Opinion

• Opinion

  Rabbi Elyashiv’s Legacy of Women’s Pain

  Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, the 102-year-old Lithuanian religious figure who died this week, is being hailed in some circles as the “greatest leader of his generation”. He may have been great to some men, but for women, his ideas and rulings were often the cause of enormous pain. For example, he was a vigorous adherent…

  By Elana Maryles Sztokman

  4 min read
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  Opinion

  Death of a Soviet Jewry Activist

  Last Friday, June 13, Joe Smukler died. For anyone involved with the Soviet Jewry movement — and certainly for the refuseniks who spent years struggling to get out of the Soviet Union — the Smukler name was synonymous with the kind of dogged, unrelenting, year-in-year-out activism that defined the cause. Joe and his wife, Connie,…

  By Gal Beckerman Jul 19, 2012 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Red Baiting in 2012? Bring it on!

  The Daily Caller has a scoop today right out of the 1950s. Tucker Carlson’s right-leaning news website reported that an Obama nominee to a relatively obscure federal post sent her kids to a leftist Jewish summer camp. As the Daily Caller notes, Kinderland is a “a politically left-wing Jewish summer camp with Communist roots.” The…

  By Josh Nathan-Kazis Jul 19, 2012 | 2 min read

Columnists View All

• Alyssa Katz What I learned at a Holocaust survivors’ Purim party

  

• Rob Eshman Trump is backed into a corner on Iran. Get ready for him to start blaming Jews

  

• Dan Perry Viktor Orbán may fall. Netanyahu should be next

  

• Emily Tamkin Hungary is poised to topple an authoritarian leader. American Jews have something to learn

  

• Jay Michaelson Passover’s 4 cups of meaning

  

The Latest

• Opinion

  Report From the Two-State Frontlines

  UPDATE, 12:38 PM The session ended with summaries by the three panelists of where they see things heading. Aaron David Miller: In five years the Israelis will have a state but the Palestinians & Arabs will not let them enjoy it. If there is a will to move forward do five things: 1) Keep the…

  By J.J. Goldberg Jul 19, 2012 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Israel Can’t Ignore the World’s Opinion

  A friend wrote in last week to dispute my critique of Israeli judge Edmond Levy’s settlements report. Levy claimed the West Bank isn’t “occupied” under international law, and therefore settlements aren’t illegal. I wrote that while his interpretation squares with the language of the relevant treaties, not one nation in the world accepts it, so…

  By J.J. Goldberg Jul 19, 2012 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Don’t Be Fooled by Egypt Happy Talk

  The situation in Egypt and throughout the Middle East is confusing, with many different but simultaneous developments from country to country. Each conflict comes along with a set of unknown variables regarding the real strength and aspirations of governments, militaries, institutions, leaders, political parties, political movements, insurgent factions, groups, tribes, etc. And on top of…

  By Daniel Jonah Goldhagen Jul 18, 2012 | 5 min read
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  Opinion

  Sheldon Tries To Change the Subject

  A day after a investigative report raised questions about payments allegedly approved by casino mogul Sheldon Adelson to a Chinese official, it looks like someone is trying to change the subject. Both the Jerusalem Post and the Jewish Telegraphic Agency are running prominent stories on their front pages today about the Jewish billionaire. But neither…

  By Josh Nathan-Kazis Jul 17, 2012 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  Why Is Jonathan Pollard Still in Jail?

  Why are efforts to obtain clemency for Jonathan Pollard stuck? The man convicted in 1987 for spying for Israel and given a life sentence remains in jail despite a growing chorus calling for his release. I had the opportunity to ask a number of American Jewish leaders attending a meeting of the Conference of Presidents…

  By Moshe Dann Jul 17, 2012 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  The Wrong Symbol

  It’s troubling enough when the more strident voices against abortion employ the language of the Holocaust in their rhetoric, but at least one can discern a tenuous link. The argument goes something like this: The Nazis considered Jews mere numbers, denied of personhood and murdered anonymously — as are, these activists contend, the millions of…

  Jul 17, 2012 | < 1 min read
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  Opinion

  What Sarah Silverman Would Do for Obama

  Sarah Silverman has an “indecent proposal” for Jewish billionaire Sheldon Adelson. If Adelson will switch his allegiance to Barack Obama from Mitt Romney, Silverman will… well, we don’t want to give away the punch line. Why don’t you just watch the video? Unless you’re at work, that is, or there are kids around. The video…

  By Josh Nathan-Kazis Jul 16, 2012 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  The Olympic Moment

  Even though there is just about no chance the International Olympic Committee is going to change its mind before the XXX Summer Games begin July 27, Ankie Spitzer is not giving up. And neither should we. The widow of Andrei Spitzer — the fencing coach for the 1972 Israeli Olympic team — has been doggedly…

  Jul 16, 2012 | < 1 min read