Opinion

WASHINGTON (JTA) — America has good allies all around the world, but there is no greater ally than Israel, a beacon of democracy, freedom and liberty in a part of the world filled with darkness. However, the Obama administration continues to create more and more daylight between itself and… Read more »

(JTA) — This weekend, a collection of GOP presidential candidates will arrive in Las Vegas for a meeting of the Republican Jewish Coalition. But don’t allow yourself to be fooled into thinking that these candidates are making a real attempt to appeal to American Jewish voters. Their presence is… Read more »

KRAKOW, Poland (JTA) — The International March of the Living is in its 27th year. In those years, over 220,000 young people from around the globe have come to Poland to study, reflect and remember. They then return to their communities to share their personal reaction to facing the… Read more »

Next week, Israel will celebrate the 67th anniversary of its establishment as a modern nation. On Remembrance Day, the day before Independence Day, Israelis will cherish the memory and legacy of the 23,000 soldiers who gave their lives so that we would be able to live as free people… Read more »

Marc Mezvinsky and Chelsea Clinton during their wedding ceremony, July 31, 2010 (Genevieve de Manio)

Millennia ago, before rabbis existed or conversion was invented, thousands who were not born Jewish became part of the Jewish community through a very simple act: They married a Jew. Sarah was the first, followed in turn by Rebecca, Leah and Rachel. Thousands more followed — both biblical characters… Read more »

NEW YORK (JTA) — The evening before we visited Auschwitz, over pizza with a group of young people in Oswiecim, the town on whose outskirts lies that infamous symbol, one of my students approached me with tears in her eyes. Tears are hardly uncommon to visitors of sites of… Read more »

WASHINGTON (JTA) — With the conclusion of a framework agreement over Iran’s nuclear agreement last week, many remain profoundly unsure whether the deal will successfully prevent Tehran’s acquisition of a nuclear weapon. Under the terms of the agreement, much of Iran’s nuclear infrastructure will remain in place. Its Shahab-3… Read more »

Georges Biard/Wikimedia Commons

(JTA) — Last summer our family went to southern Europe on holiday. During our stay at a hotel, our son Dylan went to the swimming pool. A short time later he came running back to the room, upset. A man at the pool had started hurling insults at him.… Read more »

(JTA) — I recently attended the bris of my friend’s son and it was the first such occasion at which I was not crying tears of sadness for myself. Two years ago I was at her older son’s bris, and I remember pretending my copious tears were of joy. In reality, all I could think was:… Read more »

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has apologized to Arab Israelis for his fear-mongering statement on Election Day last week. That should be the end of it, right? Not so fast! Let’s recall: as voting was proceeding, Netanyahu posted a video saying. “The rule of the right is in danger, Arab voters… Read more »

(JTA) — There are two Benjamin Netanyahus. To his detractors, Netanyahu is arrogant, a dissembler and a racist. To his defenders, he is intrepid, politically astute and singularly devoted to Israel’s security. Netanyahu’s critics blame him for alienating Israel’s closest ally — snubbing the U.S. president, using Congress as… Read more »

The outcomes of the Israeli elections are a great personal victory for Benjamin Netanyahu, who, a few days ago, was already dismissed by pundits as a relic of the past. Indeed, this is a double victory: Not only will Netanyahu be able to form a stable, right-wing government, but… Read more »

(JTA) — When Hillel International President Eric Fingerhut announced his decision to withdraw a commitment to speak to over 1,000 students at the upcoming J Street National Conference, he expressed only one major regret. In his statement last week, Fingerhut lamented that he would miss the opportunity to “thank… Read more »

Now that the applause after Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s speech in Congress has faded away, we are left with the question: Was he right or wrong to deliver that speech? Opponents of the move (like myself) believe that the speech has accomplished nothing except to further alienate the White… Read more »

NEW YORK (JTA) — Jewish perseverance, and more than a bit of chutzpah, lies at the heart of the Purim holiday we celebrate this week. It is one of the reasons we are instructed to mark this raucous holiday with boundless joy and why thousands of Ukrainian Jews, despite… Read more »

NEW YORK (JTA) — Dear Prime Minister Netanyahu: As American Jewish progressive Zionists, we are deeply worried about the threat that a nuclear-armed Iran would pose to Israel. We know you would like pro-Israel Jews to publicly defend your positions on Iran and your plans to speak to Congress next… Read more »

It is too easy to dismiss Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s appeal for a “mass-immigration” of European Jews to Israel, following the recent terrorist attacks, as another one of his election campaign gimmicks. By invoking aliyah, the quintessence of Zionism,  Netanyahu could have supposedly been trying to position himself as… Read more »

At the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, we welcome the introduction in Congress earlier this month of the Healthy Families Act and applaud Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Rep. Rosa DeLauro’s (D-Conn.) commitment to ensuring paid sick leave for American workers. The Healthy Families Act would set a… Read more »

Michael Paulson reported in The New York Times on the “Pay What You Want” model that some synagogues are implementing to reduce the financial barrier to membership. Paulson estimated that about 30 synagogues across the United States are trying voluntary dues. These changes, Paulson wrote Feb. 2, have come… Read more »

By now, it has become clear that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan to address Congress on March 4 has become a disaster – not just for him but more importantly for the US-Israel relationship. From the beginning, one of the chief objections to the visit — and the… Read more »