Rising authoritarianism

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) speaks at the future of the U.S.-Israel relationship at J Street's 2019 National Gala Dinner, October 28, 2019. (Photo courtesy of J Street)

J Street conference confronts America’s ‘blank check’ to Israel

By making U.S. aid to Israel the main theme of its 2019 conference, J Street is challenging bipartisan support for Israel ahead of 2020.

By Mairav Zonszein November 1, 2019

A white supremacist seen during the Unite the Right rally, Charlottesville, Virginia, August 12, 2017. (Evan Nesterak/CC BY 2.0)

The GOP has mainstreamed white nationalist anti-Semitism

One year on from the Pittsburgh shooting, it's clear that the Trump administration and the GOP, along with their media boosters, have helped create the climate for lethal white nationalist anti-Semitism to thrive.

By Ben Lorber October 28, 2019

Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.) speaking at the Republican Leadership Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana, June 17, 2011. (Gage Skidmore/CC BY-SA 2.0)

When white nationalists ask Jews to condemn anti-Semitism

Two American-Jewish activists went to a Republican congressman's town hall and asked him if he would condemn his party's white nationalism and anti-Semitism. Instead, he pointed his finger at progressive women of color and touted his support for Israel.

By Ezra Oliff-Lieberman October 18, 2019

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Batya Ungar-Sargon speaking at a conference on racism and anti-Semitism at Bard College.

Reckless charges of anti-Semitism endanger Palestinians

The baseless claims made by The Forward’s Batya Ungar-Sargon at Bard College last week feed the dysfunction of the American debate on Israel-Palestine, making it more difficult for Palestinians and their allies to advocate for their rights. In a strange public controversy last week, Batya Ungar-Sargon, the Opinion Editor at The Forward, published a column claiming that…

By Amjad Iraqi October 16, 2019

President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump visit a memorial outside the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh Tuesday, October 30, 2018, following the mass shooting that left 11 worshippers dead. (Andrea Hanks/White House)

Over 100 Jewish scholars condemn Trump admin for exploiting anti-Semitism

More than 100 Jewish academics sign open letter demanding the Trump administration stop exploiting anti-Semitism in order to quash criticism of Israel on college campuses. Jewish academics are fighting back against the Trump administration’s attempts to silence criticism of Israel on college campuses. More than 100 Jewish scholars have signed an open letter to the U.S. Department…

By Joshua Leifer October 6, 2019

A mural depicting President Donald Trump kissing an Israeli army watchtower is seen on the separation barrier in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, August 4, 2017. (Flash90)

Israel’s one-state reality is sowing chaos in American politics

Until U.S. lawmakers and major Jewish organizations adjust to the current one-state reality, the acrimony that has marked the last several years under Netanyahu and Trump will only intensify. For decades, the two-state solution has been the central pillar of the bipartisan pro-Israel consensus in Washington. Since the signing of the Oslo Accords, every single U.S. administration has been…

By Joshua Leifer August 26, 2019

Members and supporters of Fordham Students for Justice in Palestine rally on the university's Manhattan campus against the Fordham administration's refusal to register SJP as a student organization, January 23, 2017. (Joe Catron)

A landmark win for Palestine student activism

Fordham University tried to shut down a Students for Justice in Palestine club over its support for Palestinian rights and BDS. That is, until a New York judge gave Palestine campus activism its first legal victory. By Radhika Sainath Last week, in a landmark ruling, a New York judge ordered Fordham University in Manhattan to recognize a…

By +972 Magazine August 16, 2019

Palestinian citizens of Israel and Jewish Israeli activists protest against the Jewish Nation-State law in Rabin Square, Tel Aviv on August 11, 2018 (Tomer Neuberg/Flash90).

‘When the constitution becomes racist, it’s difficult to define what racism is’

One year ago, Israel passed a constitutional amendment declaring that Israel belongs only to its Jewish citizens. The head of Israel’s premier Palestinian rights group discusses what has changed in Israeli courts, but also overseas. ‘The debate soon will be whether Israel is apartheid.’ In the year since the Israeli parliament passed the Jewish Nation-State Law,…

By Henriette Chacar July 26, 2019

American Jews with Never Again Action demonstrate outside an ICE detention facility in Elizabeth, New Jersey, July 1, 2019. (Gili Getz)

The American Jews invoking the Holocaust to talk about Trump’s migrant camps

In the face of dire conditions at U.S. border patrol facilities, many American Jews are increasingly unafraid to invoke their people’s history to warn against what may come next. Weeks after New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s comments comparing immigration detention centers along the U.S.-Mexico border to concentration camps, reports of dire conditions at U.S. border patrol facilities continue to…

By Joshua Leifer July 10, 2019