Jewish state

Israel’s election system puts coalition deals ahead of voter choice - opinion

Israel’s proportional representation system gives voters a voice, but coalition deals often determine who governs. Is it time for reform?

|ByDANIEL EPSTEIN-O’DOWD, SETH BARRETT TILLMAN
People at polling station during the Likud party internal elections in Tel Aviv, July 27, 2026.
Palestinians hurl rocks at Israeli security forces during clashes in the West Bank town of Hebron October 16, 2000.

The Palestinian national movement has yet to accept Israel’s right to exist - opinion

Decades of conflict, failed negotiations, and the October 7 massacre raise a central question: Is the Palestinian national movement willing to accept Israel?

|ByURI PILICHOWSKI
FOUR DAYS to the election of a new Knesset.

Israel has not invested enough resources into hasbara, and now we are paying the price - opinion

We need to find a way to project the factual reality of the one Jewish state; currently, we are paying the price of not recognizing the significance of the battle of the word.

|ByBRENDA KATTEN
A Jewish man blows a shofar in the northern Israeli city of Safed, a day before the start of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, September 10, 2026.

This Rosh Hashanah, Israel must remember that we are all partners amid the election - editorial

The test is whether, a year from now, we will still recognize one another as partners in the same extraordinary enterprise: building and defending the Jewish state.

|ByJPOST EDITORIAL

Israelis and Diaspora Jews must work to understand one another - opinion

We must recognize there are fundamental differences in our experiences that might impact our ability to appreciate the nuances of our identities and how we approach the world.

MARCH 31, 2024ByBEN M. FREEMAN
Israelis holding Israeli flags as they make their way to the funeral of Israeli soldier Sergeant major Ilay David Garfinkel, near Moshav Sitria, on March 24, 2024.

To Jewish women everywhere, it is time to pray - opinion

This is a spiritual war against those who seek to destroy Israel, not because of its borders, but because of what it stands for as the world’s only Jewish state.

OCTOBER 14, 2023ByWARREN GOLDSTEIN, GINA GOLDSTEIN
A FAMILY gathers around the Shabbat candles

Is this the end of the Zionist dream? - comment

Bruce Springsteen, in one of his more insightful lyrics, once wrote: “Is a dream a lie if it don’t come true? Or is it something worse?”

OCTOBER 13, 2023ByDAVID BRINN
Personal belongings including a child's pram are seen on the road next to a car days after a mass infiltration by Hamas terrorists from the Gaza Strip, near Kibbutz Kfar Aza, in southern Israel, October 10, 2023

'75 Perspectives': Israel as a Jewish state - excerpt

Published by Academic Studies Press and set for an October 3 release, this collection is a singular nexus of thought.

SEPTEMBER 1, 2023ByDENNIS A. ROSS
THEN-US ENVOY Dennis Ross meets with PLO leader Yasser Arafat in Nablus, 1988.

Israel's diverse protesters can't be labeled as anti-Jewish state - opinion

Douglas Altabef, chairman of the board of Im Tirtzu, has figured out, by himself, that the protesters are “new Jews who know nothing of their own tradition.” He has no way of knowing this factually.

AUGUST 31, 2023ByCOOKIE SCHWAEBER-ISSAN
ACTIVISTS OPPOSED to the judicial overhaul demonstrate in Tel Aviv, earlier this month.

We must make Israel a Jewish state – we owe it to our ancestors - opinion

This “either/or” dichotomy does scant justice to the uniqueness of the Jewish people and their unprecedented return to their homeland.

AUGUST 28, 2023ByDOUGLAS ALTABEF
A PROTEST against judicial reform takes place in Tel Aviv, this past Saturday night. It has become increasingly clear that for those demonstrating against judicial reform, the real issue is an existential, not a political one, says the writer.

We must recognize internalized anti-Jewishness - opinion

We cannot shy away from engaging in the challenging discussions surrounding the impact of hate on our community. We should not allow ourselves to be bound by shame, and trauma.

JULY 18, 2023ByBEN M. FREEMAN
Thousands of Jews wave Israeli flags as they celebrate Jerusalem Day by dancing at Damascus Gate in Jerusalem's Old City, during Jerusalem Day, May 29, 2022

Israel as a Jewish state must be what all Israelis agree on - opinion

For many secular people, there is a looming specter of a theocracy waiting to descend upon us all. This has led to a tremendous resentment of religion and religious people in Israel.

JUNE 28, 2023ByDOUGLAS ALTABEF
THE MASSES gather at the Western Wall on Jerusalem Day, last month. This is the Jewish homeland, not the new Denmark, or the 51st US state, says the writer.

'Being a Nation State': Evolution of Israel's Jewish, democratic balance - review

Tensions have moved along two interrelated axes in Israeli society: between Jewishness as a national identity and democracy; and Judaism as a religion and democracy.

JUNE 3, 2023ByGLENN C. ALTSCHULER
A MARCH from Ramat Gan to Bnei Brak in protest of the haredi community’s monetary demands for the upcoming budget, last month.

Being a Jew is easier now, but still difficult outside Israel - opinion

Jews living in Israel, even if they never put on tefillin, observe a single Shabbat or visit the Western Wall, live and breathe Judaism.

APRIL 25, 2023ByGAEL GRUNEWALD
NOW, 75 years after Israel was founded, it clearly keeps Jews safe, but even more clearly, it keeps the Jewish people’s identity safe, says the writer.