Opinion

Jeb Bush’s Lurch to the Right

Two developments this week bode ominously for Jewish Republicans. First, Republican primary voters can’t stand Jeb Bush and Chris Christie. In a new poll by the Wall Street Journal, Bush had roughly equivalent negatives to Hillary Clinton. 42% of Republican voters said they couldn’t see themselves supporting him. 57% said the same of Christie. The…

Why Is Hillel Chief Eric Fingerhut Shunning J Street — and 1,000 Pro-Israel Students?

On Monday, I learned that the chance to speak to over 1,000 student pro-Israel activists is not enough to get Eric Fingerhut, President and CEO of Hillel International, in a room. I have two questions: why not, and if that’s not enough, what is? Let’s start with the first: why did Fingerhut withdraw from the…

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"