The Heritage Foundation, by far the most influential think tank of the Trump era, is widely seen as a redoubt of Trumpism in large part because of the tremendous influence of the Mercers, who are major donors.
Has there ever been a crisper expression of the consequences of 'intersectionality' than a ban on Jewish lesbians from a Dyke March?
Britain beat us to the abolition of slavery; the Isle of Man, New Zealand, and Finland all decided to give women the vote well before the United States. Eventually, we got smart and borrowed these egalitarian innovations.
Reasonable people can debate whether or not social experiments like a Day of Absence are enlightening.
I am a serial denier. I try not to be. I tell myself, 'You are going to die.' I repeat it. I grasp it for a second or two, but then it escapes me, and I'm back to before.
Many older people I know are focused on the past. When they talk about the future, they are, quite understandably, preoccupied with the hassles and obstacles of their increasing age.
There's no question that I am biased toward the Hebrew calendar over the Gregorian one.
In the Trump era, the Left has smartly and justifiably seized a moral high ground that the Right has abandoned by its embrace of the president.
Australians have more fun. They just do. I guess I should not be surprised by this fact given that this is the place that birthed both Hugh Jackman and Kylie Minogue.
The conspiracy theory of the Jew as the hypnotic conspirator, the duplicitous manipulator, the sinister puppeteer is one with ancient roots and a bloody history.
Women are hypocrites. Women are opportunists. Women are liars. They are abusers and bullies and manipulators. They are capable of cruelty, callousness, and evil. Just like men.
Those who call themselves anti-Zionists usually insist they are not anti-Semites. But I struggle to see what else to call an ideology that seeks to eradicate only one state in the world - the one that happens to be the Jewish one - while empathetically insisting on the rights of self-determination for every other minority.
The Jewish state has so much to teach diaspora Jews about resilience, innovation, energy, and optimism.
In Israel, there is no civil marriage. All elements of religious life - from the kosher certification of food to conversion to marriages and burials - are controlled by the rabbinate. In Israel, then, the official religion is not just Judaism. It's Orthodoxy.
A lawsuit can be a weapon.
In my experience, American office Christmas parties mean that everyone gets a thimbleful of lukewarm Champagne in a plastic cup.
Just as every Jewish couple gets married under a canopy open on all four sides - a replica of the tent modeled for us by Abraham and Sarah - so must Jewish communities keep our tents open. This is the true source of our longevity and resilience.
To many American Jews, it is a truism that Barack Obama was the anti-Israel president. It was Mr. Obama who signed the Iran deal, which Israel portrayed as a mortal danger. It was Mr. Obama whose most contentious relationship with a foreign leader was with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
If you crave an anti-new year New Year, consider adopting Rosh Hashana as your own.
Think tanks are chiefly supposed to provide independent expertise to policymakers. But they also seek to be politically relevant.
