Opinion

On the first Friday of each month, the Jewish residents of Fairwinds-Desert Point retirement community in Oro Valley are fortunate to welcome Chaplain Pinchas Zohav from the Northwest Jewish Federation who leads them in a Shabbat celebration. With prayers, songs, stories, wine and challah, the Sabbath is welcomed joyfully… Read more »

NEW YORK (JTA) — New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s executive order opposing BDS shouldn’t have made a splash — but it did. A handful of states had already passed similar measures opposing the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel. So had the New York State Senate — though… Read more »

Idit Klein (Courtesy of Keshet)

  BOSTON (JTA) — In the wake of the Orlando shooting, statements of solidarity with the LGBTQ community quickly tumbled forth. Some expressions of support came from unlikely sources such as the Orthodox Union and the Catholic Church. But what does a statement of solidarity mean in response to… Read more »

(Kveller via JTA) — My dear innocent child, Something terrible happened. A very bad man took a gun and went into a place where there were many kind, innocent, loving people, and he shot them. He killed many and injured even more. No, none of our family members were… Read more »

Dear friends, On the evening of June 26, the Jewish History Museum will host the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona (JFSA) Pride program Celebrating Marriage Equality, an event that will mark the one year anniversary of the Marriage Equality Act, a landmark moment for our country and for LGBT… Read more »

  (JTA) — Donald Trump is doubling down on “America First.” After Trump used the term “America First” in late April to describe his policies, the Anti-Defamation League sent him a letter urging him to drop the historically tainted slogan — speaking for Jews and others who remember it as the… Read more »

HOLLYWOOD, Fla. (JTA) — Normally, to quote the famous song, “I love a parade.” Except when I don’t. This weekend was the celebration of the 49th anniversary of the reunification ofJerusalem during the Six-Day War. The anniversary was accompanied by gleeful — one might even say ecstatic — observances throughout the… Read more »

OMER, Israel (JTA) — As Jews, we tend to pride ourselves on our tradition’s values and how we pass them on to future generations; values such as education, tzedakah, loving the stranger, pursuing justice and tikkun olam, “repair of the world.” But if you were to start a conversation today… Read more »

Rabbi Joshua Stanton

  HOBOKEN, N.J. (JTA) — Kosovo is a “newborn” country, a majority Muslim state that fought for its independence from Serbia only eight years ago. Yet it has erected a Holocaust memorial outside its parliament, elected a female president, held pride parades in support of LGBTQ rights and supported the building… Read more »

NEW YORK (JTA) — In Israel, when the two-minute siren sounds at 11 a.m. on Yom Hazikaron, the Jewish state’s Memorial Day, the nation comes to a halt. As we saw just two weeks ago, cars on streets and highways pull over, and drivers and passengers get out of their vehicles… Read more »

PITTSBURGH (JTA) — As a U.S. immigrant and a parent, I’m somewhat fanatical about my kids’ appreciation for their citizenship. Last year I organized what I hope will be an annual second-grade field trip to our local swearing-in ceremony for new American citizens. As a result of that experience,… Read more »

NEW YORK (JTA) — The Forward recently asked college students “to tell us about a college experience that had shaped their Jewish identity in some way.” Of the six students whose responses it published, five attend American universities. Of those, two are members of Students for Justice in Palestine,… Read more »

Editor’s note: Join the Weintraub Israel Center for Tucson’s Yom Hazikaron ceremony on Monday, May 9 at 6:30 p.m. at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. NEW YORK (JTA) — This year I will mark two of Israel’s most important national holidays – Yom Haatzmaut (Independence Day) and Yom Hazikaron… Read more »

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (JTA) — Recently, in an article for JTA, “The Missing Left: Where’s the support for liberal Zionists on campus?,” Andrew Silow-Carroll noted that “many American pro-Israel organizations and leaders ignore or ostracize liberal Zionists.” In the absence of progressive Zionist groups on campus, who should be… Read more »

(JTA) — They survived unimaginable horrors, yet went on to live productive lives, despite the haunting memories, the profound loss and physical scars from years of deprivation. Now many Holocaust survivors need our assistance so they may live their twilight years with dignity in their homes and communities. Most… Read more »

  MONTREAL (JTA) — Yom Hashoah arrives this year on the eve of two historic anniversaries: the 80th anniversary of the coming into effect of the Nuremberg Race Laws, which served as prologue and precursor to the Holocaust, and the 70th anniversary of the Nuremberg Trials, which served as… Read more »

Editor’s note: In honor of Yom HaShoah, which will be commemorated in Tucson on Sunday, May 1 at 2 p.m. at the Tucson Jewish Community Center, the AJP offers this commentary. See also “In Remembrance.”  In May 1998, the AJP published an interview with Jan Zwartendijk, the son of… Read more »

COLUMBUS, Ohio (JTA) — There are many opinions as to what criteria should be used in deciding who gets my fellow Republicans’ vote as their nominee for president of the United States. But I think the only valid question should be this one: Which candidate can actually beat Hillary… Read more »

SILVER SPRING, Md. (JTA) —  King Solomon tells us in Proverbs: “The heavens are for the heights, and the earth is for the depths, and the hearts of kings no one can ponder.” It is impossible to know what kings and leaders of nations have in their hearts. With… Read more »

  (JTA) — I am executive vice president and chief legal officer of The Trump Organization. I have been working with Donald Trump for over 19 years. I am an observant, committed Jew. What comes to my mind when I think of Donald Trump? Inspiration. He inspires people of… Read more »