Opinion

Holding Hands Across Time From Sinai to Gettysburg and Today

In 2009, when I published “All Other Nights,” a novel about Jewish spies in the Civil War, I was invited to speak at Temple Ohev Sholom in Harrisburg, Pa. I arrived to discover 19th-century military tents in the social hall, populated by Civil War re-enactors in period dress. But as I enjoyed the reception’s matzo…

Video: A Day at the Kotel

Andrew Pochter Is Killed — as Egypt Burns

The first Egyptian police report described Andrew Driscoll Pochter as an American and a photojournalist. The 21-year-old student from suburban Maryland was not identified as being Jewish because we Americans, unlike Egyptians, do not carry government IDs that identify our religion. That in itself is a great relief and advantage when living or visiting countries…

Israel’s Most Dangerous Enemy

The most dangerous current threat to Israel may well be Danny Danon, Deputy Minister of Defense and a star of Likud, the linchpin of the governing coalition. He is, in Robert Kennedy’s language characterizing Jimmy Hoffa, “the enemy within.” True, Israel is threatened by Palestinian and other would-be terrorists who seek to maim and murder…

Looking Beyond the Visionaries

A generation ago, philanthropists and foundations launched a concerted effort to bring more creativity and vitality to Jewish life. They funded visionaries who they hoped would inspire a renaissance in Jewish life. Through vehicles such as Bikkurim: An Incubator for New Jewish Ideas, the Joshua Venture Group, the Wexner Graduate Fellowship and the Bronfman Fellowships,…

Brazil Grapples With Crisis of Expectations

Peering in from the outside, it may be tricky to understand what’s going on in Brazil right now Unlike Tunisians and Egyptians, Brazilians did not take to the streets in historic demonstrations last week to overthrow an authoritarian government. After enduring a two-decade-long dictatorship, we’ve been living under democratic rule since the mid-1980s, and those…

Should Kerry Bother?

We are of a mind to tell U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry not to bother. That is not the usual attitude of this page, which has repeatedly spoken out in favor of the two-state solution and a negotiated settlement between Israel and the Palestinians, brokered by the United States with the help of any…

Supreme Court Upholds Tyranny of the Majority — and Tarnishes Itself

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Speak to the children of Israel and say to them: … Do not do injustice in judgment by favoring the poor or deferring to the rich, but judge your neighbor in righteousness. (LEV. 19:1-15) Joshua ben Perachiah said: Judge every person to the side of merit. (MISHNAH PIRKEI…