Opinion

(JTA) — The wall separating Bethlehem from Israel-controlled territory is silent and noisy at once, like the breakdown in conversation between Israelis and Palestinians that helped kill the Oslo peace accords. It was only this year — in June, almost 25 years since the launch of the accords that… Read more »

LAS VEGAS (JTA) — This summer, America’s Jewish youth rebelled. Or at least a very small minority of them did. But through orchestrated stunts and aggressive marketing, they garnered the headlines they sought. These youth are demanding that Israel end its “occupation,” presumably of the West Bank. They are… Read more »

NEW YORK (JTA) — It has become conventional wisdom in certain circles that the Oslo agreement between Israel and the Palestinians, which was signed 25 years ago Sept. 13 on the White House lawn, was simply a failure. There is no doubt that the great hopes of Israeli-Palestinian peace and… Read more »

There are over 400,000 Jewish Holocaust survivors worldwide, but the survivor population is rapidly diminishing. As we celebrate the High Holidays and mark the beginning of another year, each of us needs to reflect on what we have done in the past year to support this shrinking community and… Read more »

I am a Holocaust concentration camp survivor. I am one of a rapidly dwindling number of eyewitnesses to the Nazi Holocaust, the most systematic genocide of all time. I regularly speak at high schools, universities and community events, sharing my eyewitness account with newer generations of Americans who have no… Read more »

(Kveller via JTA) – When a Jewish person dies, the traditional way to grieve includes sitting shiva, a seven-day mourning period when visitors arrive to comfort and care for the bereaved. At the end of the week, the mourners “get up” and resume more of their normal activities. Some people… Read more »

    NEW YORK (JTA) — In business, an effective planning process is essential for success. During the High Holidays, Jews are urged to engage in this sort of process for our own lives. We reflect on the past year, seeking lessons to help us in the coming year.… Read more »

AMSTERDAM (JTA) — My wife and I were married roughly 5,000 diapers ago, and she’s still waiting for me to propose. I know this because she reminds me every anniversary. To be clear, ours was no shotgun wedding. Iris and I were hitched in a civil marriage in Holland… Read more »

Asuccessful and enduring democracy needs the active participation of its citizens. Such participation requires voting. By casting your vote for a candidate who reflects your values and interests, you are directly affecting your future and the future of our country. By failing to vote, you are enabling others to… Read more »

On Sunday, the theater community’s reactions to the death of playwright Neil Simon came even as social media were still processing the death the day before of Sen. John McCain. The homages to McCain bordered on the hagiographic until fights erupted (this being Facebook) between those who remembered the… Read more »

Carlos Galindo-Elvira

On Aug. 12, 2017, the nation was gripped by the shocking scene of hundreds of white supremacists taking to the streets of Charlottesville, Virginia, bellowing racist and anti-Semitic chants. While some wore polo shirts and others waved Nazi flags, their message was clear: non-whites and minorities have no place… Read more »

(Kveller via JTA) – On Nov. 22, 1909, at a massive workers meeting held at Cooper Union, Clara Lemlich Shavelson made herself known. In Yiddish, she declared, “I am tired of listening to speakers who talk in general terms. …  I move that we go on a general strike!”… Read more »

Amos Yadlin (Courtesy of Tel Aviv University’s Institute for National Security Studies)

TEL AVIV (JTA) — Israel’s new “nation-state” law, which is widely viewed here as clumsy, unnecessary and unwise, must be amended. That’s why I was proud to join tens of thousands of Israelis on Saturday night in a peaceful, unifying protest led by the Druze community. I came to… Read more »

Editor’s note: The following is from a press release from the City of Kingman: “Every city has resident voices that challenge respect and dignity for others. They are wrong and unfortunate.  That was no exception on the July 22 ‘Who Is America?’ show on Showtime in which an actor… Read more »

LOS ANGELES (JTA) — Jonathan Gold was more than a food writer. Every obituary will tell you that, and so would he. “Food is a way to look at the world,” he told me once. “I mean, everybody eats.” Gold, who died July 21 at the age of 57 from… Read more »

(Kveller via JTA) — Summer is known for being a lazy, carefree time — but for anxious moms like me, summer can be seriously scary. There’s a host of hidden dangers to worry about, from sunburn to tick bites to water accidents. During the school year, I’m a pretty… Read more »

Regarding the letter in the June 29 edition, “Connection doesn’t give women equal access,” I hope the Jewish Federation continues to host events like ‘The Connection.’ As a transgender Jewish woman, I am not always allowed to attend women’s events in the Orthodox world. When such events are held… Read more »

(JTA) — As the Jewish world this year marks Israel’s 70th anniversary, we recall that two years before Israel’s independence, a momentous change came in the Conservative movement: Its then new prayer book, known as the Silverman siddur, no longer contained the traditional words “Shelo Asani Eisha” — thank you… Read more »

Tisha b’Av (the 9th day of the month of Av) which we commemorate this year on July 21-22, reminds us that over 2,000 years ago Jews failed to heed the warnings of the prophet Jeremiah, with the result that the first Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed, the first of… Read more »

  (JTA) — At the annual convention of the Central Conference of American Rabbis in June 1934, the assembled religious leaders were confronted with questions that especially resonate for Americans in the Trump era: How should we approach those who oppose us and are working against our interests? Should we… Read more »