Opinion

• Opinion

  Like the Nazis, ISIS Must Be Confronted

  If there’s one thing we should have learned from the 20th century, it’s that wars are wicked, murderous affairs that defile the spirit of humankind. That despite this universal truth, there are some wars that must be fought, as wicked as they might be, because the alternative is even more unspeakable. And that some other…

  By J.J. Goldberg

  4 min read
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  Opinion

  Tidal Wave of Refugees as ISIS Grabs Chunk of Syria

  Something absolutely astonishing is going on right now in northern Syria along the Turkish border: refugees streaming on foot across the barbed-wire frontier by the tens of thousands, fleeing the advance of the terrorist army known as the Islamic State. As many as 100,000 refugees, mostly Kurds, have crossed the border in the past week…

  By J.J. Goldberg Sep 21, 2014 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  Should the Holocaust Get Preferential Treatment?

  Courtesy of the website for the Canadian Museum for Human Rights (JTA) — On the fourth floor of the new Canadian Museum for Human Rights, visitors will find a gallery called “Examining the Holocaust,” which is devoted entirely to the story and lessons of the Shoah. On the same floor, in a smaller, adjacent space,…

  By Josh Tapper Sep 21, 2014 | 5 min read

Columnists View All

• Jay Michaelson What can really be done to prevent antisemitic attacks like Bondi Beach?

  

• Rob Eshman Australia shooting terrifies Jews worldwide — and strengthens the case for Israel

  

• Nora Berman Did crypto-Jews invent the modern tarot deck?

  

• Dan Perry An Israeli media mainstay is crumbling. Will liberal democracy go with it?

  

• Emily Tamkin The fundamental miscalculation behind the GOP’s antisemitism crisis

  

The Latest

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  Opinion

  News Quiz: Seth Rogen is Quitting Acting to do What?

  Getty Images Kate Hudson, Leonard Cohen, Seth Rogen and Mayim Bialik? It’s either this week’s Jewish News Quiz or a list of who’s sponsoring the Rosh Hashanah kiddush.

  By Lenore Skenazy Sep 21, 2014 | < 1 min read
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  Opinion

  Let’s Make Climate Change the New ‘Third Rail’ of American Politics

  Will 2014 be the year in which climate change becomes a “third rail”? Never before has there been an issue of such moral clarity. We have known for 25 years that the earth is warming more rapidly now than at any other time in history. We have begun to see the effects, in the form…

  By Jay Michaelson Sep 19, 2014 | 5 min read
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  Opinion

  Would Talmud Approve of 91 Lashes for Iranian ‘Happy’ Dancers?

  A still from the Iranian version of Pharrell Williams’ “Happy” music video / YouTube It’s a weird aftereffect of a Jewish day school education that, when I see a headline like “Iran Court Sentences ‘Happy’ Dancers to 6 Months and 91 Lashes,” I immediately ask myself: WWTDD? Or: what would the Talmud do? You might…

  By Sigal Samuel Sep 18, 2014 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Why Another War in Gaza Is All But Inevitable

  It is increasingly clear that the Gaza war that ended in August will soon produce… another Gaza war. Exactly how soon is a matter of conjecture. But all the signs are there. Operation Protective Edge did not end in late August in anything approaching lasting coexistence between Israel and Hamas. For that to happen, the…

  By Yossi Alpher Sep 18, 2014 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Haredi Meets Hollywood in Anti-Vaccine Debate

  A health worker administers a polio vaccination to a child / Getty Images If you had to guess which neighborhood — Boro Park or Beverly Hills — the following quote applies to, which would you pick? Parents in these schools are submitting a form called a “personal belief exemption,” which states that they are not…

  By Sigal Samuel Sep 17, 2014 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  An Unlikely Friendship Between 2 Men of Letters

  Tony Auth, the award-winning editorial cartoonist, died Sunday of brain cancer, way too soon at age 72. The obituaries lauded the way he employed artistry, intelligence and biting humor to his running commentary on the day’s news. They speak of his ceaseless devotion to craft, his fierce political independence, and the kindness he showed other…

  By Jane Eisner Sep 17, 2014 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  An Intrepid Immersion Into the Jewish Calendar

  It’s a sure conversation-stopper when I tell friends, “This year I’ll be observing and trying to understand every single Jewish holiday.” Non-Jews nod politely: “That sounds interesting….” Non-observant Jews look puzzled: “Aren’t there, like, a thousand of those…? I guess you won’t be doing much else this year.” Observant Jews shrug, as if to say,…

  By Abigail Pogrebin Sep 17, 2014 | 5 min read
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  Opinion

  VIDEO: Satan and Jewess Give Birth to ISIS

  Well, this is weird. Iraqi TV is rolling out a new satirical series, “Superstitious State,” that portrays the leader of ISIS as the spawn of Satan and — you guessed it — a Jewish woman. In a promo for the soon-to-come anti-ISIS show, broadcast several times daily on Al-Iraqiyya, we meet a Jewess adorned with…

  By Sigal Samuel Sep 16, 2014 | 2 min read