Jewish Journal

In March 2008, Barack Obama’s presidential campaign nearly imploded when reporters revealed that his pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr., regularly blasted the United States as irredeemably racist. “[The United States] government lied about their belief that all men were created equal,” Wright preached. “The truth …

Taking a Jewish Approach to U.S. History By Natan Sharansky and Gil Troy As the United States endures this historic racial, health and economic mega-crisis, it’s also experiencing a crisis about its history. Americans often have viewed yesteryear far too uncritically; today, many view it far …

We all know that partisans place truisms ahead of the truth – although we only recognize such fanaticism in our rivals. Especially as anger mounts – and the stakes get higher – it becomes ever harder to see the convenient lies and half-truths we sell …

Recently, while jogging through Jerusalem’s clean, coronavirus-hushed Old City, I started dreading Yom Yerushalayim. Usually, I love Jerusalem Day. It’s as glorious as Yom Ha’Atzmaut and July Fourth; as stirring as Hanukkah and Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday; as freedom-affirming as Passover and Presidents Day; …

Although I’m a traditional person, I have never been much for praying. I usually attend services armed with a nonfiction book. Books make sense to me: they inform, change, enlighten, surprise and  inspire. Prayer books always struck me as the spiritual equivalent of laundry instructions: rinse, …

Jay Sanderson, president and chief executive officer of The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles, fears Israel’s government is “stoking the flames” with heavy-handed counterattacks against the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement on campuses. Judy Maltz wrote in Haaretz, as “it is unusual” for …

Responsible leaders from left to right are blasting Donald Trump’s anti-Muslim demagoguery as “un-American.” Even in the midst of this “Happy Holiday” season, Trump’s fury seems to be unfairly capitalizing on a burgeoning Age of Rage. Yet, while the bigotry exhibited by the Republican candidate …