Jonathan S. Tobin

Joe Biden’s empty words about antisemitism

Bden's tribute to Jewish heritage featured a pledge against hate undermined by DEI orders and refusal to mention the IHRA definition.Op-ed.

The New York Times’ unethical war on hassidic schools

The 18-part assault on yeshivas says more about the decline of journalistic ethics than it does about any alleged academic failings. Op-ed.

Tucker Carlson’s fall isn’t so good for the Jews

He took many questionable stands. But those who rightly see woke DEI ideology as a threat to Jewish life aren’t cheering his ouster, Op-ed.

What type of representative does Israel need?

PM's consideration of unabashed advocates, one a JNS columnist, for a top job is recognition that tepid diplomacy won’t cut it anymore.Op-ed

Op-ed:

The perils of politicizing Jewish philanthropy

As the judicial reform issue heats up, the umbrella group of Jewish Federations is intervening in Israeli politics. That's a mistake.Op-ed/

Why boycotts of Israel are never kosher

A call to reconsider investing in Israel because of judicial reform, although not exactly BDS, validates anti-Zionist lies. Op-eds.

Op-Ed

A ‘resistance’ coup just defeated Israeli democracy

A false narrative may achieve its goal of toppling Netanyahu, the consequences for future governments and U.S.-Israel relations are ominous.

Demonizing Kohelet won’t silence calls for judicial reform

A think tank is attacked by Netanyahu opponents who focus on political power but not the ideas that put reform on the national agenda.Op-ed.

Op-ed:

Judge the Jewish rioters, but don’t rationalize Arab murderers

Jews who rioted following terror murders were condemned. But why does the Biden administration still tolerate Palestinian terrorism? Op-ed.

How worrying is the far-right’s ‘Day of Hate’ stunt?

An Internet announcement is troubling, but Jews cowering in response and the mainstreaming of antisemitism by media is the real problem.

Anti-Bibi resistance wants Americans to thwart Israeli democracy

Some writers & publications aren’t just gaslighting the world about judicial reform. They’re also playing into hands of Israel’s foes.Op-ed.

The Ilhan Omar vote is a turning point for American Jews

Partisan split on booting Omar from committees illustrates the normalization of anti-Zionism.Op-ed.

Americans shouldn’t be swayed by the Israeli left’s freakout

The apocalyptic rhetoric about Netanyahu’s government and judicial-reform is about thwarting democracy, not protecting it. Op-ed.

Op-ed:

Is Israel really threatened by Ben-Gvir’s Temple Mount gambit?

Worries about results are real. But denying Hamas a veto over Jerusalem and asserting Jewish rights also brings benefits. Op-ed.

Can US Jews love the real Israel - or only the fantasy version?

Most Americans don’t like the Jewish state’s new government. But it still deserves their support against those who work to destroy it.Op-ed.

The anti-Bibi resistance is playing with fire

A false narrative about the new government’s extremism, spread by Lapid and left-wing rabbis, will aid the cause of anti-Zionists. Op-ed.

The top 10 Jewish stories of 2022

Antisemitism, Bibi, Ben-Gvir, Zelenskyy and Trump, owned the headlines in a year of twists and some names that just don’t go away. Op-ed.

Can J Street still get away with pretending to be ‘pro-Israel’?

The left-wing lobby’s conference showed the group is irrelevant to Middle East realities and is also at war with Israel's interests.Op-ed.

Op-ed:

Don’t apologize for Ben-Gvir or anything else about Israel

Claiming Netanyahu’s government will make life hard for Diaspora Jews ignores what motivates Zionism’s foes and other anti-Semites. Op-ed.

Op-ed:

The painful truth about media bias: Some journalists lie

The midterm election once again proved that many reporters suppress the truth to bolster their position in any dispute. Op-ed.

CNN’ gets it partially right about anti-Semitism

A documentary acknowledged hate on the left and the right, but failed to explain the role of critical race theory in mainstreaming it.Op-ed.

Jews don’t control America’s foreign policy

Belief in the myth of Jewish power haunts the U.S.-Israel relationship. Op-ed.

Biden will do everything he can to help Lapid

Despite outrage about interventions in its own elections,expect Washington to pull out the stops to try to sabotage Netanyahu.Op-ed

The "experts" are often wrong and sometimes corrupt

Exposing a corrupt foreign and defense establishment: A former US. general secretly worked for Qatar in connection with Benny Gantz. Op-ed.

DeSantis story: The politicization of Jewish institutions

NY’s Museum of Jewish Heritage has declared itself a partisan institution by banning Gov. DeSantis from speaking in its building.Op-ed.

The US ambassador to Israel calls pay-for-slay 'martyr payments'

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Thomas Nides sees his job not as promoting good relations but telling Israelis what they can and cannot do.Op-ed

Holocaust Remembrance Day rule: Everyone loves dead Jews

Lip service paid by the world to the memory of the Six Million is matched by the complacence about or support for today's Jew-hatred.Op-ed.

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Who’s coarsening American public discourse now?

Is Biden’s angry and divisive rhetoric to blame for the latest round of abusive Nazi analogies? Opinion.

Plea bargains should not be for prime ministers

Netanyahu’s trial ending in a plea bargain is bad for Israeli democracy, even if it lets us move on from a long-running nightmare. Op-ed.

