Opinion | Are Jews Historical Artifacts in Europe?
The future of Europe’s dwindling Jewish communities is bleak.
Opinion | A Good Deal Doesn’t Have to Be ‘Beautiful’
But can President Trump and his special Middle East envoys accept anything less?
From The Editor | July/August 2017
A few days after we finished Moment’s last issue, I got on a plane to China, a country I had never visited. There is so much to say about China. To begin with, it is no longer the shattered country I studied in college in the years following Mao’s death and the end of the Cultural Revolution.
The Semantics of Antisemitism
The term “anti-Semitism” has evolved. As scholarship on the subject grew, the available vocabulary expanded. Today, its definition—and its boundaries—are uncertain. “Anti-Semitism” is but one of a convoluted, interconnected web of similar words—including “anti-Judaism,” “anti-Zionism,” “Judeophobia” and “Zionophobia.”
Is Normalization Normal?
“Keep reminding yourself: This is not normal,” warned comedian John Oliver on Last Week Tonight. It was less than a week after Election Day, and the country was just beginning to process Donald Trump’s unexpected victory. Opponents of the president-elect were scrambling to discern what had changed in a world they thought they understood.
From The Editor — March/April 2017
When I left off writing in our last issue, anti-Semitism had made a startling comeback in the United States, and Steve Bannon, the former executive chairman of Breitbart News, was about to be installed as chief strategist to the new man in the White House.
Opinion // How Liberal Streams of Judaism Turned the Next Generation Against Its Birthright
Tikkun olam promises much and demands comparatively little in the way of sacrifice. This is its greatest strength and, perhaps, its major weakness.
Jewish Word // Blood libel
In September, Josh Marshall of the online political news outlet Talking Points Memo reached for an unexpected metaphor to express his disgust at Donald Trump’s anti-immigration rhetoric…
From The Editor // January-February, 2017
Washington has had unseasonably warm weather, with leaves clinging to branches and roses blooming into the first weeks of winter. But the winds of political change have also blown into the nation’s capital.
Interview: Steven Volynets
Born in Soviet Ukraine, Steven Volynets immigrated to the United States as a child. He turned to literature after several years as a journalist. Moment spoke with him about his new story, his childhood in Russia and his evolution as a writer.
The Great Hanukkah Clanging
Hanukkah was really only about one thing when I was growing up. It wasn’t the presents—they were generally small and unexciting…
Gelt-y Pleasures for All Ages
In the story of Hanukkah—the cruel reign of Antiochus, the unlikely victory of Mattathias and his sons, the one cruse of sacred oil left in the plundered Temple that burned for eight days—there is no mention of money.