Opinion

• Opinion

  The Conscription Prescription

  The Israeli military draws its manpower from universal conscription. Actually, conscription in Israel is no longer truly universal — large numbers of ultra-Orthodox are exempted, along with any woman declaring herself religious and a percentage of youth judged unfit for service — but it probably comes as close to universality as any army. In stark…

  By Yossi Alpher

  4 min read
• Opinion

  Mourn for Gaza, Pray for Unity

  As Israel prepares to disengage from Gaza, it is not only natural but also proper that we experience a keen sense of mourning over our loss. Imagine if we were evicted from our homes, if our synagogues were dismantled, the remains of our loved ones disinterred. These feelings only become more acute when we recall…

  By Avi Weiss Aug 12, 2005 | 3 min read
• Opinion

  Toward Theological Evolution

  The passionately contested scientific critique of Darwinian evolution called “Intelligent Design” is hotter than ever. Yet in this controversy, with its profound moral and spiritual implications, the Jewish community has remained curiously abstracted and irrelevant. Our irrelevance stands out when you consider how many Christians, from President Bush to Cardinal Christoph Schonborn, have weighed in…

  By David Klinghoffer Aug 12, 2005 | 4 min read

Columnists View All

• Alyssa Katz Class assignment: Get to know your murdered Jewish neighbors

  

• Rob Eshman Trump is backed into a corner on Iran. Get ready for him to start blaming Jews

  

• Dan Perry How Israel became a country where teenagers murder each other in cold blood

  

• Emily Tamkin American Jews have a Hasan Piker problem. Solving it is going to hurt

  

• Jay Michaelson Epstein and Iran are an antisemitism mega-crisis. Here’s what Jewish organizations should do about it. 

  

The Latest

• Opinion

  Two-state Dissolution

  Once upon a not so long-ago time, Israel’s Herut Party, which eventually mutated into today’s Likud, had as its theme song “Shtei Gadot Layarden” — “There are two sides to the Jordan [river], this one is ours and that one, too.” In short, all the land between the Mediterranean and the Jordan as the one…

  By Leonard Fein Aug 5, 2005 | 4 min read
• Opinion

  Orneriness and Its Discontents

  In the end, there was nothing but sheer orneriness driving President Bush’s decision to go behind the Senate’s back and send John Bolton to the United Nations by recess appointment. He embarrassed America and did Bolton no favor, but he got his way. If Bush had a point in the first place in nominating Bolton,…

  Aug 5, 2005 | 3 min read
• Opinion

  Standing With Israel

  With just days to go before Israel begins pulling its troops and settlers out of Gaza and the northern West Bank, a weird air of unreality has settled over the subject. For most Israelis, soldier and civilian alike, the discussion is over, and little remains but to roll the trucks, clear out and hand over…

  Aug 5, 2005 | 2 min read
• Opinion

  Cultivate Communal Connection Beyond Organizational Affiliation

  Everyone knows that there is a daunting number of Jewish organizations in America. A recent volume of the American Jewish Year Book lists more than 500 operating at the national level, not to speak of those operating locally. The veritable babble of acronyms underscores the community’s hyper-organized character: UJA, AJC, JDC, ADL, AIPAC, IPF, NIF,…

  By Bethamie Horowitz Aug 5, 2005 | 5 min read
• Opinion

  One Governor’s Commitment to Survivors

  Nine years ago, the financial losses suffered by Nazi victims suddenly received an extraordinary amount of attention. Dormant bank accounts in Switzerland and European insurance companies’ unpaid policies became headline news. But while victims found that their losses were of great public interest, few agencies were prepared to assist individual Holocaust survivors with their claims….

  By Marilyn Henry Aug 5, 2005 | 4 min read
• Letters

  Letter August 5, 2005

  Berg the First Ballplayer To Be Big in Japan? A July 29 article on the return of Gabe Kapler to the Boston Red Sox reports that Moe Berg is thought to have been the first Jewish ballplayer “to set up shop in Japan” (“Batter Back in Boston”). Berg did play in Japan in the 1930s,…

  Aug 5, 2005 | 5 min read
• Opinion

  Disengage From Turning Religion Into a Political Slogan

  When disengagement from Gaza is over, this much is clear: Relations between religious Zionism and the State of Israel will never be quite the same. The rules of the game that have regulated the relationship between the national religious camp and Israel’s secular population have been shattered beyond repair. Most Israelis, it should be said,…

  By Eric Yoffie Jul 29, 2005 | 5 min read
• Letters

  July 29, 2005

  Rabbi a Model Soldier A July 1 article on the appointment of Rabbi Arnold Resnicoff to serve as an advisor to the Air Force as it responds to problems at the Air Force Academy is written to the point, but doesn’t do full justice to the individual (“Air Force Taps Rabbi To Aid on Academy…

  Jul 29, 2005 | 6 min read