Opinion

• Opinion

  When Bob Marley’s Drowned Out by Sirens

  There had been a relative calm in my small part of the world — a gentrified area of south Tel Aviv where the tree-lined narrow streets are scattered with bustling restaurants and coffee shops — where my biggest concern was finding a working Telo-Fun bike machine. Before last week, words like miklat (bomb shelter), Iron…

  By Abra Cohen

  2 min read
• Opinion

  Heart of a Nation

  Tel Aviv is not a symbol. It is not, as the “lev” (Hebrew for “heart”) sound in Tel Aviv suggests to some, a bubble of the heart. It is a real city. It is a home for so many people, embodying so many stories of the Jewish journey. Eli Mohar who wrote some of the…

  By Ruth Calderon Nov 24, 2012 | < 1 min read
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  Opinion

  ‘Jewish’ Leader Takes Over Anglican Church

  Rev. Justin Welby, Bishop of Durham, will be enthroned as the 105th Archbishop of Canterbury on March 21, 2013. He will be the latest principal leader of the Church of England in a line that goes back more than 1,400 years. Notably, Welby is also most likely the only head of the worldwide Anglican Communion…

  By Renee Ghert-Zand Nov 23, 2012 | 2 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

  What the Rockets Accomplished

  For many Israelis, two accomplishments of the current round of war are cause for joy: First, Israel killed senior Hamas leader Ahmed al-Jabari; and second, Hamas fired missiles at Tel Aviv. The celebrations among online “talk-backers” now that Tel Aviv residents have joined the missile-target club include some gloating, but they also imply an optimistic…

  By Asaf Geffen Nov 23, 2012 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  Life With a Knife to the Neck

  Imagine every car on a main street suddenly screeching to a stop and all the passengers running out, with only a siren wailing in the background. When the first siren went off, we thought it was a test. It took us 10 seconds to realize that it was the real thing. We hurried to our…

  By Nava Semel Nov 23, 2012 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Hamas, Hedonism and the Banality of Attack

  It was Woody Allen’s split screen in the 1977 classic “Annie Hall” that gave the world an inside look at Jewish family meals. I was attending such a meal Saturday, November 17, in Tel Aviv when, between my aunt’s gossip about her neighbor and my uncle’s analysis of his ulcer, sirens rang out warning of…

  By Ilan Manor Nov 23, 2012 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  When It Gets Hot, Go to the Beach

  Did the bubble burst when the rockets started falling on Tel Aviv on November 15? I think it didn’t. If “the bubble” means pretending to be New York or London — well, they also suffer from terror once in a while. And if it means the possibility to disengage yourself from the news and do…

  By Assaf Gavron Nov 23, 2012 | 2 min read
• Opinion

  A Low Fat Jewish Dream

  Tel Aviv is too often looked down on as a secular city empty of Jewish identity or values. I find this far from being true. Tel Aviv was founded on a Jewish spirit that is as relevant today as ever: on the dream of living a 100% Jewish life and at the same time living…

  By Ruth Calderon Nov 23, 2012 | < 1 min read
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  Opinion

  Six Lessons of the Gaza Conflict

  There was no daylight between Prime Minister Netanyahu’s Israel and President Obama’s United States, not even a sliver. Most of the international community, including perfidious Europe, gave Jerusalem its unequivocal support. Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood leadership played a pivotal and responsible role. The media coverage, as a general rule, was balanced, but only at it worst….

  By Chemi Shalev (Haaretz) Nov 22, 2012 | 7 min read
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  Opinion

  The ‘If Only’ Man

  Ehud Olmert, Israel’s former Prime Minister and the center left’s “if only” man, is expected to confirm any moment that he won’t be running for Knesset. Soon after the January 22 election was announced, speculation has abounded that if Olmert made a comeback and pulled together a broad center-left alliance he could actually win and…

  By Nathan Jeffay Nov 22, 2012 | < 1 min read
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  Opinion

  70% of Israelis Oppose Truce

  After an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire kicked in last night, the Israel-Gaza border has been calm today. The residents of Southern Israel can once again go about their business without running for cover, and residents of Gaza no longer have Israeli planes overhead, striking terrorist targets but also scaring and sometimes killing or harming civilians. However, it…

  By Nathan Jeffay Nov 22, 2012 | 2 min read