Ex-presidents seldom take an interest in Jewish affairs, with two notable exceptions. One is Jimmy Carter, who has repeatedly clashed with the Jewish community. Another is Herbert Hoover, an unlikely … more

After nearly a year of protests, the Obama administration has finally agreed to permit a rug connected to the Armenian genocide to be publicly displayed. The long ordeal of the Armenian Orphan Rug, … more

The Obama administration’s reluctance to support pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong revives a familiar clash between human rights and diplomatic relations. more

2002 — A report headlined “Putting the kibosh on getting sloshed” featured local teens describing known “hot spot” shuls and asserting that Simchat Torah drinking was … more

For most third graders, the school year began this week with the hustle and bustle of new teachers, fresh notebooks, and crisply ironed uniforms. But the third grader in Gaza whose photo appeared in the New York Times on Aug. 30 wore a different kind of uniform: a headband with “jihad” slogans and military-style camouflage pants, while carrying a Kalashnikov rifle and marching alongside adult members of the Islamic Jihad terrorist group. more

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the expulsion of thousands of Jews from Turkish-ruled Palestine to Egypt, in a dramatic reversal of the historic exodus from the Land of the Pharaohs to the Land of Israel. But from that tragic episode in 1914 would emerge a Jewish fighting force that would help liberate the Holy Land from the Turks. more

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan claims Israel is carrying out “systematic genocide” in Gaza. South Africa’s ruling party, the African National Congress (ANC), asserts that Israel’s actions in Gaza “remind [us] of the atrocities of Nazi Germany.” Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas is accusing Israel of “genocide,” and the PA’s newspaper is calling the current war “Israel’s Holocaust.” It seems as if every time Israel defends itself, somebody yells “Genocide!” more

In his May 7 remarks upon receiving an award for fighting genocide, President Barack Obama explained why he is not fighting genocide. He didn’t mean it to sound quite that way, of course. But that was the indisputable meaning of his words. more

“We know we are going to be bamboozled,” a despondent Stephen Wise, the foremost American Jewish leader of his time, confided to a friend before boarding a ship bound for England in early 1939. The British had invited Wise and other Zionist leaders from the United States and Palestine to take part in a “peace conference” with Arab leaders. more

It has been said that for many, their legacy in history comes after death, and, in the case of the late, great Yaakov Birnbaum, his legacy has come. This week’s column will consider several memorial essays devoted to the life’s work of Yaakov Birnbaum, who passed away on April 9 at age of 87, just short of 50 years from the time that he launched the first of many demonstrations against communist anti-Semitism. more