Opinion

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  A Friend’s Poignant Goodbye to a Jewish Victim of the Oakland Warehouse Fire

  It’s been five days since a fire tore through an Oakland warehouse party, taking the lives of 36 people. One of those people was my friend, Jon Bernbaum, who was video dee-jaying that night. This tragedy is horrifying. Not only because of the fire and the lives lost, but because a lot of those people…

  By Samantha Saltzman

  3 min read
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  Opinion

  For Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews, Whiteness Was a Fragile Identity Long Before Trump

  “I have lived for 26 years under the illusion that I am unconditionally white…. Recently I have started looking at my face and going, ‘Oh man, do I look too Jewish?’” Sydney Brownstone, the reporter who voiced this question in a recent Blabbermouth podcast, is not alone in wondering this. Many Ashkenazi Jews who have…

  By Sigal Samuel Dec 7, 2016 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  The ‘Real’ Benjamin Netanyahu Shows Brusque Side — and Steps on His Own Message

  Jerusalem —  Those who know Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu far better than I do said that the real Bibi was on display as he addressed the International Jewish Media Summit in Jerusalem Tuesday night. In that case, Netanyahu — the only Israeli elected prime minister three times in a row, the man who says…

  By Jane Eisner Dec 6, 2016 | 4 min read

Columnists View All

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

  

• Rob Eshman A gunman attacked a Michigan synagogue. Here’s what happens to the community next

  

• Dan Perry Israelis and Americans deserve to know why they are still at war

  

• Emily Tamkin Gavin Newsom just confirmed the demise of the Democratic party’s support for Israel

  

• Jay Michaelson Antisemitism is exploding on the right but the Jewish establishment is focused on the left

  

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  Opinion

  Bibi and Barack Agree 100% — on Bagels!

  Jerusalem — Scoff if you like, but this is something I do. I’m a Jewish journalist. We care about our food. At the end of my White House interview last year with President Obama, I asked him for his favorite flavor of bagel. How could I not ask the same thing of the prime minister of…

  By Jane Eisner Dec 6, 2016 | < 1 min read
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  Opinion

  How Jews Became White Folks — and May Become Nonwhite Under Trump

  Decades before I wrote the book “How Jews Became White Folks and What That Says About Race in America,” I had an eye-opening conversation with my parents. I asked them if they were white. They looked flummoxed and said, “We’re Jewish.” “But are you white?” “Well, I guess we’re white; but we’re Jewish.” Then they…

  By Karen Brodkin Dec 6, 2016 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  That Time I Spoke at the Knesset — and Israeli Lawmakers Seemed to Listen

  Jerusalem — Usually I’m the one sitting in the audience or the press section, covering legislative hearings or committee meetings or the endless speeches of lawmakers, hoping someone, somewhere, is listening. In all my years as a journalist, I’ve never been the one asked to speak. But there I was yesterday, in a paneled committee room…

  By Jane Eisner Dec 5, 2016 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Did My Fellow Austrians Just Stop the Surge of Far Right Populism in Europe?

  On Sunday, Austria put a halt to the seemingly unstoppable surge of far right populism in Europe. Yes, Austria of all places. Green Party-turned-independent candidate, Alexander Van der Bellen, decisively won the presidential election against Norbert Hofer of the far right Freedom Party. The votes by Austrians living abroad – like me – are still…

  By Lilly Maier Dec 5, 2016 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Does Israel’s President Still Not Get How Vital the Kotel Is to Diaspora Jews?

  Jerusalem — Israeli President Reuven Rivlin was the first major elected official to speak at the International Jewish Media Summit, which opened Sunday night in Jerusalem, and he encapsulated the challenge facing his country as it tries to connect more substantively with the Jewish diaspora. The challenge is this: I’m not sure he gets it. Rivlin,…

  By Jane Eisner Dec 4, 2016 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Memo to All Those Who Are Visiting the Tenement Museum To Fight About Immigrants

  As a trustee of the Lower East Side Tenement Museum, I am proud of our 28-year history of celebrating the lives and cultures of immigrants — what brings us together as Americans, not what divides us. This is an apolitical mission; from the museum’s founding, we have neither endorsed a single candidate for public office…

  By Zach Aarons Dec 4, 2016 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  This Hanukkah Version of a Gingerbread House Annoys Me Like Nothing Else

  Like almost every other Jewish Holiday, Hanukkah is a celebration of the fact that non-Jews tried to destroy Jews, but they failed. Also: Let’s eat! At its core, Hanukkah is about a fight against total Jewish assimilation into the prevailing culture of the day. So how do American Jews celebrate this festival that commemorates our…

  By Bethany Mandel Dec 4, 2016 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  REVEALED: The Full Keith Ellison Tape Shows He Was (Mostly) Praising Israel — Not Trashing It

  If you’ve been following the uproar over Congressman Keith Ellison and his run for chairman of the Democratic National Committee, you might recall hearing about a 36-second audio clip containing a snippet of an Ellison speech that, according to his critics, proves he’s anti-Israel and shouldn’t get the job. You may even have listened to…

  By J.J. Goldberg Dec 3, 2016 | 4 min read