Opinion

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  Hunt for Brother of Jesus Christ

  It’s written in stone, but still not everyone believes it. There are still those who maintain that the Aramaic inscription on a First Century limestone ossuary that says, “James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus” is a forgery. Nonetheless, the Israeli courts determined that the inscription could very well be authentic, and that the bone…

  By Renee Ghert-Zand

  3 min read
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  Opinion

  Answer This Question: Why Be Jewish?

  Let’s call it a Pew-haha, these last few weeks of hand wringing, debate, and general brouhaha about the recent Pew survey on American Judaism. “Of making books there is no end,” Ecclesiastes reminds us. Op-eds, too. Now that the dust is settling, perhaps it’s worth asking a seemingly obvious question: Who cares? And more importantly,…

  By Jay Michaelson Nov 11, 2013 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Bibi Scares Jewish Parley With Dead Iran Nuke Deal

  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed some 1,500 leaders of the top North American Jewish philanthropies to Jerusalem for their annual assembly with an angry denunciation of the Iranian nuclear negotiations that their government is leading in Geneva. In a rambling, repetitive, hour-long speech that was by turns impassioned, sarcastic and bitter, Netanyahu attacked the…

  By J.J. Goldberg Nov 11, 2013 | 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 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

  A Paradox in Jerusalem: Pew Panic vs. Pluralism

  Those who read my Friday blog post about the Israel-Diaspora deliberations going on in Jerusalem this week might have noticed that I mentioned a paradox in the way the discussions are going, but I never detailed the substance of the paradox. The sun was setting over the Mediterranean before I had a chance to finish…

  By J.J. Goldberg Nov 10, 2013 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  You Can’t Be Both (Jewish and Not)

  Susan Katz Miller, the author of a new book, “Being Both: Embracing Two Religions in One Interfaith Family,” recently argued in a New York Times op-ed that children being raised as Jewish and something else are not totally lost to Judaism. She said that kids who learn about the faith when they are young may…

  By Jane Larkin Nov 10, 2013 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Miss Israel Falls Short of Ruling Universe

  Titi Aynaw may not have been crowned Miss Universe 2013, but she did Israelis proud by representing her country in the international pageant in Moscow, Russia. The first black Miss Israel failed to make it in to the semi-finals of the competition, despite our urging everyone to vote online for her. Gabriela Isler, Venezuela’s beauty…

  By Renee Ghert-Zand Nov 10, 2013 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  Edward Snowden Should Be Praised — Not Pilloried

  Remember J. Edgar Hoover? Of course you remember Hoover, and the inordinate power he attained — and employed and abused — during his 37 years as the founding Director of the FBI. (This followed eight years as Director of the Bureau of Investigation, precursor to the FBI.) Hoover collected massive amounts of information (by long-ago…

  By Leonard Fein Nov 9, 2013 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  In Jerusalem’s Conclaves, Mind-Numbing Meets Ugly

  Jerusalem is having an unusually mild fall. November began amid sunny skies, temperatures in the high 60s, light breezes and just the slightest hint of feathery drizzle to announce that after a bone-dry October, the rainy season was finally about to return. Diaspora Jews are returning too. No, not the waves of immigration that generations…

  By J.J. Goldberg Nov 9, 2013 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Israel Must Stop Settler Violence

  Jan Psaki, a State Department spokesperson, characterized Benjamin Netanyahu’s announcement in early November of plans for thousands of new settlement homes as not conducive to “steps that create a positive atmosphere for continued negotiations.” The mild and familiar American condemnation is certainly true, but off the mark, considering the very negative atmosphere created by daily…

  By Mairav Zonszein Nov 8, 2013 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Live Tweeting the Kristallnacht Pogroms

  Exactly 75 years ago, between November 7 and 13, 1938, a wave of anti-Semitic pogroms swept across Germany and Austria. This year, a group of German historians chose to commemorate the events, which marked a turning point in the Nazi’s persecution of Jews, using an unconventional medium: Twitter. On October 28, the five historians who…

  By Anna Goldenberg Nov 8, 2013 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  George W. Bush Embraces Jews for Jesus

  Who’s surprised that former President George W. Bush is speaking at the Messianic Jewish Bible Institute benefit? Not anyone who understands Christian Zionism, ‘Jews for Jesus,’ and the many links between them. Christian Zionists are now the leading supporters of Israel’s settler fringe. They are showering the Israeli Right with money, tourists, and political lobbying….

  By Jay Michaelson Nov 8, 2013 | 3 min read