Blog

‘Now is the time to take steps towards peace’
From Peace Now in Israel: “Will we know how to leverage military gains into a strategic political move that can lead to regional peace? … [This] requires leadership that is not in love with war.”

Parsing Jewish Concerns over Mamdani
Rabbi Jill Jacobs attempts to add a measured note of calm, but questions remain regarding Mamdani’s candidacy for Mayor of New York City.

Stranded in Paris; Joint Iranian-Israeli Call for Ceasefire
Stranded in Paris by this new war, Hillel Schenker reports on a successful conference of Israeli and Palestinian civil society activists, and a joint Iranian-Israeli call for a ceasefire and renewed diplomacy.

What Iranian Missiles are doing to Israel
How long will this war go on? How many lives will be lost both in Israel and Iran? Can Iran’s nuclear program really be stopped by military force? Is regime change in Iran just another neocon fever dream?

End of an Era? Jews and Elite Universities
The Center for Jewish History addressed two questions: Have America’s premier institutions of higher learning become inhospitable to most Jews? And are these institutions being eviscerated in the name of fighting antisemitism?

With Israeli Peace Demonstrators at Gaza Border
It was extremely moving to hear letters written by Gazans which they sent to be read at the end of the march. …
They plead for people to recognize that they want none of this, that just as Israel’s current government does not represent us, hamas does not, did not, represent them… The people suffering did not do Oct. 7.

Settlement expansion, Gaza escalation: disaster for Palestinians and for Israel
[H]ow can this iron fist, zero-sum policy lead to anything but tidal waves of rage, new generations of revenge seekers and increasing pariah status for Israel? …
Hamas can only truly be defanged through a horizon of hope for Israeli-Palestinian coexistence based on a two-state solution….

Grief must not be a zero-sum game for either side
“We will not end this nightmare through vengeance. We will not build a future on each other’s graves.”

Israel and Jews in Crosshairs of NYC Mayoral Race
A charismatic young socialist, who is also a Muslim immigrant with a highly critical track record on Israel, has a significant chance to become the next Mayor of New York. Jewish New Yorkers need not panic.