee was knocked down when an animal carcass fell on her and, after receiving little or no medical attention from the company, she later miscarried in the hospital, supposedly as a result of the injury she…

  Jan 18, 2008 | 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

  Reckless in Gaza

  Ehud Olmert, Israel’s perpetually embattled prime minister, probably thought he was performing a daring display of political balancing this week. First he saw off the visiting President Bush with grand words of peace. Then he announced that he opposed any major ground incursion into lawless Gaza. The next day, his troops opened up the bloodiest…

  Jan 18, 2008 | 4 min read
• Opinion

  Push for Peace Now, Before Bush and Abbas Step Down

  In his last year in office, President Bush has finally gotten engaged in the Middle East peace process. Last week he made his first visit as president to Israel and the West Bank, only weeks after convening a high-profile peace summit in Annapolis this past November. Bush started the stopwatch to count down his remaining…

  By Markus Bouillon and Michael Shtender-Auerbach Jan 16, 2008 | 4 min read
• Opinion

  Still Struggling for the Right To Choose

  Next week marks the 35th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s landmark Roe v. Wade decision. In the ongoing struggle to keep abortion safe and legal in the United States, there is no rest for the weary. It was only a generation ago when as many as 10,000 women died each year from illegal abortions. Many…

  By Phyllis Snyder Jan 16, 2008 | 3 min read
• Opinion

  When Is a Heeb a Heeb?

  Until recently — what with the daily synagogue attendance, kids in day school, and assorted fringes, yarmulkes and whatnot — I had considered myself fairly religious. Then I read Jonathan Sarna’s essay last week on Washingtonpost.com, and found out that, as a Heeb magazine editor, I was not merely secular, but, in fact, a Jewish…

  By David Deutsch Jan 16, 2008 | 2 min read
• Opinion

  Have You Asked Yourself What Judaism Is Really About?

  Christianity has an image problem, and Christians ought to pay earnest attention to it rather than dismissing it as the product of media bias. That’s the message of a new book that should be of interest to Jews, because it shows the kind of questions that Christians have started asking themselves — questions that we…

  By David Klinghoffer Jan 16, 2008 | 4 min read
• Opinion

  Better Safe Than Sorry for Candidates on Israel

  Let’s play make-believe: Imagine that the candidates for the presidential nomination, Democrat and Republican, are asked for their views on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. (So far, that hasn’t happened.) And imagine that in addition to the familiar formulas regarding Israel — America’s valuable ally, the only democracy in the Middle East, entitled to live in security,…

  By Leonard Fein Jan 16, 2008 | 4 min read
• Opinion

  Dangerous Talk

  Israel got a rude reminder last week of just how deeply it is divided on the question of what to do with the West Bank. A popular rabbi, Shalom Dov Wolpe, declared publicly January 2 that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and his top ministers ought to be hanged for considering withdrawal. Israelis across the spectrum…

  Jan 11, 2008 | 3 min read
• Letters

  January 11, 2008

  Rabbi’s Visit in 1980s Helped Open Belmonte A January 4 article reports: “Until the 1990s, the Belmonte conversos kept their history to themselves” (“After 500 Years in Hiding, Jews Bring Prosperity to Iberian Town”). In 1985, however, Rabbi Joshua Stampfer of Portland, Ore., visited Belmonte and made numerous contacts within the Judeo community. Robert Reed,…

  Jan 11, 2008 | 3 min read