Opinion

• Letters

  Falk’s True Face

  In its astonishingly sympathetic July 29 article on Richard Falk, “U.N. Official Answers Questions About Fierce Criticism of Israel,” the Forward cites a recent blog post in which he portrays himself as being in the tradition of biblical prophecy. Regrettably, there is no reference to other parts of the post, which are far more revealing…

  2 min read
• 
  Opinion

  Israel’s Foreign Ministry Borrows From the Settlers for Its Propaganda

  Israel’s deputy foreign minister and Twitter warrior, Danny Ayalon, recently released a video over YouTube that is doing quite well — posted on July 11, it now has nearly 180,000 hits. In it, Ayalon tries to explain why he thinks the West Bank should not be referred to as “occupied” and that settlements are not…

  By Gal Beckerman Jul 27, 2011 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  The Death of Peoplehood

  Recently I had an upsetting e-mail exchange with an old friend. A prominent, politically active Jewish conservative, he told me that he had long ago given up trying to convince American Jews on the left to support Israel. “I don’t really see them as family anymore,” he wrote. “I’ve found a new family, the American…

  By David Hazony Jul 27, 2011 | 3 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

• Opinion

  Instead of Israeli vs. Palestinian, Think Modern vs. Medieval

  I give Hussien Ibish — a contributor to our pages — a lot of credit for even agreeing to get into the ring with someone like David Ha’ivri, an “extremist settler” (Ibish’s words, with which I concur) that he recently debated. Ibish recounts the encounter here. In many ways, this type of interaction can only…

  By Gal Beckerman Jul 26, 2011 | 2 min read
• Opinion

  Cops Eye Breivik’s Int’l Links; Glenn Beck Likens Victims to ‘Hitler Youth’

  While Norwegian police look into island shooter Anders Breivik’s claims that he has links to two additional “cells,” Interpol is investigating his claim that he is part of an international network dedicated to fighting an Islamic takeover of Europe. He claims he attended an organizing meeting in London. Interpol is taking the claim seriously enough…

  By J.J. Goldberg Jul 26, 2011 | < 1 min read
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  Opinion

  Norway Massacre Shouldn’t Be Used To Score Political Points

  Imagine, as many did at first, that the perpetrator of the horrendous terrorist attacks in Norway had been a Muslim associated with Al Qaeda. Imagine that right-wing bloggers and commentators had seized on this fact for political capital and had accused Muslim ideologues and politicized clerics of bearing indirect responsibility for the crime. The left…

  By Alex Stein Jul 26, 2011 | 4 min read
• Opinion

  Peoplehood, Debated

  We’ve gotten a lot of response to Daniel Septimus’ op-ed, taking on Misha Galperin and his “peoplehood agenda.” Because there seems to be interest in this debate — one that has high stakes for, at the very least, the future of the Jewish Agency if not the Jewish community as a whole — I’ve just…

  By Gal Beckerman Jul 25, 2011 | < 1 min read
• Opinion

  Continuing a Peoplehood Debate

  This op-ed is a response to a previous article by Daniel Septimus, which can be found here. I am delighted that my op-ed has spurred a conversation about an issue that is critical to modern Jewish life. What is the nature of Jewish peoplehood? If it is about connection among Jews, but has no additional…

  By Misha Galperin Jul 25, 2011 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Does Oslo Terror Indict Rightists? Did Unabomber Indict Al Gore?

  Ross Douthat, conservative-in-residence on the New York Times’ Op-Ed, makes an important cautionary point in his Sunday July 24 column, “A Right-Wing Monster,” about the surge of progressive comment citing the Norway massacre as an indictment of the New Right of Angela Merkel, Nicolas Sarkozy (and the House Republicans and Yisrael Beiteinu, I might add)…

  By J.J. Goldberg Jul 25, 2011 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  Eric Alterman: Yale Acted Correctly in Axing Anti-Semitism Initiative

  Yale University’s decision to shutter its Initiative for the Interdisciplinary Study of Antisemitism and replace it with the Yale Program for the Study of Antisemitism has inspired considerable controversy, much of it highly acrimonious. On the one hand, this is surprising. YIISA was a tiny institute without much of a profile at Yale, much less…

  By Eric Alterman Jul 25, 2011 | 4 min read
• Opinion

  Israelis Debate on the Web: Did Norway Get What It Deserved?

  The Norway massacre has touched off a nasty war of words on the Israeli Internet over the meaning of the event and its implications for Israel. And I do mean nasty: Judging by the comments sections on the main Hebrew websites, the main questions under debate seem to be whether Norwegians deserve any sympathy from…

  By J.J. Goldberg Jul 24, 2011 | 6 min read