Tokyo must tell U.S. to halt dicey low-flight drills in Okinawa

In late December and early January, U.S. military aircraft repeatedly conducted ultra-low-altitude formation flight training exercises over the...

The ethics of prioritizing COVID-19 vaccinations when considering race and ethnicity

MELBOURNE – Now that COVID-19 vaccines are being rolled out, policymakers are wrestling with the question of how to distribute them quickly and...

Meet Marcella Campbell, 1st Jew of color to head diversity group Be’chol Lashon

JTA — As the videos of George Floyd’s killing galvanized a historic wave of racial justice protests this past summer, the staff of one of the...

Opinion – The Challenges Facing Joe Biden in the Middle East

Joe Biden’s presidency will likely have important consequences for U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East. Biden comes into the job with a lot on...

Hit me with your best shot: Turkey’s vaccination debate

While those in power in Turkey block the sale of affordable bread to the public, top executives from the ruling party came together to get...

Introducing 40-year mortgages

Elaborate safeguards needed to help young adults own homes easily The financial authorities have unveiled a plan to introduce mortgages with a...

Bid to restart talks

Former adviser tapped as foreign minister President Moon Jae-in tapped former national security adviser Chung Eui-yong as his new foreign minister...

Haaretz Cartoon

How could the storming of the U.S Capitol have even occurred?

The motto of the worldwide Boy Scouts and Girl Guides movement is, “Be Prepared.” It is clear that there were not many Boy Scouts around on...

Trump gave America a four-year civics lesson - the hard way

By Scott Martelle Sitting out front of our house last week watching the sun set, I struck up a conversation with a few neighbors going through...

Was Brexit inevitable?

By Robert Skidelsky LONDON ― On one level, the United Kingdom's departure from the European Union was an unintended consequence of a too-clever...

Housing crisis pitting us against each other

By Joseph Shin Growing up on housing subsidies for 20 years, I went through childhood conditioning myself to the idea that homeownership was simply...

North Korea's strange military moves

By Boo Hyeong-wook During the eighth congress of the ruling Workers' Party, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un declared important development...

Rumors of a Trump ‘Patriot Party’ sound good at first, but that could simply lead to long-term Progressive domination

I can understand why some people are really frustrated with the Republican Party these days. Despite some of my own disagreements with regard to...

China's economy is not out of the woods yet

Positive growth belies unresolved structural challenges

Bank Discount, Shufersal chain set up joint financial services firm

Israel Discount Bank Ltd. and the nation’s largest supermarket chain, Shufersal, said on Wednesday they are setting up a joint venture to offer a...

Author accused of anti-Semitism is keynote speaker at Dutch WWII memorial

AMSTERDAM (JTA) — The national commemoration committee of the Netherlands named as its keynote speaker a Muslim author who has called Gaza a...

Kapitalizem, trumpizem in janšizem

Smo v nekakšnem babilonskem trenutku. V Babilonu je bog ljudem zmešal jezik, ker so postali preveč podjetni. In ljudje govorice drug drugega niso...

Park Geun-hye's Conviction and Talks of Possible Pardon

On January 14, 2021, South Korea’s Supreme Court upheld former President Park Geun-hye’s 20-year sentence on charges of corruption and abuse of...

Josh Hawley blocks quick Alejandro Mayorkas confirmation for Homeland Security

WASHINGTON (JTA) — Any hope of an immediate confirmation for Alejandro Mayorkas, the Homeland Security secretary nominee, ended on Tuesday when...

Oh So Far Away (Jeremiah 46:13-28)

The message of this week’s haftarah is largely aimed at Egypt. As in last week’s haftarah from the book of Ezekiel, Jeremiah warns the Egyptian...

Inside the chicanery of scammers who impersonated Kurdish Jews

This report is part of a series. For several years, the Kurdish Jewish leadership in Israel has tried to build constructively on their historic...

Holocaust education in schools is deeply lacking

This piece is a guest post written by Naomi Schmulewitz. Holocaust education in American schools is deeply lacking, and it was Elie Weisel who...

The exceptional Judaism of Jonathan Sacks

The Prince of Wales called Lord Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, “A Light to the Nations”. Rabbi Sacks was also “a Light to the Nation” — his nation,...

Israel’s fledgling regenerative business consciousness

The pundits have been out in force giving their customary wraps of the “year that was” and prophecies for the “year that will be”. One of the...

What makes a person a good Jew?

Zalman Zirkind, a Chassidic Jew, is scheduled to be sentenced in U.S. District Court, in New York, for having pleaded guilty to laundering drug...

