Author: David Rutman

Birthright Israel is widely associated with short-term trips designed to introduce young Jews to Israel for the first time. Jacqueline Korren is working on something built for what happens after people return home. Through Birthright’s Storytellers initiative, Korren is leading an effort buttressing Jewish presence in media and culture, rather than exhausting debate. “Birthright Israel […]

The first time I saw swastikas in my local park, they stopped me in my tracks. But now antisemitism has become a daily occurrence, so common and brazen that my shock has diminished. Two Israeli Embassy staffers were murdered with 21 bullets. In Boulder a group of older Jewish women were set on fire by […]

Thugs, it is said, fear only one thing – physical might more powerful than their own, combined with the demonstrated capacity to wield it. After  the shockingly swift decapitation of the Maduro regime in Venezuela, mere days into this new year, the surviving authoritarian regimes are on notice: democracy is once again on the march. […]

With chaos raging in Minneapolis as ICE agents confront protesters, my mind has wandered to the motivations and history of the man ultimately responsible for the chaos—President Trump. What makes the man tick? If I had to pick from his many foibles, I would pick addiction to power. Power has long been Trump’s drug of […]

Jewish life has always been shaped by the tension between belonging and boundary. In every generation, Jews have had to decide which elements of the surrounding culture can be absorbed, and which cannot, without hollowing out what is meant to endure. That question has become sharper, not softer, in the age of social media, where […]

State Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) announced today that he would be stepping down as Co-Chair of the California Legislative Jewish Caucus on Feb. 15. Wiener’s decision comes amid criticism from Jewish groups about statements he made about Israel. In his statement, Wiener linked the timing of his decision to both his congressional campaign and […]

After a quarter century shaping generations of rabbis as dean of the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies, Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson is stepping into a new role at American Jewish University (AJU) — one that reflects both his enduring influence and his forward-looking vision for Jewish life. AJU has announced that Rabbi Artson will be […]

Israel has a good reason to object to the inclusion of dignitaries from Turkey and Qatar in the so-called Gaza executive committee. That’s one of several bodies, committees and other bureaucratic  infrastructure that were put together by the Trump administration to handle the “day after” in Gaza. A statement last Saturday made Israel’s displeasure clear, […]

Not many people know that the Memphis hotel where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in 1968 is now the home of the National Civil Rights Museum. In describing King’s legacy, the museum highlights his universal and unifying appeal: “A leader of all people, Dr. King never chose fear, but always chose courage and […]

Long-simmering antisemitism on the American Right has erupted into plain view. Nick Fuentes says that Jews control the media and cannot be part of Western civilization because they are not Christian. Candace Owens believes that Israel killed President John F. Kennedy and Charlie Kirk. Tucker Carlson charges that the Jews want to replace the white […]