Opinion

• Opinion

  Americans and Our ‘Stuff’

  For all the Democrats’ sniping, the losing Republicans have put their finger on an important truth about American voters and why they voted the way they did November 6. As Bill O’Reilly smartly explained it on election night, “people want stuff” from the government. Lots of stuff. No less than 47% believe they’re entitled to…

  By J.J. Goldberg

  4 min read
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  Opinion

  Tale of Two Davids

  Gen. David Petraeus is not the first famous David in history to be ensnared in the web of infidelity. King David was an adulterer and a fellow military hero as well. However, the similarities end there. While the biblical David was able to retain his kingship because he repented and was forgiven, the contemporary David…

  By Daniel Goodman Nov 16, 2012 | 2 min read
• Opinion

  Sticking It to Hamas, on Twitter

  There’s nothing funny about war. So it’s unsurprising that a trending Twitter hashtag #HamasBumperStickers is being met with equal parts horror and glee. “What’s the martyr with you?”, “I don’t break for Jews,” and “My other car is also a mass of blackened, twisted metal” are just a few of the Tweets cascading out today…

  By Paul Berger Nov 15, 2012 | < 1 min read

Columnists View All

• Alyssa Katz Class assignment: Get to know your murdered Jewish neighbors

  

• Rob Eshman Liberal Zionists are under attack. A new book proves their work has never been more important

  

• Dan Perry Israel’s most dangerous war is with itself

  

• Emily Tamkin American Jews have a Hasan Piker problem. Solving it is going to hurt

  

• Jay Michaelson Epstein and Iran are an antisemitism mega-crisis. Here’s what Jewish organizations should do about it. 

  

The Latest

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  Opinion

  What’s the Gaza ‘Game Over’ Strategy?

  Since Israel launched Operation Pillar of Defense on Wednesday, fighting around the Israel-Gaza border has been intense. The death toll stands at three on the Israeli side and 13 on the Palestinian side. A few minutes a rocket wounded ago three Israeli soldiers. In the last 24 hours, 138 rockets from Gaza has struck Israel…

  By Nathan Jeffay Nov 15, 2012 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  An ‘Imperfect Jew’ and LGBT Leader

  When the International Lesbian and Gay Human Rights Commission was founded in 1990, sodomy laws were prevalent. Amnesty International’s platform didn’t include LGBT rights. The United States wouldn’t grant asylum to refugees on the basis of sexual orientation. The world’s changed since then, and so has IGLHRC. Since earning consultative status at the United Nations…

  By Michael Kaminer Nov 15, 2012 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Imagine an Israeli Arab Alfred Dreyfus

  Once again, France is having an affair with the affair — the Dreyfus Affair. On November 4, Le Monde published a controversial essay by Israeli sociologist Eva Illouz, titled “Israel: Justice or Tribalism,” in which she views contemporary Israel through the prism of this 19th-century event. Israel, she concludes, lacks the political and legal ingredients…

  By Robert Zaretsky Nov 15, 2012 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Scarlet ‘A’ Is for ‘Anti-Semitism’

  Like Hester Prynne, the heroine of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s 1850 novel “The Scarlet Letter” about the rigid and harsh religiosity of 17th century Puritans, many contemporary Jewish intellectuals are marked with the infamous letter ‘A’ (not for adultery as in the novel, but for anti-Semitism). Peter Beinart, Noam Chomsky, Judith Butler, Avi Shlaim, Shlomo Sand and…

  By Eva Illouz Nov 14, 2012 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  How To Fix the Vote

  The difficulty that some voters had to endure simply to cast a ballot in the November 6 election is a stunning testament to their civic dedication and a disgrace to our system. In hotly-contested swing states like Florida and Virginia, people waited on line for as much as nine hours to vote. Nine hours! Americans…

  Nov 14, 2012 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  A Call for Jewish Tolerance

  Calling on the federation system to join synagogues in a fight against religious discrimination in Israel, Reform leader Rabbi Rick Jacobs aimed to engage the broader Jewish community in the struggle for equality of non-Orthodox Jewish denominations in Israel. Jacobs, president of the Union for Reform Judaism, described Israel as “the only democracy that legally…

  By Nathan Guttman Nov 13, 2012 | 2 min read
• Opinion

  What Connects Us To One Another?

  I have been thinking about the Jews — not as voters, mind you, but as a people. And the obvious question that arises is what makes of this mixed multitude a whole, a people. What is it that connects us to one another? The traditional answers of organized American Jewry are barely adequate today, and…

  By Leonard Fein Nov 13, 2012 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  $64 Million Question on Iran

  It was hardly surprising that Israeli diplomat Barukh Binah refused several times to discuss the nitty-gritty of plans to confront Iran over its nuclear program at a public forum at the Jewish Federations of North America’s General Assembly. Neither was the lack of optimism voiced by any of the three panelists that increased sanctions against…

  By Renee Ghert-Zand Nov 13, 2012 | 2 min read