Opinion

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (JTA) — Talking about death makes some people uncomfortable. Of course, we think we should talk about it. Ninety percent of Americans surveyed said it’s really important that we talk with our loved ones about our wishes for the kind of care we would like at end… Read more »

  (JTA) — On Monday, one day before Election Day, I received a call from a reader. She identified herself as a Reform Jew, 46, from Chicago. She had praise for JTA and our daily newsletter, but also a complaint: Our emphasis on the Trump campaign, including charges over… Read more »

WALTHAM, Mass. (JTA) — At a summit meeting held last week at the National Museum of American Jewish History, several hundred communal professionals, rabbis, scholars, philanthropists and young intermarried couples gathered to discuss engagement of interfaith families in Jewish life. There is widespread communal agreement that intermarriage has reshaped the… Read more »

Thank you for the wonderful piece you created about THA alumni, a nice choice of students from different “generations,” so to speak (“Making their mark: Tucson Hebrew Academy alumni,” AJP 9/23/16). In keeping with my propensity for nostalgia, small world stories and the conviction that there is less than… Read more »

WORCESTER, Mass. (JTA) — Jacob Neusner, the famed scholar and almost mythically prolific author who died Oct. 8 at age 84,  almost singlehandedly created the modern study of Judaism, and in doing so he revolutionized our understanding of the history of Judaism and our perception of what Judaism can mean… Read more »

CHICAGO (JTA) — Why did my synagogue ban my baby? It had been more than a decade since I attended my hometown synagogue for Yom Kippur, and it was my first time as a father, so I didn’t know what to expect. But I never imagined standing in the lobby,… Read more »

  (JTA) — As a fan who runs the “Bob Dylan: Tangled Up in Jews” website, I should be ecstatic at the Nobel Prize in Literature awarded to the writer whose words have been the soundtrack to my life since I first sang them at a Jewish summer camp… Read more »

  CLEVELAND (JTA) — Thank you: two simple words with tremendous meaning. Thank you for being part of our community. Thank you for raising your children with us. Thank you for being with us. Many of us are seeking meaning in our lives and wish to be valued for… Read more »

  (JTA) — Residents of Vilna (Vilnius), Lithuania’s capital, had their pick of two events to mark the 75th anniversary of the Holocaust held this year on Sept. 23, their country’s official Shoah memorial day. The choice was rather simple because of the stark differences between the ceremonies, and… Read more »

WASHINGTON, D.C. (JTA) — I support Hillary Clinton for president because I have seen her work up close – as first lady, senator from New York and secretary of state. She has the temperament, experience and judgment to be commander-in-chief and our country’s representative to the world. And I… Read more »

NEW YORK (JTA) — As my family and I prepare for Rosh Hashanah, we look back with grateful hearts for the brachot, blessings, in our lives. We take time to reflect on the joys and the challenges, the ups and downs, that we experienced during the previous year. To me, a… Read more »

  (JTA) — As university professors, as committed Jews and as friends, we were puzzled by Arnold Eisen’s recent op-ed for JTA, “Jewish pride on campus is under siege. Here’s what your kids can do to fight back.” It is not because we disagree with his positions on Zionism, on Israel and Palestine,… Read more »

  NEW YORK (JTA) — Last week, the chancellor of The City University of New York released a report by CUNY-hired outside counsel investigating allegations of campus anti-Semitism. The investigation was triggered by a 14-page letter from the Zionist Organization of America to CUNY’s leadership, which noted, among other… Read more »

  (Kveller via JTA) — It’s been 9 1/2 years since we moved to North Carolina to save ourselves from schlepping our then-infant triplets up four flights of Queens’ stairs. Yet there are some things I’m still unnerved by here. Like how many women leave their pocketbooks wide open… Read more »

NEW YORK (JTA) — They’re all true, all those stories you’ve heard. The Jewish student questioned about whether her Judaism and involvement in the Jewish community would disqualify her from serving in student government. The Israel bashers who besieged a movie night put on by a pro-Israel group, forcing… Read more »

I am writing in response to Rabbi Yehuda Ceitlin’s question in the Aug. 26 AJP, “Who are you voting for on Oct. 3?” (Rabbi’s Corner, “Election overload sparks thoughts of G-d”). I am happy to agree with him that we humans have “the awesome capability of intelligence, plus the… Read more »

(JTA) — When lowering my shoulder, planting my feet and pushing hard to make something happen, I love to reflect on the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s exhortation to act with “the fierce urgency of now.” My feelings in those moments are usually not very MLK-like — self-righteousness, self-satisfaction… Read more »

(Kveller via JTA) — The average age of childbearing in the United States is 26. For Jews, it’s a few years higher. Some of us Jewish moms, however, had our children significantly later than that. Here are 10 things that only “older” Jewish moms will recognize. 1. There’s an… Read more »

NEW YORK (JTA) — Over 300,000 Jewish college students have arrived or will arrive shortly on American campuses — and what they experience there is likely not only to broaden their minds and uproot long-held assumptions, but shake their Jewish selves to the core. They will contend with powerful faculty… Read more »

  MIAMI (JTA) — Every four years the same movie plays at the Jewish Political Film Festival: It’s the one where the Democrats pass another party platform with more ironclad support for Israel and then nominate yet another presidential candidate whose record on Israel is beyond question. The ending is… Read more »