Opinion

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  When Bob Simon’s Jewishness Nearly Killed Him

  Getty Images Journalist Bob Simon, who died last night in a car accident, had a brush with death almost 25 years earlier. As a prisoner of the Iraqis, during the first Persian Gulf War, he worried “his Jewishness might cost him his life,” JTA reported in this 1991 article: CBS News correspondent Bob Simon was…

  By Julie Wiener

  2 min read
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  Opinion

  Does Brian Williams Punishment Fit ‘Crime’?

  (JTA) — By now, anyone interested enough to have read about the issue knows the basic facts: Longtime NBC anchor Brian Williams lied about having been on a helicopter that was shot down in Iraq in 2003. In truth, he was on a different helicopter that landed unimpeded about a half hour after the other chopper…

  By Uriel Heilman Feb 12, 2015 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  The Eruv Dividing Church and State in the Hamptons

  America’s most famous eruv is back in the news — and this time, not simply as the butt of a joke on Jon Stewart’s “The Daily Show.” In early January, a federal appeals court issued a key ruling concluding that erecting an eruv in Westhampton Beach, New York, would not violate the First Amendment. This…

  By Michael A. Helfand Feb 12, 2015 | 3 min read

Columnists View All

• Alyssa Katz What I learned at a Holocaust survivors’ Purim party

  

• Rob Eshman Gavin Newsom isn’t waffling on Israel — he’s voicing sensible ideas in an era of outrage

  

• 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

  Why Losing Jon Stewart Hurts the Middle East

  Jon Stewart and Bassem Youssef on “The Daily Show” / Youtube Jon Stewart quitting “The Daily Show” is bad for the Jews. It’s bad for the Muslims. It’s bad for the entire Middle East. If you want to know why, just watch this clip of the real Jon Stewart joking around with “Egypt’s Jon Stewart,”…

  By Sigal Samuel Feb 11, 2015 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  Who Speaks for the Jews?

  Who speaks for the Jews? Knowing how diverse and sometimes fractious Jews can be, you’d think that would be a complicated question to answer. But Joe Scarborough, the conservative morning talk show host on MSNBC, seems to know with a certainty that eludes many Jews themselves. His answer: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He’s “basically…

  Feb 11, 2015 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Award for Most Unfunny Israeli Comedy Goes to…

  Tzipi Livni as depicted by Israeli satire “Hakol Shafit” / YouTube When it comes to political satire shows, Israeli television spans the gamut. On Channel 2 there’s Israel’s version of Saturday Night Live, called “Eretz Nehederet” or “A Wonderful Land.” Israel’s Jon Stewart-esque “Gav HaUma” recently moved to Channel 10. Both of these shows have…

  By Elisheva Goldberg Feb 10, 2015 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  The Rabbi Who Inspires Our Inspiring Rabbi

  Rabbi Peretz Chein with his two children. Rabbi Herschel Hartz made last year’s Most Inspiring Rabbis list for his work in the Inwood Jewish community. We asked him to write about a rabbi who inspires him. Nominate your pick for this year’s list in the form below. A Chabad emissary wears many hats. He must…

  By Herschel Hartz Feb 10, 2015 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Adam Silver’s Shande Against All Knicks Fans

  What ever happened to sticking up for a fellow member of the Tribe? National Basketball Association Commissioner Adam Silver committed a major shande by backing boorish New York Knicks owner James Dolan as ‘the consummate New Yorker’ after the team boss lambasted a Jewish lifelong fan as a “sad mess” and an “alcoholic” for daring…

  By Dave Goldiner Feb 10, 2015 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  The Missing Voices in Mideast Policy Debate

  The session on “Strategy and Security in the Middle East” at last year’s AIPAC policy conference was like many other such discussions in organized Jewish life. There was a moderator and three “distinguished” experts, forced to sit on the high, spindly chairs favored by event organizers but often awkward for guests to mount. There was…

  Feb 10, 2015 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  Why Benjamin Netanyahu Is Right on Speech to Congress

  We may never know what really went down in the warped political zone inhabited by President Obama, House Speaker John Boehner and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Weeks into the controversy surrounding the latter’s as-yet-uncanceled March 3 speech before Congress, the only thing really clear is that politicians acting in their electoral interests will spin…

  By David Hazony Feb 10, 2015 | 4 min read
• Opinion

  My First Tu B’Shvat Seder: Fixing the First Sin

  I never thought I’d pine for Manischewitz. But the odd, clashing wine combinations of the Tu B’Shvat seder made me yearn for the familiar, sugary Passover libation. The Kabbalists who created the Tu B’Shvat seder in the 16th century chose to include four cups to mirror Passover. But their wine instructions took an odd turn….

  By Abigail Pogrebin Feb 9, 2015 | 7 min read