Opinion

• Opinion

  Make the Negev Desert ‘Blossom As the Rose’

  David Ben-Gurion, Israel’s first prime minister, understood that the Jewish state’s future lay in the Negev. Indeed, he himself called the Negev home, and it was in his hometown of Sde Boker that, this past November, the development of the Negev once again became a national strategic priority. At a special government meeting held in…

  By Shimon Peres

  4 min read
• Opinion

  Back Bill To Ban Cluster Bombs

  The United States and Israel, as well as dozens of other countries that are makers, sellers or stockpilers of weapons, are in the cross hairs of an international movement to abolish cluster bombs. Weapons are, of course, meant to kill, and are a fact of war. But cluster bombs, like landmines, kill indiscriminately, and therefore…

  By Kathleen Peratis Mar 23, 2007 | 4 min read
• Opinion

  Water Is More Than Just A Liquid Asset

  The opening line of Psalm 24 — “The Earth is the Lord’s, and all of its fruits” — is considered by many to express the cornerstone economic principle of Judaism. It’s a principle that our biblical ancestors learned the hard way: According to one Hasidic teaching, Jews endured centuries of slavery in Egypt in order…

  By Lawrence Bush Mar 23, 2007 | 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

  Greece Must Acknowledge Its Complicity in the Shoah

  Today, as European nations continue to struggle with the legacy of the Holocaust, the role of the Greek state in facilitating genocide against its own Jews remains unacknowledged and ignored. Greece has rarely confronted its past; but with increasing demands for all nations to face their history, it is time that Greece followed suit. The…

  By Andrew Apostolou Mar 23, 2007 | 3 min read
• Opinion

  Leaders to the Right, Followers to the Left

  On March 12, by action of its executive committee, the Union for Reform Judaism became the first national Jewish organization to take more than a tongue-clucking position on the Iraq War. It did what the Senate has been unable to do: It voted overwhelmingly to oppose President Bush’s “surge” of new troops, and it called…

  By Leonard Fein Mar 23, 2007 | 4 min read
• Letters

  March 23, 2007

  If There are No Better Options, Then Back Bush What makes Iran a major threat to Israel is the deadly intentions of its rulers (“Candor Among Friends,” March 16). So far, this has taken the form of steady funneling of Iranian arms and funds to Hezbollah forces in Lebanon and Hamas terrorists in Gaza. The…

  Mar 23, 2007 | 4 min read
• Opinion

  The Choices of Freedom

  Passover, now a week away, occupies a unique place in the hearts of American Jews. It’s the holiday that most poignantly combines the warmth of family, the pageantry of tradition and the power of Judaism’s universal message of human dignity. More than that, it’s the holiday that most affirms our sense of place and belonging…

  Mar 23, 2007 | 5 min read
• Opinion

  When Love Is a Casualty of War

  My Lebanese girlfriend does not want to listen to The Cure’s song “Killing an Arab.” “Turn it off,” she demands. This is odd. Helen is a huge Cure fan; in fact, I never really listened to The Cure until we started dating. I turn around to face her, my mind racing to produce some witty…

  By Joshua Gross Mar 16, 2007 | 5 min read
• Opinion

  Alvin Rosenfeld Is Right About Liberals And the Jewish State

  In speaking with people these days who were brought up in open-minded households, dedicated to progressive causes and educated in liberal schools, I have found considerable unease with the liberal approach in the vital area of security. Seeing the events of September 11, 2001, together with the wagons circling around Israel and violence against Jewish…

  By Lee Adlerstein Mar 16, 2007 | 3 min read
• Opinion

  When the Divine Image in Man is Defaced

  Despite his personally liberal views on abortion, surging presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani seems committed, if elected, to appointing judges with a judicial philosophy in line with conservative tastes. If he wins the White House, Giuliani could have the opportunity to make a Supreme Court nomination or two, which might very well spell the end of…

  By David Klinghoffer Mar 16, 2007 | 4 min read
• Letters

  March 16, 2007

  Ford Motor Co. Helped Israel in Early Years A February 16 Shmooze article on the National Jewish Democratic Council’s response to Mitt Romney launching his presidential campaign at the Henry Ford Museum demonstrates an extreme lack of historical understanding on the part of the NJDC (“Spinmeisters, Start Your Engines”). While satirical in nature, the article…

  Mar 16, 2007 | 3 min read