Opinion

• Opinion

  Separate in Beit Shemesh?

  One of the most bitterly fought cities in Israel’s local elections held on Tuesday was Beit Shemesh, the flashpoint town near Jerusalem. Now, the government is apparently mulling a plan to prevent passions getting so high in the future. Beit Shemesh is famous for its deep tensions between Haredi and non-Haredi residents. In fact, since…

  By Nathan Jeffay

  2 min read
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  Opinion

  Thanksgivukkah’s Shared Dirty Secret

  Hanukkah and Thanksgiving occur at the same time this year. This won’t happen again for another 79,043 years, according to calculations by Jonathan Mizrahi, a quantum physicist at the Sandia National Laboratories. Many are asking what the connection is between these two holidays. Comedy Central’s Stephen Colbert even did a spoof on it. On a…

  By Eliyahu Federman Oct 24, 2013 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  4 Things To Do About Pew Survey Findings on #JewishAmerica

  The Pew Research Center’s “Portrait of Jewish Americans” has triggered much debate in the Jewish community. Its key findings — that younger Jews are not only less connected to, but are also less interested in, Jewish life — puts in sharp relief the challenge before us. If we go by numbers alone, the non-Orthodox American…

  By Jerry Silverman and Michael Siegal Oct 24, 2013 | 4 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

  Nir Barkat Win Boosts Secular Jerusalem

  Jerusalem’s mayor Nir Barkat, widely credited with shoring up Jerusalem’s secular credentials, has won another five-year term in the local election. Like other cities across Israel, Jerusalem held local elections yesterday. But while in most other locales the races were mostly about schooling and clean streets, in Jerusalem the race became about deeper issues of…

  By Nathan Jeffay Oct 23, 2013 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  Sandy, a Year Later

  It’s been a year since the ferocious winds and voluminous rain of Hurricane Sandy left parts of the East Coast crippled and gasping for breath. The dead have been buried, the flood waters have receeded, most public services have been restored and the nation’s attention has drifted away. But look closely: The signs of destruction…

  Oct 23, 2013 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  J Street Students Speak Out On Being Shut Out of Jewish Debate at Berkeley

  The recent decision by the Jewish Student Union at the University of California, Berkeley to reject an application for membership from J Street U points to a deep problem in the American Jewish community. As leaders of J Street U at Berkeley who love Israel but worry about its future, we found this decision strange…

  By Shayna Howitt and Elon Rov Oct 23, 2013 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Jewrotica’s Unsexy List of the Hottest Rabbis

  When it comes to looking for sexy Rabbis, the editors of Jewrotica.com could stand to take their cues from the Talmud. Deep within in the book of Bava Metzia, Rabbi Yochanan, Rabbi Yishmael bar’Rebbi Yosi, and Rav Papa — taking a break, presumably, from their usual halachic debates over usury and property ownership — are…

  By Rafi Samuels-Schwartz Oct 22, 2013 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Qatar’s Growing Role in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

  Qatar’s two-faced policy towards Israel was on display this week, as Doha hosted a competition of FINA, the international governing body of swimming and other water sports. Members of Israel’s national team were granted visas to the Gulf monarchy where Israeli passports are normally rejected, and there were no boycotts of competitions against Israelis. But…

  By Yermi Brenner Oct 22, 2013 | 2 min read
• Opinion

  ADL’s ‘Top 10 Anti-Israel Groups’: Blacklists Return

  In June 2012, an anti-Israel billboard campaign was promoted in Los Angeles County by an organization with the cumbersome name of the U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation. The group announced the billboard campaign in a press release that went on to warn that the “Israel lobby” might try to stop the campaign. It…

  By J.J. Goldberg Oct 22, 2013 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  American Jews Should Own Their Success!

  If you’ve read my previous columns, you know I believe in the centrality of Israel in Jewish civilization, that in the past few decades, Israel has transformed from being a project of world Jewry into becoming its beating heart, and that the future of Jewish creativity, confidence and influence are going to happen primarily in…

  By David Hazony Oct 22, 2013 | 5 min read
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  Opinion

  News Quiz: Bloomberg’s Prize, Jewish Strippers and More!

  Impressionists, Islamists and Jewish strippers — you KNOW there’s only one place to find them all: your weekly Jewish news quiz. Also making appearances this week: Mayor Bloomberg, disco and Eggnog. Yup. Eggnog.

  By Lenore Skenazy Oct 21, 2013 | < 1 min read