Jonathan S. Tobin
Jonathan S. Tobin is editor in chief of JNS. Follow him on Twitter at: @jonathans_tobin.
Right and wrong, children and immigration
As a general rule, injecting emotion into policy debates is a mistake. Cold, rational logic remains the best path to understanding an issue, and anything that undermines that process is usually bound to distort...
Liberal Zionism isn’t dead, but needs to wake up to new realities
Pity the poor liberal Zionist. American Jews who identify as both political liberals and supporters of Israel are speaking up lately about their difficult plight. They have been caught in the crossfire between leftist...
Will American Jews answer these letters?
Is peace still possible between Israelis and Palestinians? After the events of the last 25 years, the answer from most Israelis seems to be not for the foreseeable future.
But it is just this general...
Religious freedom for me, but not for thee?
There was a time when defending religious freedom was at the top of the Jewish agenda. Jews understood that as a religious minority, our rights could only be defended when those of other religious...
Are Jewish camps too pro-Israel?
According to some young American Jews, it’s time to start telling kids the truth about Israel. Upset about what they consider to be a steady diet of pro-Israel propaganda that ignores the plight of...
Why the Palestinians can’t say ‘yes’ to Trump
Can the Palestinians finally not miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity? That paraphrase of Abba Eban’s famous quote provides the key question to ask about the Middle East peace plan the United States...
One Jewish people, two dissonant tribes
What do you do about a relative who loves you but won’t listen to your concerns?
That’s the likely American Jewish reaction to news about a new poll of Israeli opinion that signals both good...
An end to Iran defeatism
Everyone was eager to hear from the new U.S. secretary of state, but they didn’t care much for what he said. Many international observers hoped that Mike Pompeo’s speech would sound a cautionary note...
Peace plan? Netanyahu has nothing to worry about!
It’s the sort of thing that could potentially topple his coalition government, but there’s no sign of panic from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. While the exact timing of its unveiling is still a...
The dead-baby strategy
When a Hamas spokesman acknowledged that 50 out of the 62 Palestinians reported killed during the May 14 assault on Israel’s border with Gaza, that fact alone should have fundamentally altered the debate over...