Recent Blogs

• Trump is Making the Gaza Crisis Even Worse

  The Trump administration continues to do nothing to help improve the situation in Gaza -- and, in fact, has deliberately made it worse.

• The Two-Way Street: Elul D’var Torah for J Street

  We all have a stake in the future of Israel and of America, not only for the sake of their citizens, but also because of these countries’ impact around the world, including on the way young American Jews perceive what it means to be Jewish. At a time when the United States government practices family separation of asylum seekers, reduces taxes on the very wealthy at the expense of the poor and undermines access to health care, we all have an obligation to speak up. At a time when settlement-building in the West Bank, unequal distribution of government services within Israel and changes in Israel's Basic Laws are moving us rapidly away from the ideals expressed in Israel's Declaration of Independence, we all have a moral obligation to speak up.

• Word on the Street: The Nation-State Bill

  This month, the Netanyahu government passed major legislation designed to minimize the rights of minorities and undercut the country’s status as a “state for all its citizens.”

• Israel Rolls Out Red Carpet for Hungarian Leader

  Israel is giving a fulsome welcome to visiting Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who used an anti-Semitic poster campaign to win his last election and has made hatred of immigrants a centerpiece of his platform.

I was detained at Ben Gurion Airport because of my beliefs, Forward

Peter Beinart writes,“Israel, like America, is getting uglier. And yet I can’t imagine not coming here. I’ll keep doing so until they bar me outright. When I left the interrogation, my kids ran to me and I realized: This too was a Jewish experience to remember. Our family went to Rhodes to honor the Jewish past. We went to Israel to celebrate the Jewish future—the coming of age of a new generation of our family. And by detaining me, the Israeli government reminded us that if we want to be proud of that future, we’ll have to fight for it.”

Race to Lead Israel’s Military Heats Up: The Four Men Who Could Be the Next IDF Chief, Haaretz

Anshel Pfeffer reports, “The process of selecting the Israel Defense Forces’ next chief of staff, one of the highest-profile posts in Israel, is rarely if ever detached from political and media intrigue. But this time around new depths have been plumbed as Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman and the IDF spokesman have been forced to put out statements against a campaign being waged against one candidate, Maj. Gen. Yair Golan. Four serving major generals are currently in the running. They have already been interviewed by Lieberman, who will choose his preferred candidate in consultation with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and present him for the cabinet’s approval. The nominee will be portrayed as the most suitable commander to prepare the IDF for its future battles, but the decision will be heavily influenced by political considerations.”