Opinion

• Opinion

  Remembering Phil Ochs, the Other Great Jewish Folksinger of the ’60s

  It was 40 years ago this weekend, on April 9, 1976, that Phil Ochs was found dead at his sister’s home in Far Rockaway, Queens. He was one of the best-loved of the generation of young singer-songwriters of the 1960s, but he was much more than that. He was the most eloquent, wittiest, most piercing…

  By J.J. Goldberg

  5 min read
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  Opinion

  Conversion Ruling Chips Away at Israeli Chief Rabbinate’s Monopoly on Religion

  (JTA) — The Israeli Supreme Court’s recent landmark ruling on conversion is a truly historic decision – for Israeli and American Jewry. While the case only concerns a few individuals, the general rules and unequivocal language have wide significance for both Israeli and American Jewry. The ruling represents another blow to the Israeli Chief Rabbinate’s monopoly…

  By Uri Regev Apr 10, 2016 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Long Before Calvin Trillin, Chinese ‘Safe Treyf’ Came With a Side of Jewish Racism

  The internet switched this past week from aflutter to full-on rage — the only two gears it has — after Calvin Trillin published a doggerel verse poem on Chinese restaurants, in the April 4 issue of the New Yorker. The poem caused a ruckus, eliciting accusations of clueless white privilege and racism galore. Readers of…

  By Andrew Dubrov Apr 10, 2016 | 3 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

  What’s Really Behind the Angst Over Transgender Bathrooms?

  We need to talk. About bathrooms. Honestly, I don’t remember a time when so many angry words, backroom political maneuvers, votes and vetoes, protests, counter-protests and economic boycotts were prompted by the question of who gets to use which toilet. And yet here we are: Whether transgender people should be required to use the bathroom…

  By Jane Eisner Apr 10, 2016 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  That Time I Baked Matzo With Ted Cruz

  Ted Cruz is a passionate evangelical Christian, and seems to sincerely share the evangelical love of Israel and its people. So maybe it wasn’t so surprising that Cruz made a last-minute visit to a Brooklyn matzo factory yesterday, just weeks before Passover begins later this month. The entire experience was awkward and fast-paced, so politics…

  By Bethany Mandel Apr 8, 2016 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Hebron Shooting Makes Israel’s Top Brass Look Like Our Republican Party

  There’s a uniquely Israeli character to the furor that’s erupted over the so-called shooting soldier — the army medic arrested March 24 after being caught on video shooting a wounded, immobilized Palestinian terrorist in Hebron. The lines seem clear-cut. The military, traditionally Israel’s most admired institution, insists on enforcing its much-touted ethical code. The public…

  By J.J. Goldberg Apr 7, 2016 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Breaking the Silence Is Wrong — But Columbia Hillel Was Right To Play Host Anyway

  After word got out this past week that J Street U would be hosting the Israeli NGO Breaking the Silence at the Columbia/Barnard Hillel, the eyes of the Jewish world were drawn to our campus. Debates erupted. Many pro-Israel activists called on us to cancel the event. Hillel was accused of abandoning its pro-Israel principles….

  By Daniella J. Greenbaum and Jonathan Deluty Apr 6, 2016 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Why Don’t We Wail Over the Arab Homes Destroyed for Our Kotel?

  Over the past few months I have repeatedly been asked my opinion about the compromise agreement — now itself — to create an egalitarian prayer space adjacent to the Western Wall. As I watched women and men with tallitot and tefillin reading from the Torah and singing in celebration, I was grateful that after many years…

  By Tova Hartman Apr 6, 2016 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  I Wrote the IDF Code of Ethics. Here’s My Take on the Hebron Shooting.

  Israeli public debate is focused these days on a seemingly simple incident: In Hebron, two Palestinian terrorists attacked a team of Israel Defense Forces soldiers, managing to stab one of them before they themselves were shot. One terrorist was killed and the other injured. The latter was lying on the road when a soldier arrived,…

  By Asa Kasher Apr 6, 2016 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Ghost of Golda Meir Looms Large Over Wisconsin Primary — and Joe McCarthy’s Too

  A victory in Tuesday’s Wisconsin primaries is crucial for candidate Bernie Sanders politically, but it would also be poetic justice, historically, for the veteran Jewish socialist. Wisconsin has an illustrious socialist past, including the election of three mayors in Milwaukee as well as the first socialist member of Congress, Victor Berger, an Austrian born Jew….

  By Chemi Shalev (Haaretz) Apr 5, 2016 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Why Conservative Rabbis Must Be Allowed To Preside Over Interfaith Weddings

  (JTA) — The Conservative movement’s leadership must drop its ban on Conservative rabbis officiating at interfaith weddings — before it’s too late. The Rabbinical Assembly’s unequivocal rule is that a Conservative rabbi may not officiate at an intermarriage. But after 42 years as an active rabbi, during which I abided by that prohibition, I now…

  By Seymour Rosenbloom Apr 5, 2016 | 3 min read