Opinion

• Opinion

  John Kerry Is Wasting His Time — and Ours

  To what can John Kerry’s efforts to restart the Israeli-Palestinian “peace process” be likened? Perhaps to those of a mechanic doggedly working on the engine of an old jalopy whose body is eaten by rust: Even if he gets the damned thing running, it won’t go anywhere. When something has gone nowhere for 20 years…

  By Hillel Halkin

  3 min read
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  Opinion

  Fasting for Immigrant Rights

  I sat in a tent in the desert and waited for travelers to arrive. They came on government buses, dehydrated, exhausted, covered in blisters and bug bites. We welcomed them into our large, white tent and offered bandages, water and clumsily wrapped burritos. Abraham welcomed three strangers into his desert tent. Each day, I welcomed…

  By Nicole Kligerman Jul 22, 2013 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Will Iran’s New President Defuse the Nuclear Crisis?

  With Syria peace talks on hold, and John Kerry’s efforts to restart Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations uncertain, the most positive development to emerge from the Middle East this summer may be the surprise election of Hassan Rowhani as Iran’s next president. Even as Washington takes a cautious, wait-and-see attitude to prospects for a nuclear deal under…

  By Laura Rozen Jul 21, 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 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

  Blood Libel Trial of Century at 100

  This year marks the one hundredth anniversary of one of the most sensational trials of the 20th century. In September 1913, Mendel Beilis, the clerk of a brick factory, stood accused in a Kiev courtroom of murdering a 13-year-old boy to use his blood to make matzo. Over the course of a four-week trial, the…

  By Paul Berger Jul 21, 2013 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  Kerry’s ‘Naïve’ Peace Bid: Who Got the Last Laugh?

  Well, surprise, surprise. After months of hearing from all the wise pundits from left to right that Secretary of State Kerry was beyond his depth in Israeli-Palestinian peace-making, that he was “naïve and ham-handed” (מגושם in the original), “dumb” and “clueless,” it turns out they all got it wrong. Of course, they’re still a long…

  By J.J. Goldberg Jul 21, 2013 | 4 min read
• Opinion

  this is a test

  The first and most obvious reversal, of course, is the notion that Secretary of State Kerry was “naïve,” “ham-handed” (מגושם) to try bringing the Israelis and Palestinians back together.

  Jul 20, 2013 | < 1 min read
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  Opinion

  ‘Love Child’ Plot Thickens for Jewish Lawmaker

  The plot thickens and the drama continues in the weird case of the Jewish lawmaker who claimed fatherhood of a bikini model — then found out he wasn’t the real dad. A day after a DNA test proved that Rep. Steve Cohen was not genetically related to Victoria Brink, the young woman’s real father said…

  By Yermi Brenner Jul 19, 2013 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  British Lawmakers’ Un-‘Liberal’ Stand on Israel

  Two British members of parliament from the centrist Liberal Democratic Party seemed to be doing their utmost to dissuade Jews, friends of Israel, and generally right-minded peoples from sticking with their already-damaged party through to the next election. First, during a debate on changes to the national curriculum, Sir Bob Russell thought it would be…

  By Liam Hoare Jul 19, 2013 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  Trayvon Martin, O.J. Simpson and the Remedy for Injustice

  What happens when following the letter of the law still leads to an unjust outcome? What is the remedy? What, besides expressing deep outrage, are ordinary citizens to do? The acquittal of George Zimmerman of murder and manslaughter charges in the death of Trayvon Martin left many Americans holding two thoughts that at first seem…

  Jul 19, 2013 | 4 min read
• Opinion

  Extortion Common in Israel Divorces: Study

  Israel’s rabbinical establishment has responded to a worrying survey pointing to the widespread extortion by husbands whose wives want divorces. And instead of moving to stop the phenomenon, it has simply attacked the survey — conducted by one of Israel’s largest polling firms commissioned by a major university. For Israel’s Jewish population, all marriage-related matters…

  By Nathan Jeffay Jul 18, 2013 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  Can Israel’s Electric Car Revolution Rev Up?

  Can the American man leading Israel’s solar power revolution work his magic on the country’s ailing electric car company? Better Place launched with big, international plans, but went bankrupt earlier this year. Now, Yosef Abramowitz, an idealistic American businessman who first became acquainted with Israel on a Young Judea gap-year program and has had a…

  By Nathan Jeffay Jul 18, 2013 | 2 min read