Opinion

• Opinion

  Don’t Apologize for Being Jewish — to the Left or the Right

  There should be a conversation in the Jewish community about the conversation that is being had about us. If you’ve missed it, here’s what it sounds like. On the hard left, populated largely by fans of Bernie Sanders, the Jews are too powerful, too privileged and too white to deserve any protections against bigotry, ad…

  By Noam Neusner

  4 min read
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  Opinion

  Did Bernie Sanders Choose the Wrong People To Push Democrats for Shift on Israel?

  George W. Bush paved the way for Republicans and Democrats alike to recognize Palestinian statehood. In June 2002, Bush introduced his Road Map to Peace, becoming the first American president to officially endorse an independent Palestinian state. In 2004, for the first time in their history, both parties incorporated Bush’s new stance in their official…

  By Chemi Shalev (Haaretz) Jun 1, 2016 | 5 min read
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  Opinion

  Why the New York Times Owes Us All a Big Explanation on Israel ‘Occupation’ Blunder

  When I saw the headline of the New York Times article, “A split over Israel threatens the Democrats’ hope for unity” I was immediately drawn to read the story. It sounded ominous. What exactly is it about Israel that is crushing the Democratic Party’s hopes and standing in the way of their unity? Just two…

  By Mairav Zonszein Jun 1, 2016 | 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 Marking Israel’s most joyous day with anguish over the country’s future

  

• Emily Tamkin Hungary is poised to topple an authoritarian leader. American Jews have something to learn

  

• Jay Michaelson Epstein and Iran are an antisemitism mega-crisis. Here’s what Jewish organizations should do about it. 

  

The Latest

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  Opinion

  Jonathan Sacks Calls for Morality Along With Economics in Templeton Prize Speech

  After 40 years, the jury is still out over the worth of the Templeton Prize. Most people have never heard of this Anglo-American award that goes to someone who has made “an exceptional contribution to affirming life’s spiritual dimension.” But its prestige is inarguable. Presented by a high-ranking member of the British royal family —…

  By Dan Friedman May 30, 2016 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Could Sins of Sara Netanyahu Force Bibi’s Downfall (He Wouldn’t Be the First)?

  Twenty years to the day Benjamin Netanyahu won his first election, scraping past Shimon Peres by less than 30,000 votes, he received an anniversary gift: the police recommendation to press charges against his wife for misuse of public funds for the upkeep of their private residence in Caesarea. Attorney General Avichai Mendelblit, Netayahu’s former cabinet secretary…

  By Anshel Pfeffer (Haaretz) May 30, 2016 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  From Donald Trump to Israel and Europe, Why This Lurch to the Right?

  To quote Donald Trump, “What the hell is going on?” The global rise of right-wing populism — in the United States, across Europe and now in Israel — is clearly the leading news story of 2016. Each week, Trump says something outrageous that hasn’t been said by a mainstream politician in half a century. And…

  By Jay Michaelson May 30, 2016 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Those Rapping Bais Yaakov Girls Are Not Weird — Or Even Surprising

  Jewish media outlets were surprised and delighted by a recent viral video of two Bais Yaakov girls rapping about Dor Yesharim, a genetic testing organization. I was delighted, too. Surprised? Not at all. While there was nothing shocking to me about two Orthodox teenage girls rapping, the responses to the video have been both surprising…

  By Leslie Ginsparg Klein May 29, 2016 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  How Right-Wing Critics Who Slammed My Book Proved Its Point on Israel

  My recently published book, “Trouble in the Tribe: The American Jewish Conflict over Israel,” is not a polemic. It is not a critique of Israel. In fact, it is not really about Israel at all. It’s about how American Jews relate to Israel and increasingly fight over Israel — an argument that says much more…

  By Dov Waxman May 29, 2016 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Hoping To Stabilize His Cabinet, Benjamin Netanyahu Destabilizes Israeli Democracy

  Benjamin Netanyahu was probably just aiming to broaden and stabilize his shaky coalition, with its precarious one-seat parliamentary majority, when he decided to bring in Avigdor Lieberman, the bombastic ultra-nationalist, as defense minister and de facto second-in-command. It’s often the case with Netanyahu, however, that what begins as a simple survival tactic quickly escalates into…

  By J.J. Goldberg May 26, 2016 | 6 min read
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  Opinion

  Debbie Wasserman Schultz Is Feeling the Bern — Let That Be a Lesson to Democrats!

  Top Democrats are considering removing Democratic National Committee chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a Congresswoman from south Florida, from her post — much to the delight of Bernie Sanders supporters. Many see Wasserman Schultz as a figurehead of the party establishment that is nakedly stacking the deck in favor of Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primaries….

  By Ari Paul May 26, 2016 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  It’s Time Orthodox Jews Speak Out Against Shomrim Patrol

  The Brooklyn Hasidim accused of beating a young, gay black man named Taj Patterson back in 2013 are reportedly about to get a plea deal so sweet, they won’t serve a single day in prison. Patterson, who was beaten so badly that he was left blind in one eye, and who had homophobic slurs hurled…

  By Michael Lesher May 26, 2016 | 4 min read