Repudiated presidents and Israel

The end of the Trump administration has prompted much stock-taking. Many have argued that Donald Trump was good for Israel. Moving the US embassy...

Abbas calls for Palestinian elections

The Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, declared this week that parliamentary and presidential elections will finally take place, after...

Parasha Bo בא: ‘Let my people go…..’

This chapter records the final three devastating plagues that befall Egypt and force Pharaoh to let the Israelites leave.  The chapter also...

Parshat Bo: ‘Operation Wedding’ or ‘Jenin, Jenin’?

Just before God sends the last three plagues, he tells Moshe the ultimate reason for the miracles he is performing in Egypt: “So that you will...

The remaking of G-d in the image of man

Voltaire – among others – was fond of making the satirical observation that “G-D created man in His image and, ever since, man has sought to...

Denied the truth, Americans miss the chance to mourn loss

The following is co-authored with  Rabbi Stewart Vogel. We write with great concern that one of the fundamental human rites of passage is being...

The Kabbalah of miracles

KABBALAH OF MIRACLES MARVELS IN OUR TIMES Rabbi Yakov Saacks, The Chai Center, Dix Hills As a Rabbi, I study many topics of Jewish interest. I have...

The Two Faces of Russia’s Digital Diplomacy

In 1956, Erving Goffman introduced his theory of impression management. His book, The Presentation of the Self in Everyday Life, contended that...

What happens to the Mishpacha when women are removed? Now we know

The image of a father holding his child’s hand as they walk down the street has always been touching to me. Perhaps it makes me think of my own...

At Israel’s request, Trump pardons Israeli handler of spy Jonathan Pollard

US President Donald Trump pardoned 73 people and commuted the sentences of 70 additional individuals in the final hours of his term on Wednesday....

What do we write about when we write about America?

I, too, sing America. I am the darker brother. Langston Hughes (1901-1967) This year marks the tenth anniversary of my writing this regular column...

Trump Doesn't Have to Be Hitler to Be a Fascist

Since the Capitol insurrection, there’s been a surge of historians rightly identifying fascist elements in Trumpism. So what’s behind the...

Biden’s State pick: We’ll consult with Israel, allies before return to Iran deal

US President-elect Joe Biden’s nominee for secretary of state Tony Blinken said Tuesday that the incoming administration will consult with Israel...

Snow, rain hit Israel in winter spell, raising Sea of Galilee level

Stormy weather hit Israel Wednesday for the first time in weeks, with the nationwide wintry spell lifting the level of the Sea of Galilee, filling...

Netanyahu’s Likud widens lead over Saar’s New Hope to 15 seats — poll

A new poll released on Tuesday suggested Prime Minister Netanyahu’s Likud party is regaining supporters, while ex-Likud minister Gideon Sa’ar’s...

Being Black in Brazil in the time of pandemic

These days, I get a knot in my stomach every time I reach out to one of my friends. I dread calling or texting them because I know that if they do...

COVID-ravaged India will limit Biden's efforts to counter China

Increase in poverty just one example of the damage wrought by pandemic

US-based political scientist arrested, accused of secretly working for Iran

BOSTON (AP) — A Massachusetts-based political scientist and author is accused of secretly working for the government of Iran while lobbying US...

After record infections, record vaccines: Israel gives 200,000 shots in past day

Health Minister Yuli Edelstein on Wednesday presented figures showing that over 210,000 vaccination shots were administered the day before, a new...

Former New York congressman Max Rose listed as new Pentagon COVID adviser

JTA — Max Rose, the outspoken former congressmen from Staten Island, appears headed to the Pentagon to be a top adviser on the coronavirus...

IHRA definition of anti-Semitism divides US Jews ahead of Biden presidency

JTA — When is it anti-Semitic to criticize Israel? Anti-Semitism signifies hatred of Jews and the ways that hatred is perpetuated through age-old...

Biden to be sworn in as 46th US president, ending Trump era

WASHINGTON (AFP) — Thirty-four years after first seeking the job, Joe Biden will be sworn in as the 46th US president Wednesday, drawing a curtain...

Trump considers starting new political party as his term ends, report says

US President Donald Trump is considering the possibility of launching a new political party as his White House tenure draws to a close, according to...

‘But He’s Not Hitler’: Unraveling the Objections to Calling Trump a Fascist

Since the Capitol insurrection, there’s been a surge of historians rightly identifying fascist elements in Trumpism. So what’s behind the...