Opinion

• Opinion

  Could Spreading European Anti-Semitism Drive Jews From Homelands?

  As the gnashing of teeth about the fate of American Jewry in the wake of the Pew Research Center survey continues, a newer and far more troublesome study of European Jewry ought to keep the supposed problem of defining Jewishness by the food you eat and the jokes you tell in some sort of perspective….

  By Liam Hoare

  4 min read
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  Opinion

  In Israel, Preparing for an Influx of European Jews

  On November 18, French President François Hollande spoke in Israel’s Knesset and showered praise on Israel and on the Jewish people in general. He also made special mention of the French expatriate community in Israel, and assured his audiences — in France as well as in Israel — that he would “not rest in fighting…

  By Pinchas Landau Nov 25, 2013 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Seeing Palestinian Resistance for Ourselves

  Who will are the change agents of our world? Is it our elected officials and politicians or the ones who march in the streets in order to hold them accountable? These questions were clarified for me in profound ways during my recent trip to the West Bank as part of a delegation of Chicago-area Jews…

  By Brant Rosen Nov 25, 2013 | 6 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 An abominable new Israeli law is a death warrant for democracy

  

• Emily Tamkin We must rewrite the rulebook for fighting antisemitism — or conspiracists like Joe Kent will win the narrative wars

  

• Jay Michaelson Passover’s 4 cups of meaning

  

The Latest

• Opinion

  Israel Packs Up Typhoon Relief Effort

  The Israeli military’s emergency mission to the Philippines packed up its field hospital today — but not before leaving giving a new x-ray machine, used only during this mission, to the local hospital. A week-and-a-half ago the Israel Defense Forces set up the only medical aid facility in the island of Cebu. The 125 medics…

  By Nathan Jeffay Nov 25, 2013 | < 1 min read
• Opinion

  Paul Berger’s Response to Sam Kellner’s Attorney

  Setting aside the hyperbole and mischaracterizations deployed liberally throughout Mr. MacGiollabhui’s letter, I would like to correct one of his primary assertions and also to answer his questions. My article did not, as Mr. MacGiollabhui implied, attempt to find evidence that “Sam Kellner attempted to extort the Lebovits family.” Instead, I showed how Kellner’s involvement…

  By Paul Berger Nov 24, 2013 | 2 min read
• Opinion

  Sam Kellner’s Attorney Responds to Forward Article

  In the letter posted below, Niall MacGiollabhui responds to the Forward’s November 14, 2013 article, “Sam Kellner’s Tangled Hasidic Tale of Child Sex Abuse, Extortion and Faith; Is Alleged Shakedown Artist a Hero or Crook?” The article discussed controversies surrounding two separate, ongoing criminal prosecutions-one of Mr. Kellner and one of Baruch Lebovits. Mr. MacGiollabui…

  By Niall MacGiollabhui Nov 24, 2013 | 13 min read
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  Opinion

  A Worthy Leap of Faith

  The interim agreement reached between the United States, five world powers and the Islamic Republic of Iran is not, as some commentators have said, a “historic deal.” Nor, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated, is it a “historic mistake.” Its historical significance will only be known in six months or, perhaps, six years. Instead,…

  Nov 24, 2013 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Israeli Intel: Kvetching Aside, Iran Deal ‘Pretty Good’

  We’ve noted before that the assessments of Israel’s security needs we hear from Israel’s elected leadership, starting with the prime minister, are not always identical — to put in mildly — to the assessments the leadership gets from its own intelligence and security professionals. On the surface, that dissonance appears to be recurring in spades…

  By J.J. Goldberg Nov 24, 2013 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  News Quiz: Katz’s Deli, Silvio Berlusconi and Lyndon Johnson

  A knish, a salami and Natalie Portman walk into a Jewish News Quiz. What happens next? Take the quiz!

  By Lenore Skenazy Nov 22, 2013 | < 1 min read
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  Opinion

  A Tough Slog Facing New Israeli Opposition Leader

  To understand why Shelly Yachimovich was booted out as head of the Israel Labor Party after just two years on the job, it helps to note that Labor has had a bad habit, ever since Yitzhak Rabin’s assassination in 1995, of changing leaders every time it holds a primary. But this time was different. Previous…

  By J.J. Goldberg Nov 22, 2013 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Right-Wing Dead Enders Block Peoples Business — in D.C. and Jerusalem

  This November found lawmakers in Washington and Jerusalem caught up in a matched pair of high-profile disputes, unrelated but remarkably similar, that showcase the sort of right-wing extremism snarling the people’s business in the two capitals. In both cases, conservative lawmakers were out to block high-level appointments in the justice system. In both cases, conservatives…

  By J.J. Goldberg Nov 22, 2013 | 5 min read