Opinion

Europe’s Undercover Yarmulke Journalists

Getty Images (JTA) – Sending a yarmulke-wearing man out with a hidden video camera to document anti-Semitism on the streets of Europe, particularly in Muslim neighborhoods, is quickly becoming a journalistic trope. First, in January, a reporter wearing a kippah walked around the heavily Muslim neighborhood of Malmo, Sweden, where he was assaulted and cursed…

Are Lithuania’s Swastika-Studded Marchers Really ‘Fascists’?

All photos by Daiva Repečkaitė “Lithuanian fascists march beneath swastikas near execution site of 10,000 Jews.” When this recent headline appeared in the Jerusalem Post and a few other outlets, it reminded me of the time I’d casually thrown the “fascist” label into an email exchange with classmates. “We can meet in the center after…

Anatomy of a Smear

Here is the anatomy of a smear campaign. I receive a press release from public relations executive Ronn Torossian sent out on February 21, a Saturday, slamming the president of UJA-Federation of New York, Alisa Doctoroff, for being a donor to the New Israel Fund. The NIF, Torossian declares, is an extreme left-wing organization “committed…

A Letter to the Israeli Voter

I am not writing this letter to the people who will most likely read it: Ashkenazi liberals, Tel Avivians and a handful of Anglo-born, National Religious folks who enjoy getting angry with leftists. I am writing to the largest sectors of Israeli society: Mizrahim, the middle class, those who are Masorti (traditional) but perhaps not…

The ‘Perfect Storm’ That’s Hitting Bibi’s Campaign

Rabbi Daniel Gordis, a popular, American-born voice of Israel’s center-right, writes in Bloomberg View that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s reelection campaign, deemed a sure thing just days ago, has run into a “perfect storm” from which it may not recover. “It has been a steep and precipitous fall since those glory moments on the podium…

Vashti’s song – "I’m Done Dressing Up"

Bibi Shows How Fear Makes Bad Policy

It’s well understood that Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to Congress was meant for domestic consumption: both in Israel, where he hopes it will bolster his chances of re-election, and in the United States, where Republicans and their shills hope it will drive Jews into the GOP’s arms. It also plays into his political…

Why Jews Are Mad at Bibi — Even Republicans

Facebook I talked over the weekend with a longtime friend – a committed Jew, active in Jewish communal life, and a strong supporter of Israel. He calls himself an independent but votes mostly Republican. On U.S. President Barack Obama, he is wary and reserved; he voted for him once but for his opponent the other…