Opinion

• Opinion

  Look For The #SilverLining

  Most of us in journalism didn’t go into the profession only to write stories about people behaving badly, or only to rail against injustice, or only to point out all of society’s flaws. But too often the magnetic pull of the negative becomes the default definition of “news” and journalism fails to make enough room…

  By Jane Eisner

  < 1 min read
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  Opinion

  Why Conversion Lite Won’t Fix The Intermarriage Problem

  In a recent essay in The Jewish Week titled “Mikveh Can Solve Conversion Problem”, Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove presented a courageous attempt to address arguably the most pressing problem of 21st century American Jewry: intermarriage. Perhaps the most significant aspect of the problem of intermarriage is that for many Millennials, it is not a problem at…

  By Shaul Magid Apr 18, 2017 | 6 min read
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  Opinion

  Fault Lines Season 1, Episode 7

  Israel is at war over the battle for legitimacy. Listen to the lively discussion from Peter Beinart and Daniel Gordis as they unpack these complicated issues. Listen to “Fault Lines” on Spreaker. Let the world know what you think about Fault Lines – rate our episodes, and share your thoughts in a review on iTunes….

  Apr 18, 2017 | < 1 min read

Columnists View All

• Jay Michaelson What can really be done to prevent antisemitic attacks like Bondi Beach?

  

• Rob Eshman Australia shooting terrifies Jews worldwide — and strengthens the case for Israel

  

• Nora Berman Did crypto-Jews invent the modern tarot deck?

  

• Dan Perry The 3 responses to the Bondi Beach Hanukkah attack that could make Jews safer

  

• Emily Tamkin The fundamental miscalculation behind the GOP’s antisemitism crisis

  

The Latest

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  Opinion

  Will Birthright Kowtow To Israel’s Right-wing Government?

  This summer, I planned to travel to Israel through Birthright, an organization that offers free 10-day trips to the country for Jewish youths. I had long been looking forward to the voyage. Now, I don’t know whether I’ll be allowed on the trip. I meet all of Birthright’s requirements, and then some; my parents are…

  By Rachael Stryer Apr 18, 2017 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  What’s Behind Recent Eruptions Of Anti-Semitism?

  All western governments oppose anti-Semitism. Yet the old hatred continues. How toxic is it? And are recent eruptions of anti-Semitism expressions of momentary irritation, misunderstanding, or plain ignorance? White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer could, on a kindly view, fall into the last of these categories. His recent remark that Hitler used no chemical weapons,…

  By John Lloyd/Reuters Apr 18, 2017 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Where Is The Jewish Outcry On Chechnya?

  The matzah crumbs are still on the tablecloth on the dining room table. The leftover charoset still sits in the refrigerator. The haggadot from the seder still sit in a corner of the kitchen counter. The text from the haggadah cries out to us: “In every generation, a person must see himself or herself as…

  By Jeffrey K. Salkin Apr 18, 2017 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  How CNN’s ‘Believer’ Smears Israel’s Ultra-Orthodox As Intolerant ‘Black Peril’

  Reza Aslan, host of the modestly named “Believer With Reza Aslan” on CNN, has rendered his verdict: “ultra-Orthodox” Jews in Israel are to the Jewish state what the mullahs were to Iran in 1979. Sensationalism isn’t entirely unexpected from a presenter who, on the segment of his show dedicated to Hinduism, focused on a sect…

  Apr 16, 2017 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Sean Spicer Is Dangerous — Whether He’s Malevolent Or Incompentent

  Jews emerged from the Passover holiday to learn that Sean Spicer, the malaprop-spouting, reporter-bashing White House press secretary, had managed to outdo himself with a barrage of Holocaust ignorance (to put it charitably). Should we care? Yes. Though Spicer has apologized, and some of his apologists have insisted it was simply a “gaffe,” in fact…

  By Jay Michaelson Apr 16, 2017 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Could Temple Mount Feud Unleash Netanyahu’s Worst Crisis Ever?

  Passover came early to Jerusalem this year when a group of Jewish religious nationalists gathered in the Old City of Jerusalem on April 6 for a live re-enactment of the original, biblical holiday ritual: sacrificing a lamb. Hundreds gathered in the Jewish Quarter to watch barefoot, white-robed priests slaughter, skin and roast a lamb on…

  By J.J. Goldberg Apr 15, 2017 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Why Jews Should Go Fur-Free

  As Jews, our faith teaches us that having mercy and empathy for animals, and recognizing that they are also able to suffer and feel pain, fear and despair, is a gift from God. Tsa’ar ba’alei chayim is the gift of compassion and enlightenment and of treating animals, with whom we share this world, with dignity…

  By Sandra Iseman Apr 14, 2017 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  Spicer’s Holocaust Insult Just Trump’s Latest Jab At Jews

  Earlier this week, Jews throughout the world gathered around dining room tables with family and friends to celebrate Passover. At the Seder meal, participants are made to feel they were slaves in Egypt by recalling one of humanity’s fundamental stories about freedom from oppression. The ancient Exodus story serves to remind us of the ongoing…

  By Mathew S. Nosanchuk Apr 14, 2017 | 4 min read