Five questions about Israel’s political musical chairs

The old expression is that for every two Jews, there are three political opinions…writes Jonathan S. Tobin/JNS. Read more

Amos Oz and the centrality of Hebrew in Jewish life

For those who only know Israel as a field of political combat, Amos Oz was just a writer with a point of view about his country’s basic political and security dilemmas…writes Jonathan S. Tobin/JNS. Read more

Trump imitating Obama in Syria won’t work

Sometimes, wisdom means understanding that not all promises ought to be kept. The problem is that when you make multiple promises, you’re going to find that some of them are mutually exclusive…writes Jonathan S. Tobin/JNS. Read more

Stinting on compassion for Jewish victims of terror

In a moment that had to tug at the heartstrings of their listeners, a young Israeli couple whose baby was killed as the result of a terrorist attack sought to find consolation amid their sorrow…writes Jonathan S. Tobin/JNS. Read more

Despite UN vote, Palestinian terror is still a losing strategy

The U.N. General Assembly narrowly defeated a resolution last Thursday that would have condemned Hamas for its terror campaign against Israel…writes Jonathan S. Tobin/JNS. Read more

Hezbollah’s war on Israel takes precedence over the war on Bibi

Maybe you thought that the discovery of tunnels built by Hezbollah under the border between Lebanon and Israel would generate a full-scale debate about the deadly nature of the threat from the terror group and its Iranian masters…writes Jonathan S. Tobin/JNS. Read more

What have we learned one month after the Pittsburgh heartbreak?

When an armed man entered the Tree of Life*Or L’Simcha Synagogue in Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill neighbourhood during Shabbat-morning services on Oct. 27, the carnage that followed sent shock waves through the Jewish world. Read more

What made Netanyahu Israel’s indispensable man?

He did it again. Despite being placed in an impossible position by the resignation of Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman over accepting another ceasefire with Hamas, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu managed to keep his coalition government alive. Read more

Casting out the Kushners?

According to The New York Times, Ivanka and Jared Kushner aren’t going to have an easy time of it when and if they return to New York City after working in the administration of her father. Read more

In praise of Netanyahu’s caution

People demonstrated in the streets of Sderot on Tuesday, and who could blame them? They had spent days running back and forth to bomb shelters and safe rooms, enduring the tension and dangers of being subjected to hundreds of rockets fired at their town, as well as the rest of southern Israel, by Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists from Gaza. Read more

Hamas rockets and the idea of two states

Does it really matter what started the shooting at the border between Israel and Hamas-run Gaza? Read more

Which type of hate should we fear most?

Jews are divided on many issues. But there is probably no more foolish or self-defeating argument roiling contemporary Jewish life than the question of which types of anti-Semites are most to be feared. Read more

Jewish labels are meaningless to anti-Semites

Israel’s Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi David Lau didn’t intend to say anything that would wound American Jews in the wake of the mass slaughter at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life*Or L’Simcha Synagogue…Jonathan S. Tobin/JNS. Read more

The futile search for meaning in antisemitic crimes

When something terrible happens, we demand explanations…writes Jonathan S. Tobin/JNS. Read more

The problem with B’Tselem

The U.N. Security Council heard testimony on Thursday about Israel’s conflict with the Palestinians from B’Tselem…writes Jonathan S. Tobin/JNS. Read more

The Christian Arab dilemma

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke to the Christian Media Summit in Jerusalem on Sunday and uttered something that was incontrovertibly true: “Israel is the only country that protects the human rights of all.” Read more

The price of Saudi friendship

In one sense, the disappearance of Washington Post journalist Jamal Kashoggi after he entered Saudi Arabia’s consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, last week is pretty much business as usual for the Riyadh regime…writes Jonathan S. Tobin. Read more

The woman who showed how Americans can succeed at the UN

The resignation of U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley took the political world by surprise, but it’s likely that no one is more disappointed than supporters of Israel. Haley wasn’t just a smart and assertive voice for America at the world body. Read more

Another reason why Trump was right about the Iran deal

Though his fans thrill to his speeches, there’s little doubt that when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at the U.N. General Assembly, few there listen…writes Jonathan S. Tobin/JNS. Read more

Trump puts the ball back in the Palestinians’ court

Is the two-state solution back in play? That’s the upshot of the latest comment from U.S. President Donald Trump…writes Jonathan S. Tobin/JNS. Read more

The world laughed at Trump, but Iran and its enablers should not

The international community made no secret of its contempt for U.S. President Donald Trump when he spoke to the U.N. General Assembly this week…writes Jonathan S. Tobin/JNS. Read more

When experts ignore the truth about the Palestinians

When New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman offers up a Middle East peace plan, the world stops and listens…writes Jonathan S. Tobin/JNS. Read more

Why it’s still open season on ‘obstacles to peace’

One more Jewish life was just added to the list of those killed during the century-old conflict between Jews and Arabs…writes Jonathan S. Tobin/JNS. Read more

Who shall live and who shall die? The lessons of Syria

The centerpiece of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur liturgy is the “Unetaneh Tokef” prayer: “Let us tell how utterly holy this day is.”…writes Jonathan S. Tobin/JNS. Read more

25 years of illusions about Oslo

When the Trump administration announced that it was ending its funding of the United Nations Relief Works Agency (UNRWA) last week, the protests from the foreign-policy establishment were loud and anguished. Read more

Why we still need heroes like John McCain

Even in this era of cynicism, honoring heroism and national service remains essential. Without it, the ideas that bolster America and Israel suffer…writes Jonathan S. Tobin/JNS. Read more

Leonard Bernstein’s century

Throughout the last year, American cultural institutions have been celebrating the life of Leonard Bernstein. The celebrated composer, conductor and educator who died at the age of 72 in 1990 would have turned 100 on Aug. 25, and his centennial has produced a torrent of retrospective praise and appreciation for one of the musical giants of the 20th century. Read more

‘Fauda’ and the two-state scenario

In the international hit Israeli TV series “Fauda,” the head of the Palestinian Authority security service is a fictional character named Abu Maher. Read more

A belated obituary for the world’s conscience

If personal dignity and good intentions are enough to justify a long career, then Kofi Annan deserves all of the plaudits that he’s received in the wake of his death at the age of 80. Read more

What Palestinian flags reveal about Israel’s nation-state law

For the second consecutive week, Tel Aviv’s Rabin Square was the site of a Saturday-night protest against Israel’s nation-state law. But the difference between the two demonstrations speaks volumes about the nature of the debate over the controversial legislation…writes Jonathan S. Tobin. Read more

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