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Politics and combating anti-Semitism don’t mix

Historian Deborah Lipstadt’s nomination to be State Department envoy shouldn’t be held hostage to partisan anger. Opinion.

Anti-Zionist Jews are in tune with the Palestinian Arabs

Some cling to the myth of a 2-state solution, but recent statements by Mahmoud Abbas are in line with those wanting Israel destroyed.Op-ed.

What’s greatest threat? Iran or voter integrity laws?

Why are Jewish groups agreeing rather than pressuring it to stop Iran? Opinion.

Archbishop Tutu and the disturbing power of intersectionality

South Africa’s struggle was nothing like the Israeli-Palestinian conflict but Tutu's bias showed how easily myths lead people astray. Op-ed.

Why the double standard on 'West Bank' violence?

Claims of settler violence made headlines while “routine” murder by Palestinian Arabs against Jews is downplayed or justified.Opinion.

Skirting the line between a lukewarm friend and an enemy

NY's Rep. Bowman was praised for visitng Israel. But alliances with anti-Zionists and upsetting stands show a different story. Op-ed.

Stop complaining about Christmas trees, enjoy your own holiday

Why American Jews need to stop trying to cleanse the public square of religious symbols. Opinion.

Biden gives a clinic on how not to negotiate with Iran

Washington has lost the game before it started, and Israel is clearly on its own. Opinion.

Is there still hope for American bipartisan support of Israel?

The AIPAC formula, aiming for a broad coalition of both parties, that achieved success in the 1970s and 1980s is no longer working. Op-ed.

Neo-Nazis are not a political metaphor

A dirty trick backfired in the Virginia election. Misusing Charlottesville as a partisan ploy makes fighting antisemitism a joke. Op-ed.

Biden Palestinian Arab consulate move is Bennett’s toughest test

The Agron St. consulate is in a Jerusalem neighborhood that not even left-wing Israeli governments would ever consider surrendering. Op-ed.

Ideas must be debated, but not historical facts

A bogus claim that Holocaust studies must be balanced with revisionist lies is being used to discredit a law on critical race theory. Op-ed.

The Jewish stake in resisting the war on school-board critics

The attempt to frame protests against critical race theory as “domestic terrorism” also gives a permission slip to anti-Semitism.Op-ed.

BDS proves once again that it’s all about the anti-Semitism

Rooney's translation refusal and Ben & Jerry’s singling out Israel for boycotts, tell us all we need to know about Jew-hatred. Op-ed.

Two cranky old Jews everything wrong with our political culture

Larry David snubbed former friend Alan Dershowitz because he represented Trump. Politics has become a religious culture war. Op-ed.

What Israel must learn from the US retreat from Afghanistan

The cost of disgrace is not cheap, but Americans will get over the humiliation of the Afghanistan disaster. Not so Israel. Op-ed.

The bombing of Sbarro’s and why Oslo failed

The Sbarro massacre in Jerusalem is a ghastly reminder of the nature of a conflict that Israeli concessions couldn't solve. Op-ed..

Are Jews really united against anti-Semitism?

A DC rally against Jew-hatred struck many of the right notes, but the poor turnout illustrates the dismal Jewish crisis response. Opinion.

Biden’s promise on Iranian nukes is worthless

Biden pledged Tehran will not acquire nuclear weapons on “his watch.” But with Obama’s deal the crisis will occur after that. Op-ed.

If the US wants to be humane, it won’t ‘rebuild’ Gaza

Reconstruction to show sympathy for victims will reward Hamas terrorism and flash a green light for wars aimed at destroying Israel. Op-ed.

Bipartisan consensus on Israel broke and it's not the GOP

The first post-BLM summer flare-up of Mideast fighting exposed a fundamental shift in how many Democrats think about the Jewish state.Op-ed.

When Hamas fires missiles at Israeli homes, forget nuance

There aren’t two legitimate opinions about this conflict.Those who target civilians must be defeated, not rewarded. Op-ed.

The Anti Defamation League has forgotten its mission

The ADL’s endorsement of impeachment and of silencing Parler show how far it is from the purpose for which it was created. Op-ed.

Arab Spring created consensus against Middle East interventions

The neo-conservative dream of spreading democracy is dead. But Israel & America are largely content with undemocratic Arab allies. Opinion.

A toxic race curriculum has no place in Jewish schools

The “1619 Project” version of history teaches students that Jews are racist beneficiaries of white privilege, a terrible blunder.Opinion.

Will the Democrats get the message they were just sent on Iran?

Even if Tehran is cheered by the hope of Trump’s defeat, they aren’t going to conform to Biden’s will any more than they did to Obama. Op-ed

The man Israel left behind and the damage left with him

It is only right that Pollard, who served more time in prison than many murderers, can now make aliya. A US Jew's view of the saga. Op-ed..

The perils of perpetual political warfare

Our parties have been treating politics as a religious war, not a disagreement among fellow citizens who share common values. Op-ed.

Who gets to define ‘disinformation’?

Tthere is a conscious effort to limit the discussion by claiming that some people are peddling “disinformation.” Op-ed.

The Jewish vote mattered more than we thought in 2020

Is there any gap greater than that between the two branches of the same ethnic/religious tree who voted for Biden or voted for Trump? Op-ed.

Europe battles Islamists, Jews remain canary in the coal mine

France is trying to battle extremists and respect their rights. Toleration of anti-Semitism indicates that the West isn’t winning. Opinion.