Jeffrey L. Rubenstein

Apply for a Blog

Sep 26, 2024, 11:11 PM

The Ethics of the Pager Attacks

Israel’s remarkable attack on Hezbollah terrorists with exploding pagers has predictably been assailed by Israel’s critics as violating the ethics of war and, ironically, even as an act of terrorism itself. Of course we should be accustomed to such...

Feb 14, 2024, 8:24 PM

From blood libel to genocide libel

Martyrdom of Simon von Trent, depiction from the Nuremberg World Chronicle by Hartmann Schedel. Woodcut 1493 (PD via Wikimedia)

These two false accusations leveled against Jews are driven by the same psychological mechanisms: guilt, doubt and hatred

Feb 7, 2024, 8:59 PM

Nicholas Kristof Is a Danger to Israel and to the Jewish People

Nicholas Kristof continues his New York Times columns attacking Israel on Feb. 3 with a piece entitled “We Can’t Justify Such Suffering” and featuring in large, bold lettering the words, “There’s No Excuse for the Scope of Death in...

Feb 1, 2024, 9:09 AM

South Africa, the ICJ, and the Betrayal of Mandela’s Legacy

Cyril Ramaphosa, President of South Africa, celebrated the decision of the International Court of Justice in South Africa’s case accusing Israel of genocide: “The International Court of Justice has vindicated us,” he crowed. His minister of justice, Ronald Lamola,...

Jan 2, 2024, 5:46 PM

The Gazan War, Misleading Statistics and Bad Analogies

Among the strategies for unfairly criticizing Israel’s conduct in the Gazan War are claims based on statistics and comparisons to other wars. In some cases the criticism is explicit with Israel accused of a brutal campaign, while in others...

Load more

About Me

Jeffrey L. Rubenstein is a Professor of Talmud and Rabbinic Literature in the Department of Hebrew and Judaic Studies of New York University. His books include, "Talmudic Stories: Narrative Art, Composition and Culture" (1999) and "The Culture of the Babylonian Talmud," (2003)