Opinion

• Opinion

  A Portrait of Ariel Sharon

  This week, all of Israel and not a few world leaders gathered to mark the passing of former prime minister Ariel Sharon. Cartoonist Eli Valley offers his own unique graphic take on the much-memorialized man.

  By Eli Valley

  < 1 min read
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  Opinion

  Menachem Stark — Just Another Hasid?

  I was pained to read Jay Michaelson’s article about murdered Hasidic businessman Menachem Stark. With its ‘Us-vs.-Them’ mentality, simplistic black-and-white view of human character, and broad stereotypes, it was an ugly and shameful slur. It was almost down-right Haredi. I don’t claim to possess any more information about Stark than Michaelson does. Just like him…

  By Mordechai Lightstone Jan 12, 2014 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Sharon’s Legacies — in Life and Death

  I was saying kaddish for my mother when Ariel Sharon was felled by a stroke in January 2006. To me, Sharon was a complicated, divisive figure, whose attitude towards Palestinians left me so disgusted that I once walked out on a speech he gave. I remained skeptical of his political conversion and concerned about the…

  By Jane Eisner Jan 12, 2014 | 3 min read

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• 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 The 3 responses to the Bondi Beach Hanukkah attack that could make Jews safer

  

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

  

The Latest

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  Opinion

  Fighting Jewish Slumlords Isn’t Anti-Semitic

  Menachem Stark’s death and the media’s inflammatory response to it highlight a particular kind of anti-Semitism: the kind that can emerge as a result of the religious Jewish community’s involvement in real estate and the horrible living conditions in many of those buildings. As a tenant organizer at the Urban Homesteading Assistance Board, I work…

  By Elise Goldin Jan 12, 2014 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  How We Recollect Sharon: Good, Bad, Ugly, Human

  Ariel Sharon in Knesset, preparing his speech for opening of summer session, May 7, 2001 / Getty Images Amid the outpouring of tributes to Ariel Sharon following his death, a few seem particularly noteworthy for their unexpected insights — some into the life and character of Sharon, others into the character of the writers. Chemi…

  By J.J. Goldberg Jan 12, 2014 | 5 min read
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  Opinion

  Fiction and Farce: Democracy at the MLA

  Thinkstock I would love to say that powerful argument won the day. I’d like to claim that intellect and facts persuaded the members, and whether the resolution was won or lost, its decisive outcome was a result of profound and significant reflection. The first resolution before the Modern Language Association’s Delegate Assembly served to censure…

  By Rachel S. Harris Jan 12, 2014 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  First They Came For the Humanities…

  Thinkstock This year’s MLA was supposed to be discussing the crisis of affairs in the Humanities. Only a lucky few of the graduate students on the market with their freshly minted PhDs will find jobs in academia — ever. The increasing corporatization of higher education is driving the scholarly agenda, as funders begin to dictate…

  By Rachel S. Harris Jan 11, 2014 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Who Will Show Up To Mourn Ariel Sharon?

  A life-size art installation of Ariel Sharon is displayed in 2010 in Tel Aviv. / Getty Images Ariel Sharon, the 11th Prime Minister of Israel, has died, and arrangements are being made for his funeral. The question that looms large now is who will watch him reach his final resting place and who won’t. Sharon’s…

  By Nathan Jeffay Jan 11, 2014 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  Three Different Deaths

  Three noteworthy deaths, though only two of the three are notable. There was a time I knew Edgar Bronfman, who died recently at age 84, quite well. He was helpful to my progeny, Moment Magazine. We’d have lunch, once a month or so, in his private dining room in the Seagram building in New York,…

  By Leonard Fein Jan 11, 2014 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  The Sharon They Loved, the Sharon We Hated

  Ariel Sharon in death, as in life, presents a challenge for us. By advocating a bold, self-asserting Jewish settlement movement, with or without a peace agreement, Sharon shattered the image of Israel as a country that places the achievement of peace with its neighbors above all other national goals. This triggered a long-term rift with…

  By David Hazony Jan 11, 2014 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  If ‘Palestine’ Jerseys Incite Hatred, What About JNF?

  Normally, when a sports team decides to redesign its uniforms, the decision isn’t considered a major news story. But when Chile’s El Palestino soccer club began wearing jerseys that show the entire map of Israel as Palestine, it met with an intense Jewish backlash — and it’s easy to see why. By using a one-state…

  By Sigal Samuel Jan 10, 2014 | 3 min read