Opinion

• Opinion

  Gaza Was Like Home — But I Supported Disengagement Anyway

  I first became acquainted with the Jewish settlements of Gaza during my Israeli army service in 2002. This was during the second Intifada and my parents, living in New Jersey and unable to call me due to their deafness, were extremely worried about me. To calm them, when I had a free moment, I’d walk…

  By Chaim Landau

  3 min read
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  Opinion

  When Jews Hate Jews

  Baseless hatred. That was the Jews’ sin, which God punished by allowing the Romans to level the Second Temple. On Tisha B’Av Sunday July 26, we mourned the destruction of both Temples. But as I wilted during the 25-hour fast, I was bothered by the notion that the second sanctuary burned because God was angry…

  By Abigail Pogrebin Jul 29, 2015 | 5 min read
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  Opinion

  Mike Huckabee and the Dangers of Hyperbole on Iran

  We thought this year’s Republican presidential field had set a new low in personal invective, what with Ted Cruz calling Mitch McConnell a “liar,” Lindsey Graham calling Donald Trump a “jackass” and Trump himself impugning Graham’s competence, Rick Perry’s intelligence and even John McCain’s heroism. But Mike Huckabee has shown us there are always new…

  By J.J. Goldberg Jul 29, 2015 | 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 Is this Netanyahu’s Winston Churchill moment?

  

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

  

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

  

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  Opinion

  The Morning After the Iran Deal Drama Ends

  There are Jewish lobbyists, political activists, federation leaders, rabbis, opinion writers and maybe even some ordinary folks who are focused on the day two months from now when the U.S. Congress votes on the nuclear agreement with Iran. Will there be enough votes to sustain President Obama’s signature foreign policy accomplishment? If not, how soundly…

  By Jane Eisner Jul 28, 2015 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Racist Atticus Finch Has a Lesson for Jews

  The publication of Harper Lee’s “Go Set a Watchman,” the novel set decades after the era of her classic book “To Kill a Mockingbird,” has sparked a heated debate — and much heartache — over Atticus Finch. “Watchman” follows Finch 20 years beyond “Mockingbird” into the 1950s civil rights era. It exposes him to be…

  By Shana Bernstein Jul 27, 2015 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Checking My Privilege as a Korean Jew

  When I was young they called me the mayor of the park. I would make my rounds of the local park every day — first to chat with an 80-year-old tanning on his beach chair, then to check in with our crew of Trinidadian babysitters, and finally to boss around the park kids. I loved…

  By Samantha Yi Jul 27, 2015 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Why My Biracial Son Doesn’t Want To Date Jewish Girls

  When I became a Jew by choice, it was for no other reason than the fact that I felt a calling: I had a Jewish soul. I embarked on the long and arduous journey of becoming Jewish through a Conservative conversion, only to discover later that neither my son nor I was considered Jewish according…

  By Ayanna Nahmias Jul 27, 2015 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Is Bernie Sanders Getting Anti-Semitic Treatment?

  When national radio host Diane Rehm the democratic socialist senator from Vermont and presidential candidate Bernie Sanders about his non-existent Israeli citizenship, many of his fellow Jews could only hear one thing: an accusation of dual loyalties. Rehm, usually a diligent journalist, was prompted to ask about this alleged dual citizenship by a years-old, dubious,…

  By Ari Paul Jul 27, 2015 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  How Israel’s Wars Hurt Diaspora Jews

  The Israeli cabinet held a special session June 28, dedicated to one of its least-known and potentially most fraught rituals: the annual briefing on the current state of Jewish life worldwide. It’s presented each spring by a semi-official Jerusalem think tank that monitors Israel-Diaspora relations, the Jewish People Policy Institute. Some of what they talked…

  By J.J. Goldberg Jul 27, 2015 | 9 min read
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  Opinion

  Why Faigy Mayer’s Death Should Haunt All Jews

  (JTA) — In September 2013, I gathered with a group of friends to share feelings and reflections on the suicide death of one our friends, Deb Tambor, who had been struggling with a variety of issues related to leaving the insular Hasidic Jewish world. Next to me sat Faigy Mayer, a friend and fellow ex-Hasid….

  By Shulem Deen Jul 24, 2015 | 5 min read
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  Opinion

  Why Does My Hillel Favor Orthodox Over Reform?

  Israel has been in the news recently for public officials’ . Unfortunately, downplaying Reform Judaism is not only an Israeli problem — it’s also haunted me throughout my experience at my campus Hillel. And at Hillel, it’s not coming from public official thousands of miles away. It’s in my home. Hillels all over the country…

  By Emma Neiman Jul 23, 2015 | 4 min read