World governments must work harder to fight hate crimes

Published on November 7, 2008

Violent hate crimes are on the rise, reflecting an overall increase in xenophobic attitudes across Europe and North America, a revival of anti-Semitism and a continuation of prejudice against Muslims, Roma and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) persons.

The debates won’t matter

By Marty Kaplan
Published on September 29, 2008

Joseph Stalin is reputed to have said, "Those who cast the votes decide nothing. Those who count the votes decide everything." I think he had it half right.

Alito Would Erode Minority Protection

By Phyllis Snyder
Published on January 12, 2006

"But is it good for the Jews?" That was the question many of our grandparents voiced when they perused the morning papers -- a question we may have dismissed, even with affection, as a narrow or parochial expression.

Alito Protects Minority Rights

By Jeffrey N. Wasserstein
Published on January 12, 2006

It's axiomatic that Jews tend to view all news through the lens of "but is it good for the Jews?" It's therefore no surprise that this filter now is being brought to bear on my former boss and mentor, Judge Samuel Alito Jr., who has been nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Battle Lines Emerge on Marking Holiday

By Matthew E. Berger
Published on December 22, 2005

The sound of angry Christians railing against the marginalization of Christmas has become the new tune of this holiday season. Across the country, from department stores to town halls, battle lines have been drawn over how to mark the winter holidays.

Delegation: Improve Israeli Arabs’ Status

By Gil Sedan
Published on October 20, 2005

A small group of American Jewish leaders that came to Israel recently is determined to put the issue of Israel's Arab minority higher on the American Jewish agenda.

A Plan to Take Over Troubled School

By Howard Blume
Published on August 8, 2005

A successful charter school operator will launch a campaign to take over the Los Angeles high school where racial tensions erupted into campus brawls earlier this year.

Vote Confirms Westside, Valley Split

By Raphael J. Sonenshein
Published on March 24, 2005

The gap between Westside and Valley Jewish voters goes back at least to the busing controversy of the late 1970s.

There’s No Santa, but Keep It Quiet

By Julie M. Brown
Published on December 16, 2004

It was in 1998 that my son, Sammy, broke out of his cocoon and started kindergarten at our neighborhood school. Up until then, he had spent his entire tiny life surrounded by Jews.

Having left his Jewish preschool behind only a few months prior, he had little knowledge of his own minority status in the world, not to mention in our South Bay community. But that didn't matter to him, at least as far as I knew.

Brown vs. Board of Ed.—50 Years Later

By Amanda Susskind
Published on May 13, 2004

"We conclude that in the field of public education the doctrine of 'separate but equal' has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal."

Turn the Tide

By Rob Eshman
Published on September 25, 2003

One of the best things about being the editor of a Jewish paper is I get to meet a lot of Jews.

Immigrants and the Recall

By Raphael J. Sonenshein
Published on September 18, 2003

The immigration issue burst into state politics in 1994 when unpopular Republican Gov. Pete Wilson used Proposition 187, a measure to deny public services to undocumented residents, to save his reelection.

Court’s Race Rulings Raises Deeper Issues

By David A. Lehrer
Published on July 10, 2003

The United States Supreme Court has handed down its decisions on the issue of affirmative action. In the cases of Grutter vs. Bollinger and Gratz vs. Bollinger, the court has ruled on the constitutionality of race-conscious programs and their viability in educational institutions across the country.

Home of the Free

By Joseph Hanania
Published on May 29, 2003

Anti-Semitism, I learned on a recent trip through France, is alive and pervasive. Nor, I discovered with some surprise, was the rabbi or those in charge of the synagogue overreacting.

Holocaust Programs Focus on Education

By Sharon Schatz Rosenthal
Published on April 24, 2003

What do the Kurds have to do with Holocaust? More than you might think.