Opinion

• Opinion

  Beyond the myths, Thanksgiving and Hanukkah share stories of resistance

  Both holidays raise serious questions about cultural survival

  By Mahrinah Shije

  5 min read
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  Opinion

  Why I was thrown off the Mayflower II

  In a memorable moment of my journalistic career, I was thrown off the Mayflower II. More precisely, I was led off — as opposed to being forced to walk the plank — the replica ship in Plymouth Harbor by one of its crew member actors, who overheard me asking tourists about atrocities the Pilgrims committed…

  By Robin Washington Nov 22, 2021 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Harold Ramis’s 10 greatest comedy bits

  Editor’s note: This chronicle of the best work of the great comic writer and actor Harold Ramis was originally published on Feb. 25, 2014, after Ramis’s death at age 69. We’ve republished it in honor of what would have been the actor’s 77th birthday; he was born on Nov. 21, 1944. Harold Ramis, the comedy…

  By J.J. Goldberg Nov 21, 2021 | 2 min read

Columnists View All

• Jay Michaelson A Yom Kippur confessional for 2025

  

• Rob Eshman When did Donald Trump become a liberal Zionist?

  

• Nora Berman The terrifying Nazi precedent for Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension — and the reasons to stay hopeful

  

• Dan Perry Trump is finally absolutely right about something in the Middle East

  

• Emily Tamkin Trump’s attack on George Soros is ludicrous. It also endangers Jews (and everyone else)

  

The Latest

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  Opinion

  Rittenhouse verdict not a surprise — but not OK

  The case was decided once the weapons charge was tossed

  By Robin Washington Nov 19, 2021 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  A rabbi helped me understand the stigma addiction carries. ‘Dopesick’ makes his lessons even more essential

  Waves of agony repeatedly knocked the breath out of me, as pressure built behind my eyes, producing visual auras that blurred my sight and made me nauseous. The pain was so unique, so all-encompassing, that I lost all rational capabilities, screaming and kicking as if possessed. My first such debilitating experience occurred when I was…

  By Nora Berman Nov 18, 2021 | 5 min read
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  Opinion

  I was America’s first female rabbi. I am brokenhearted to learn how the man who ordained me treated so many other women

  Having read the recent report detailing the presence of gender bias, sexual harassment, discrimination and bullying on the four campuses of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, I am genuinely brokenhearted that the seminary with which I have been so closely associated for more than five decades has failed so abysmally to listen to its…

  By Rabbi Sally J. Priesand Nov 16, 2021 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  A 4-year-old Jewish girl died in Toronto. We need to talk about why

  Do you know who little Keira Kagan was? I want to tell you about her. Keira had blonde-brown hair, cute little glasses and a beautiful smile. Her mother described her as “smart and spunky,” someone who “loved to get dressed up to get into her princess dress and be fancy.” She lived in Toronto and…

  By Guila Benchimol Nov 11, 2021 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  For African Hebrew Israelites, threats of deportation are dehumanizing — and déjà vu

  Last April, Israel’s Interior Ministry sent letters threatening 51 members of our community — including those for whom Israel is the only home they’ve ever known — with deportation within 60 days. Since then, an administrative appeals court has issued a temporary stay, but the threat remains. With it comes an overwhelming sense of déjà…

  By Ahmadiel Ben Yehuda Nov 11, 2021 | 6 min read
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  Opinion

  You don’t have to choose between loving Israel and opposing the occupation

  I recently joined a rally to protest the horrific conditions at Rikers’ Island, where 14 people, all awaiting trial, have died in the past year. I walked away in tears at the pain of these families and individuals, and angered yet again by the racist structures that put a disproportionate number of people of color…

  By Jill Jacobs Nov 9, 2021 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  On Kristallnacht, the world ignored Jewish suffering. Today, we risk repeating this mistake

  On the way to school, 10-year-old Ruth Winkelmann saw Nazi stormtroopers painting a Star of David onto the back of a religious Jew’s coat. In an interview with the BBC, Ruth said: “I thought, ‘My dad is with me and nothing bad can happen to me,’ but it was a very disturbing sight, and I…

  By Phyllis Greenberg Heideman Nov 9, 2021 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Growing up in Israel, I had never heard of Rabbi Sacks. After his death, I fell in love with his message

  In Nov. 2020, I came across a minor story on an inside page of an Israeli newspaper, reporting that Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, former Chief Rabbi of the United Kingdom “and one of the most important thinkers of our time,” had passed away. I had never come across his name before, so I thought that…

  By Iddo Gefen Nov 5, 2021 | 4 min read