Opinion

• Opinion

  The Alt-Right Isn’t Going Away

  Many were shocked by the sudden rise in white supremacy following Donald Trump’s surprise electoral win in 2016. But they needn’t have been. America has been here before, as recently as the late 1990s. Extremist surges typically last at least five years. The surge of white supremacy that started in the 1980s with the recession…

  By Oren Segal

  4 min read
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  Opinion

  Israel Banned Me For Documenting The Occupation

  “What Palestinians do you know? Let me see the contacts in your phone. Who gave you a visa to be here?” the police woman demanded. “Your government gave it to me,” I replied. “The Israel consulate in New York City.” This was round three of questioning in the Ben Gurion airport as I was attempting…

  By Ariel Gold Jul 3, 2018 | 5 min read
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  Opinion

  Do Your Kids and Grandkids Know Their Family History?

  This article originally appeared in the Yiddish Forverts. In the summer of 2001, two psychologists at Emory University conducted a unique study, hoping to find the “secret” to raising resilient children. The researchers, Marshall Duke and Robin Feivush, suspected that children who had strong ties to previous generations were psychologically more intact. So they interviewed…

  By Rukhl Schaechter Jul 3, 2018 | 3 min read

Columnists View All

• Alyssa Katz What I learned at a Holocaust survivors’ Purim party

  

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

  

• Dan Perry The Iran war looks like a failure. Now comes the Trump-Netanyahu spin game

  

• Emily Tamkin We must rewrite the rulebook for fighting antisemitism — or conspiracists like Joe Kent will win the narrative wars

  

• Jay Michaelson Passover’s 4 cups of meaning

  

The Latest

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  Opinion

  I Teach At Birthright. IfNotNow Is Wrong.

  The very public walkout of IfNotNow members on a Birthright tour last week has generated much angst in Israel and amongst American Jewry. As a Birthright lecturer who has met with thousands of Birthright participants to discuss Israel’s geopolitics, I can’t help but regard IfNotNow’s media stunt with bewilderment. Quite simply, the charges levelled against…

  By Emanuel Miller Jul 3, 2018 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Why I Really Left The Center For Jewish History

  Appearances can deceive. One year ago, on July 1, 2017, I started a new job as President and CEO of the Center for Jewish History (CJH) in New York. A mere two months into the job, in early September, I began receiving a torrent of threatening emails from P.R. executive Ronn Torossian, memorably described by…

  By David N. Myers Jul 3, 2018 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Congress’s Anti-Semitism Awareness Act Doesn’t Protect Jews – It Protects Israel

  After trying and failing to pass the so-called “Anti-Semitism Awareness Act” in the last legislative session, supporters have once again submitted a bill that, if passed by Congress, will dramatically curb free speech and academic inquiry on college campuses. As I argued in my testimony to the House Judiciary Committee last year, backers of this…

  By Barry Trachtenberg Jul 3, 2018 | 3 min read
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  Letters

  David Myers’ Critics Should Be Ashamed Of Themselves

  Dear Editor: I am disappointed that David Myers has decided to leave the Center for Jewish History. We could not have had a more eminent and highly qualified Jewish historian at its helm. There is so much I’d like to say to his detractors. I know they will google my name and come after me…

  By Barbara Dobkin Jul 3, 2018 | < 1 min read
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  Opinion

  Which America Will Prevail?

  Welcome to a special July 4th week edition of Jane Looking Forward. If you wish to continue reading this weekly newsletter, please subscribe here. And spread the word! Greetings from Chautauqua, where I am spending a few glorious days as a guest speaker at the Everett Jewish Life Center. This is my first visit to…

  By Jane Eisner Jul 2, 2018 | 3 min read
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  Letters

  Is The Muslim Ban The First Step To Genocide?

  The decision by the Supreme Court to uphold the Muslim travel ban is devastating and shameful. It will not only harm those Muslims seeking refuge and/or reunification with their family in America, but it will also fuel a dangerous and very real animus toward Muslims who for generations have called America their home. A word…

  By Sharon Brous Jul 2, 2018 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  White Jews: Stop Calling Yourselves “White-Passing”

  A couple of nights ago, I was walking to my apartment with a friend, who is an Ashkenazi Jewish woman. My Denver neighborhood is aggressively white, and I live with a white roommate. So needless to say, with my brown skin and my natural coils, I usually stick out like a drop of oil in…

  By Nylah Burton Jul 2, 2018 | 5 min read
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  Opinion

  Healthcare Is The Civil Rights Issue Of Our Time

  Last week, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez stunned election-night reaction rooms around the country by winning the Democratic primary for New York’s 14th congressional district. Ocasio-Cortez is a 28-year-old DSA member with a degree in economics from Boston University. She helped organize for Senator Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign during the 2016 Democratic presidential primary. After the coming election…

  By Ben Faulding Jul 2, 2018 | 5 min read