Michael Felsen

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May 20, 2025, 7:13 AM

States Should Learn from Trump How NOT to Run an Antisemitism Commission

In Massachusetts, where I live, a Special Commission on Combatting Antisemitism, established as part of the state’s 2025 budget, held its first meeting a few days before Donald Trump was elected President. The Commission’s charge is ambitious. It includes...

Mar 15, 2019, 12:44 AM

Frogs in the Pot?

Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu’s edgy move a few weeks ago to loop the far-right Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) party into his planned right-wing bulwark against the burgeoning center-left was back in the news last week. On March 6, the...

Jan 14, 2015, 4:47 PM

Another Missed Opportunity?

The horrible events of the past week in Paris -- about which I mourn along with much of the world -- have temporarily eclipsed significant developments in Israeli-Palestinian relations two weeks ago. I return to those developments here: On December 30,...

Sep 9, 2014, 8:24 AM

A Philosopher’s Take on Jewish History — For Teenagers

Mitchell Silver spends a good portion of his waking time teaching symbolic logic, social and political philosophy, ethical theory, health care ethics, and the philosophy of religion at Tufts University and the University of Massachusetts/Boston. He also ruminates about...

May 31, 2013, 3:53 AM

This is No Time to Miss an Opportunity

Secretary of State John Kerry is racking up frequent flier miles shuttling back and forth to the Middle East. Undeniably, he’s a man on a mission, a mission his president unmistakably endorses. His immediate goal is to get the...

Apr 16, 2013, 1:05 AM

A President’s Rule to Live By

A few weeks ago, the attention of the American people was drawn to Washington, D.C., as the U.S. Supreme Court listened to arguments in two cases addressing the status of gay marriage in this country. Vocal constituencies on both...

Nov 28, 2012, 3:37 PM

Beyond Gaza and the General Assembly

Last week, as we did almost four years ago during the 2008-9 Israel-Gaza conflict, Boston Workmen’s Circle – a 100 year-old organization committed to Jewish culture, education, and social justice -- began to mobilize for a candlelight ceasefire/peace vigil...

Sep 12, 2012, 12:42 AM

U.S. Iran Policy: All Options Should Be On The Table

The guessing game continues. Will Israel act unilaterally and strike a military blow against Iran’s nuclear production facilities -- perhaps in the next few weeks, and before the November elections in the U.S.? Despite mounting skepticism about the wisdom...

Jun 6, 2012, 6:14 AM

Reimagining Jerusalem Day

Another Jerusalem Day has come and gone. This most recent addition to the Hebrew calendar commemorates the Israeli army takeover of the eastern part of Jerusalem during the Six-Day War in June 1967, resulting, shortly thereafter, in "a municipal...

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About Me

Michael Felsen's op-eds on Israel/Palestine, American Jewish-Muslim relations, labor issues and politics have been published in Haaretz, The Jerusalem Post, The Hill, The Progressive, the Boston Globe, The Forward, and elsewhere around the world. An attorney who retired in 2018 after almost four decades in government, he remains active in pro bono work and writes on labor, immigration, and politics. He is also a past president of the Boston chapter of Workers Circle, a 130-year old communal organization dedicated to secular Jewish education, culture, and social justice.

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