Opinion

• Opinion

  Who Speaks for Israel?

  The back-to-back national policy conferences of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and J Street — the Jewish version of March Madness for Israel advocates — have now concluded. The subtext of these gatherings is a desire to represent American Jewish opinion in the halls of Congress, the inner sanctum of the White House and…

  2 min read
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  Opinion

  Court Conservatives Take On Health Law

  Like Charlie Brown and his famous football, various liberal legal scholars have been writing for weeks now that the Supreme Court just might transcend its 5-4 partisan divide and decide the fate of President Obama’s health care reform on the merits, not the politics. It’s conceivable. Perhaps one or more of the conservative justices will…

  By J.J. Goldberg Mar 30, 2012 | 4 min read
• Opinion

  Adelson: Gingrich Is at the ‘End of His Line’

  Casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, whose family has given a “Super PAC” backing Newt Gingrich’s candidacy some $15 million, told the Jewish Journal, of Los Angeles, that the former House Speaker is “at the end of his line.” Reading between the lines, it seems that Adelson might be ready to throw his (very reluctant) support behind…

  By Gabrielle Birkner Mar 29, 2012 | < 1 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

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  Opinion

  Trayvon and the Rodef

  As federal and state authorities investigate the death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, and pundits debate the value of the Florida law that, so far, is protecting George Zimmerman from being charged with murder, we would do well to consult the “din rodef.” Jewish law has much to say about a lot of things, and the…

  Mar 29, 2012 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Reason Prevails in Brooklyn BDS Vote

  The defeat of a referendum in support of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement’s campaign to boycott Israel at Brooklyn’s Park Slope Food Coop was a victory for peace. Most fundamentally, and as we heard consistently from the dais on the night of March 27 at Brooklyn Tech High School’s auditorium, where the debate and…

  By Andy Bachman Mar 28, 2012 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Dangers of Syria’s Downward Spiral

  Of all of Syria’s neighbors, Israel is the least involved in the revolutionary events there, and wisely so. Turkey is arming and training an opposition army; Lebanon is the main avenue for smuggling weapons to the rebels; Jordan is sheltering refugees and may be supplying arms to the opposition; Iraqi Sunnis are helping Syria’s Sunni…

  By Yossi Alpher Mar 28, 2012 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Goodbye Tzipi, Hello Shaul

  The results of the elections for leadership of the Kadima party are in and Shaul Mofaz has won a decisive victory over Tzipi Livni. With 100% of the votes counted, Mofaz won 61.5 percent to Livni’s 38.5 percent. Ouch. There was nothing really for Livni to say as she stood in front of her supporters…

  By Gal Beckerman Mar 28, 2012 | < 1 min read
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  Opinion

  Has David Geffen Abandoned Obama?

  In 2008, billionaire media mogul David Geffen was among Barack Obama’s most visible Hollywood supporters. A top-level fundraiser for the Obama campaign, Geffen hosted major Hollywood events and launched a tide-turning media attack against primary opponent Hillary Clinton. In 2012, he’s all but absent from the political landscape. Sure, Geffen has given the maximum allowable…

  By Josh Nathan-Kazis Mar 27, 2012 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  Free Gross, Free Cuba

  The photos of Alan Gross before and during his imprisonment in Cuba are striking: The ruddy-faced man with bulging cheeks now looks thin and sallow. His wife, Judy Gross, says that he has lost 100 pounds in the last two years, and it shows. For humanitarian reasons alone, the ailing 62-year-old Jew ought to be…

  Mar 27, 2012 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  J Street Stumbles by Inviting Olmert

  J Street’s decision to offer Ehud Olmert the keynote address at the peace lobby’s annual conference indicates a loss of moral compass. When Olmert takes to the podium tonight, delegates will applaud the Israeli prime minister who orchestrated the punishing siege on Gaza, launched two wars, killing 2,500 Lebanese and Palestinians and pulverizing their infrastructure….

  By Nicolas Pelham Mar 26, 2012 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Greg Smith Shined Light on Wall Street

  On the day after his op-ed piece appeared in the New York Times on March 14, Greg Smith, a mid-level executive in the London office of Goldman Sachs had generated 19 million entries on Google. By three days later, that number had risen to 134 million. Smith’s announcement of his departure from the storied firm…

  By Leonard Fein Mar 25, 2012 | 3 min read