Opinion

Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel (second from right), marches at Selma with Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., Ralph Bunche, Rep. John Lewis, Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth and Rev. C.T. Vivian. (Courtesy of Susanna Heschel)

HANOVER, N.H. (JTA) — The 50th anniversary of the 1965 march at Selma is being commemorated this year with the release of the film “Selma.” Regrettably, the film represents the march as many see it today, only as an act of political protest. But for my father Abraham Joshua… Read more »

Ex-Israeli President Shimon Peres: "We call on Jews to immigrate to Israel when there's no crime and no other reason." (Taylor Hill/Getty Images)

TEL AVIV (JTA) — Former Israeli President Shimon Peres said he is confident in France’s ability to fight anti-Semitism on its own soil. Immigration to Israel, he said, should be encouraged for positive reasons, not only as a response to persecution abroad. “We call on Jews to immigrate to… Read more »

Demonstrators in Miami, fla., protesting the failure of grand juries to indict the police officers responsible for the deaths of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri and Eric Garner in New York. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

NEW YORK (JTA) — The events of the last few weeks have shaken me to the core. Beyond the devastation I felt over the deaths of Eric Garner and Michael Brown, I was heartbroken to learn that the police officers involved would not stand trial. “Hands up! Don’t shoot!”… Read more »

Demonstrators carrying a sign reading "We Are Charlie" march in a Paris square during a unity rally following the recent terrorist attacks in the French capital, Jan. 11, 2015. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

That Jews were targets of radical Islam was, alas, unsurprising. Four of the hostages — Yoav Hattab, Philippe Braham, Yohan Cohen, François-Michel Saada — were killed at the kosher market. Survivors of the attack are anguished. So, too, are most French Jews, who again are discussing and evaluating not… Read more »

Democracies should adopt a carrot-and-stick strategy. Channel 1 has been airing the satirical sketches series| Hayehudim Ba’im (“The Jews are Coming”). In this twisted version of Jewish history since biblical times, no sacred cow is spared, including God and his prophet Moses. Now imagine that following one of the… Read more »

Some 30 years ago an American friend who is a political scientist, came to Israel for a professional visit. Before he headed back home, I asked him for his verdict on the Israeli political system. He didn’t hesitate: “Too much democracy.” I asked him to explain, and he said:… Read more »

NEW YORK (JTA) — Stephen Hawking is much in the news these days. His personal story, the subject of the recently released film “The Theory of Everything,” is already spoken of as an Oscar contender. Diagnosed in 1963 with the dreaded Lou Gehrig’s disease and given two years to… Read more »

For years, whenever my non-Israeli friends would ask me to explain to them the meaning of the phrase “Israel being a Jewish and democratic state,” I would answer that I needed a week-long seminar to explain that. Indeed, how can a country be a full democracy when it is… Read more »

I am writing in response to Anthony Zinman’s recent letter to the editor about the All Souls procession that occurred on Nov. 9 (“Anti-Israel marchers at All Souls troubling,” AJP 11/21/14). I disagree with his characterization that it expressed anti-Semitism. My family, friends and I watched the entire procession… Read more »

I attended the Shirat HaShirim choir concert at the Villa Hermosa retirement home on Dec. 10. The choir, directed by Israeli Rina Paz, performed Israeli and Yiddish songs with a Chanukah theme. The concert’s popularity was apparent by the need to bring in more chairs. Paz lit an electric… Read more »

In her entertaining article “Lose the chip on your shoulder this Christmas” (AJP 12/5/14), Nina Badzin encourages tolerance toward our gentile neighbors, as that is what we “expect” from them. Sadly — in countless cases, tragically — that expectation has frequently been met with intolerance ranging from signs saying… Read more »

NEW YORK (JTA) – In a recent JTA Op-Ed, Rabbis Marc Angel and Avi Weiss made a number of claims about the Rabbinical Council of America’s conversion system. While some of their arguments have merit, they paint only a partial picture of what we’re doing in the North American… Read more »

NEW YORK (JTA) — The Israeli government recently moved to decentralize the conversion system by allowing local courts to convert individuals on their own. Ironically, as Israel moves away from centralization, here in America the Rabbinical Council of America is enthusiastically embracing it. The modern Orthodox rabbinical organization recently… Read more »

(JTA) — A former Clinton administration envoy has let the cat out of the bag on the issue of Palestinian incitement, putting him squarely at odds with Secretary of State John Kerry. Shibley Telhami was one of the Clinton administration’s representatives to the Trilateral U.S.-Israeli-Palestinian Anti-Incitement Committee. Never heard… Read more »

This week we have learned that Adam Everett Livvix, a 30-year-old from Texas, was arrested in Israel for allegedly plotting to attack the Dome of the Rock with explosives. Thanks to the collaboration between Israeli security agencies and the FBI, an incident of colossal implications was prevented. The Palestinians,… Read more »

WASHINGTON (JTA) — I sat down last week to write about what happened in Ferguson. As I began to write, there was no doubt in my mind that there would be a “next time” as soon as we hit the next news cycle, if not sooner. Then I heard… Read more »

NEW YORK (JTA) — A Swiss museum’s pledge this week to conduct a full search into the provenance of some 1,600 works of art it plans to accept from the estate of Cornelius Gurlitt, the son of one of Hitler’s main art dealers, once again has thrust the issue… Read more »

Uri Dromi

Recently, I hosted at the Jerusalem Press Club a group of students from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University in Chicago. They came to learn firsthand about the complexities of covering Israel and the Middle East. With the growing hostility toward Israel on campuses all over North… Read more »

Our country finds itself at a crossroads. The past months have uncovered an animosity that is growing within our politics. At a time when we need steady courage in Congress, extremism finds a way to blot out any movement toward bipartisanship. Still, like President Obama, I believe we are… Read more »

Demonstrators walk together during a protest Dec. 3, 2014 in New York. Protests began after a Grand Jury decided to not indict officer Daniel Pantaleo. Eric Garner died after being put in a chokehold on July 17, 2014. (Yana Paskova/Getty Images)

NEW YORK (JTA) — The words of Leviticus (19:16) admonish us not to “stand idly by while the blood of your neighbor is shed.” These words should sting our ears and shock our conscience in the wake of a Staten Island grand jury’s decision not to indict a New… Read more »