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Paula Slier reporting during the Yellow Vest protests in Paris, 2018-2019, as a fire burns in the street behind her. (Personal archive)

Paula Slier

France is burning and immigrants are being blamed. I’ve seen this before

I saw looters ransack Paris shops 8 years ago. Now, amid fresh riots and claims of antisemitism, the rush to judgment feels familiar

Party head Moti Leitner greets supporters at an election campaign rally of the Charedi Public party at the International Convention Center in Jerusalem, ahead of Israel’s upcoming general elections, October 17, 2026. (Chaim Goldberg/ Flash90)

Yehuda L. Oppenheimer

Fear is silencing the Charedi Public’s attempts at discussion

I’m running for Knesset and want to explain my passion for the new Haredi party, but it’s inviting threats. That’s coercion, not the Torah’s model of dispute

(Getty Images via JTA)

Jonah Platt

Jewish nonprofit leaders should be paid like corporate CEOs

High NGO salaries have sparked outrage. But why should serving the Jewish community mean accepting less?

An election campaign billboard for the Likud party is displayed along a roadside in the northern Israeli city of Nahariya, ahead of Israel’s upcoming general elections, October 16, 2026. (Sharon Leibel/Flash90)

Aron Heller

Vote right, if you wish. Just don’t vote for Bibi

Make no mistake, this election is not about right versus left. It’s about right versus wrong

Ruby and Hagit Chen (center), the parents of slain IDF soldier Itay Chen, attend an event at the State Department honoring the US citizens killed on October 7, along with Secretary of State Marco Rubio (left) and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick (right), October 14 2026. (Courtesy)

Ruby Chen

What Washington expects from Israel’s next government

While in the US capital to honor my son’s memory, I heard a clear message: Israel must change course, rebuild regional trust, and restore American public support

Olives aplenty. (All photos courtesy of the author)

Susannah Schild

The worst deal I make every year for the oldest harvest in the land

After last year’s poor olive yield, we were somehow certain this year would be plentiful. And so we hunted (and hunted) for the best trees for our oil

Michael Herman speaks at a campus rally. (Courtesy of Aaron Herman)

Aaron Herman

A person should own the algorithm: Watching ‘The Social Reckoning’ with my son

My 8th grader joined social media to fight antisemitism. When we saw the new film about Facebook, I discovered he understands something Mark Zuckerberg has forgotten

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Oct 22, 2026, 9:31 AM

The October Turn, Part II: Most of the 36 Would Only Tell Me on One Condition

Made by author.

PART II The kitchen On the morning of October 7, 2023, a retired academic in rural Scotland got out of bed and put the kettle on. She was reading the news before the tea had steeped. What she felt, she says,...

Oct 22, 2026, 9:30 AM

When Self-Criticism Becomes Self-Destructive

We Jews have a far bigger problem than settler violence, yet too much of our communal leadership seems determined to focus its attention on the wrong priority. While any act of violence against innocent people deserves condemnation, regardless of...

Grant Arthur Gochin

Oct 22, 2026, 9:29 AM

Lithuania Calls My Accusations Opinion. It Calls Fridman’s a Crime

Lithuania's Genocide Centre linked my Holocaust research to the Criminal Code in 2018, says it never sought a legal assessment, and now calls my accusations "personal subjective opinion." Lithuania's prosecutors call Fridman's accusations against a partisan hero a crime....

Oct 22, 2026, 9:28 AM

Voting for apartheid? Israeli elections 2026

What are the upcoming elections actually about? Beneath the general noise lies a historic reckoning: Israelis are being asked to endorse—openly and explicitly—the future of an apartheid regime "from the River to the Sea". Thus, the central historical task...

Oct 22, 2026, 9:25 AM

The Jewish Future Is Ours to Build Together

From India to Ethiopia, Mexico City to Madrid, I have encountered Jewish communities whose connection to their identity transcends geography, language, and culture. I have accompanied new immigrants on their journeys to Israel and witnessed the emotion of arriving...

Oct 22, 2026, 9:20 AM

Can One Man Change the World?

Watching Donald Trump, it is difficult to doubt the influence one individual can wield. Governments weigh his words. Allies and adversaries calculate his next move. Some feel hope; others shiver. Even in a democracy, the character of the person...

Oct 22, 2026, 9:19 AM

Behavior of a Tzaddik

The story of Avraham Avinu asking Sarah to say that she was his sister, is troubling. On the one hand, we should expect that Avraham would be a man of truth, and not need to do such subterfuge. But on...

Oct 22, 2026, 9:19 AM

The Somaliland Advantage: How Strategic Partners Can Shift Washington

Strategic Security Partnerships, Congressional Advocacy, and a Roadmap for Deeper U.S. Engagement Somaliland’s case in Washington is often framed as a recognition dispute. That framing is too narrow. A more persuasive argument presents Somaliland as a practical U.S. partner in...

Sergio Restelli

Oct 22, 2026, 9:19 AM

Pakistan’s Expanding Defence Alliances: Strategic Ambition or Overreach?

The new defence agreement with Turkey, Qatar and Indonesia raises uncomfortable questions about ideological influence, Gulf rivalries and Islamabad’s growing appetite for commitments it may struggle to honour. Pakistan has discovered a new enthusiasm for defence alliances. On 21 October,...

Oct 22, 2026, 9:18 AM

A Conversation with Legendary Political Strategist Hank Sheinkopf

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This past week, I reunited with my dear friend Hank Sheinkopf who spoke at the Metropolitan Republican Club on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Legendary NY political strategist (and President of Sheinkopf Communications) Hank Sheinkopf has...

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