Opinion

• Opinion

  Madiba, Zayde of Our Rainbow Nation

  Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, the iconic leader of our nation, has died. To South Africans — including Jews — he will always be much more than merely the first democratically elected president. He will be forever remembered as the “father of the nation” as he was truly the architect of the inclusive South Africa we know…

  By Shana Beinart

  3 min read
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  Opinion

  The 2 Sides of Nelson Mandela

  Nelson Mandela, who died December 5, has come to symbolize the triumph of hope over despair, of love over hatred, and of goodness over evil. I have recently written what an inspiration he has been to me personally as a rabbi who led a congregation in South Africa in the immediate post-apartheid period. I wrote…

  By Dana Evan Kaplan Jul 8, 2013 | 5 min read
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  Opinion

  Client 9 vs. Mr. Clean

  Former New York governor Eliot Spitzer returned from political exile Sunday night, throwing New York City Democrats into a frenzy as he announced an ultra-late entry into the race for New York City Comptroller. Spitzer will face Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, who was running uncontested in the Democratic primary. Both candidates are Jewish, but…

  By Josh Nathan-Kazis Jul 8, 2013 | 2 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

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  Opinion

  Ultra-Orthodox Win Race to the Kotel

  Today, Haredi activists headed en masse to the women’s section of the Western Wall before the interdenominational feminist group Women of the Wall (WOW) were due to assemble for their monthly prayer service. Citing concern for the women’s’ “personal safety” police said that the high concentration of Haredi opponents to the group assembled by the…

  By Nathan Jeffay Jul 8, 2013 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  Norman Lamm’s Legacy

  True character, the man wrote, requires the courage to admit that, despite one’s best intentions, “I now recognize that I was wrong.” Imagine if every leader had the strength and the humility to write those words and to believe them, to acknowledge a mistake plainly and publicly, without embellishment or justification. Imagine if leaders simply…

  Jul 8, 2013 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Sheryl Sandberg’s Plane Crash Narrow Escape

  Facebook COO and bestselling “Lean In” author Sheryl Sandberg and her family narrowly avoided having been on the Asiana Airlines flight that crash-landed at San Francisco International Airport on Saturday morning. Two people were killed and 49 seriously injured when Asiana Airlines Flight 214, a Boeing 777, slammed in to the ground just short of…

  By Renee Ghert-Zand Jul 7, 2013 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  Camp Tawonga and the Truth

  Camp Tawonga’s leadership faced a difficult decision last week when 21-year-old art counselor Annaïs Rittenberg, was killed by a falling tree. They needed to decide what to tell the campers. The camp decided not to tell the children that Rittenberg had died — a decision that angers Rittenberg’s father. “It’s a tragedy,” Mark Rittenberg wrote…

  By Renee Ghert-Zand Jul 7, 2013 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  The Crossword Clue That Raised an Age-Old ‘Shylock’ Anti-Semitic Trope

  For me, it started with a thrown penny. It clattered to the parking lot asphalt of the swim club I frequented as a child, and in my innocence I bent to pick it up, looking around to see who had lost it. Two teenage girls stared at me, giggling, and refused to take back the…

  By Deb Amlen Jul 7, 2013 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  If I Were Israel — I’d Move

  If I were Israel, I’d move. The entire neighborhood, once more or less bearable even though always problematic, has gone to hell. Egypt: In 1978, Anwar Sadat and Menachem Begin shared the Nobel Peace Prize. (Jimmy Carter, who brokered the Egypt/Israel peace treaty, remained a bridesmaid rather then being recognized as the officiant.) Since that…

  By Leonard Fein Jul 6, 2013 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Accused Racists Leading Field in Chief Rabbi Race

  The race has been getting ugly

  By J.J. Goldberg Jul 5, 2013 | 6 min read
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  Opinion

  Texas-Sized Hypocrisy

  Let’s focus now on two bits of news that made headlines as July opened. The first came from the Texas Capitol in Austin, where the newly famous Wendy Davis joined fellow lawmakers in a rally against legislation that would effectively restrict most abortions in the state. Davis, you remember, spent more than 10 hours on…

  Jul 4, 2013 | 2 min read