Daniel S. Mariaschin (Courtesy B'nai B'rith International) JTA) — The international outrage over the barbaric terrorist attacks in Paris is absolutely on target. But the absence of an outcry over the weeks of attacks against Jews in Israel — stabbings, shootings and car rammings are among the most common tactics — is equally outrageous. More than… Read more »
CHICAGO (JTA) – At a campaign event in Virginia late last month, Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders invoked his Judaism in response to a question about Islamophobia in the media. The exchange drew widespread attention, in part because Sanders has mostly avoided discussion of how his religion informs his… Read more »
Parisians outside the Bataclan concert hall after the terrorist attacks, Nov. 13, 2015. (Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)
PARIS (JTA) — My son and I met in Paris on Friday morning, walked the charming streets of the City of Light, visited the Picasso and Pompidou museums, then went to synagogue at the MJLF (Mouvement Juif Libéral de France), one of the most vibrant Reform synagogues in Paris.… Read more »
Jonathan Greenblatt
Editor’s note: This opinion piece was written on Nov. 12, one day before the horrific attacks in Paris that have left more than 120 people dead and scores wounded. NEW YORK (JTA) — I have visited Europe many times, but last week I looked at it through a new… Read more »
Participants in the United Synagogue for Conservative Judaism’s centennial celebration in Baltimore in 2013. (Mike Diamond Photography)
NEW YORK (JTA) – When delegates to the biennial convention of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism meet next week near Chicago, they will be seeking a way forward for a movement challenged by numerical decline but holding steady in Jewish engagement. These are the main overall trends that emerge… Read more »
Abby W. Schacter PITTSBURGH (JTA) — The conventional profile of American Jews is that they tend to be highly educated and work in professions like medicine, finance, law and the academy. Jews, of course, “value education,” as the trope about the “People of the Book” goes. And American Jews, since they… Read more »
Pim Valkenberg (JTA) — Fifty years ago, on Oct. 28, 1965, Pope Paul VI and the bishops of the Second Vatican Council promulgated the declaration Nostra Aetate on the relationship between the Catholic Church and other religions. In the decades since, the document has done much to foster dialogue between Catholics… Read more »
I recently attended the Bernie Sanders rally here in Tucson at Reid Park. Although I am a strong Hillary Clinton supporter, I wanted to see in person why a 74-year-old Jewish Socialist candidate is inspiring so much passion nationally among progressives and independents. As I was finding a space… Read more »
Rachel Fishheimer is the director of education at the Jerusalem facility of ALEH, an Israeli network of treatment facilities for children with severe disabilities. (Courtesy: Rachel Fishheimer)
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Just the other day, I overheard someone saying that they had a wonderful interaction with the “Down syndrome employee” at their local cafe. Though it happened to have been a sweet story, I cringed. It also got me thinking about the limitations of our campaigns promoting… Read more »
Palestinians are on the wrong track and will not get off it until the outside world demands better of them. News comes every year or two of a campaign of violence spurred by Palestinian political and religious leaders spreading wild-eyed conspiracy theories (the favorite: Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem is… Read more »
Former President Bill Clinton meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in New York, Nov. 8, 2010. (Avi Ohayon/GPO via Getty Images)
WASHINGTON (JTA) — By now it should be obvious how absurd it is to call President Barack Obama Israel’s “best friend” ever, as Thomas Friedman of The New York Times has claimed. A Blame Israel Firster, Obama won’t use his moral authority to try stopping the instigators of this… Read more »
Young Jews planting trees in Israel in honor of Tu b'Shvat, the festival marking the new year for trees. (Omer Miron/Flash90)
HOLLYWOOD, Fla. (JTA) — “Hey, Rabbi,” the bat mitzvah candidate said, “can I tell you about my mitzvah project? I’m raising money to help people join our synagogue if they can’t afford it.” I was impressed. And moved. And shocked. Why shocked? Many religious schools require that bar/bat mitzvah… Read more »
The Temple Mount compound in Jerusalem (Hadas Parush/Flash90)
NEW YORK (JTA) — Last week, I opened The New York Times to Rick Gladstone’s article, “Historical Certainty Proves Elusive at Jerusalem’s Holiest Place,” happy that the newspaper of record would explain to its audience the historical context of this embattled piece of real estate. As I read on, I… Read more »
Students of varying ages learning the stories of Israeli and Palestinian youth. (Lisa Hempstead)
(JTA) — As the new school year gets underway, Jewish educators are making decisions regarding how best to teach about Israel and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Most begin with the premise that Jewish students should learn to support Israel and defend its government. Throughout the year, their lesson plans will… Read more »
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meeting with China's President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, May 9, 2013. (Kim Kyung-Hoon/Getty Images)
(JTA) — The rise of a new global power usually creates tensions with the incumbent superpower, and the United States-China duo is no exception. At their summit last week in Washington, D.C., Presidents Barack Obama and Xi Jinping spoke of progress in some areas, such as cyber espionage and… Read more »
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, visit the Great Wall of China, May 9, 2013. (Avi Ohayon/GPO/FLASH90)
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Should American Jews provide tourist dollars to a regime that massacres dissidents, facilitates genocide and finances Israel’s enemies? A spate of upcoming Jewish tours of China has raised anew an old and troubling question about the conflict between tourism and human rights. “Sukkos 2015: Beijing,… Read more »
This week, a group of undergraduates from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University concluded a 10-day visit in Israel. During their trip they met with people from right and left, Arabs and Jews, Palestinians and Israelis, religious and non-religious Jews, settlers and others and, as future journalists,… Read more »
The article “Where does Bernie Sanders, Jewish candidate for president, stand on Israel?” (AJP, 8/28/15) posed a simple question. For the next 29 paragraphs the author struggles to explain Senator Sanders’ very nuanced view of Israel and the relationship with our closest ally. As an American and a supporter… Read more »
Jay Ruderman (JTA) — With the High Holidays just around the corner, Jews all over the world will be asking themselves how they can lead more meaningful and moral lives. Synagogue communities, too, will be asking themselves how they can become more holy and inclusive communities. In my years of involvement with disability inclusion,… Read more »
Now is certainly the time for all compassionate Arizonans, and particularly our progressive Jewish community, to speak out and lobby local and state lawmakers to pass Death With Dignity legislation. Do not confuse this with assisted suicide or euthanasia, because in appropriate legislation a competent, severely ill person judged… Read more »
