Reliable, varied sources of news, analysis and opinion about Israel and the US
What to think? We really do need to read from various sources before we can form a balanced opinion and think for ourselves. Scan the headlines, stop at the occasional item. Don’t get overloaded, and take a regular break from a heavy news diet--too much at once really can cause indigestion, or cognitive dissonance. We can agree to disagree… and then there’s always writing a letter to the editor. Jewish publications included here are members of the American Jewish Press Association and/or recipients of their Excellence in Jewish Journalism Rockower awards. And there are sources from the secular world listed here as well. As it is said, "Two Jews, three opinions."
1. Israeli-based publications in English
Times of Israel: Israeli, moderate perspective, free, up-to-the-minute news. Editor: David Horowitz. Prominent. Says it has over 9 million monthly viewers. Also publishes The Blogs: the marketplace of ideas including Diane Schmidt's recent Featured selection: Coyote tosses the stars, or why AI won’t have the answers we’ll need.
Haaretz: Israeli, center-left, reliable, critical of Netanyahu.
Jerusalem Post: Considered more center-right, especially since it changed ownership, also publishes the Hebrew newspaper Maariv.
The Jerusalem Report: "An editorially independent biweekly newsmagazine that offers original journalism from Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world."
Shomrim English: Launched in December 2019, Shomrim (the Guardians) - The Center for Media and Democracy in Israel, is an independent, nonprofit news organization established to strengthen Israeli democracy through investigative journalism." International collaborations. Modeled on ProPublica. Their stories show up in publications around the world and in Israel.
2. American Jewish publications - nationally distributed
The Forward: Now free, liberal, topical. Lots of intelligent culture and art coverage. Editor: Jodi Rudoren. Also publishes the Yiddish Forverts, since 1897, editor Rukhl Schaechter who also records: Forverts Yiddish Word of the Day.
Moment Magazine: Moderate. Founded by Elie Weisel and Leibel Fein in the 1980s. Early critics of settlements and proponents of the two-state solution. Its popular "Ask the Rabbis" column includes Rabbi Gershon Winkler of Walkingstick Foundation, formerly based in Cuba, New Mexico.
Jewish Telegraph Agency (J.T.A.) Free, reliable, moderate news.
Jewish Insider:– "Covers U.S. politics, philanthropy and business news with a Jewish angle." Insightful, informative, with insider Washington DC politics. Their Daily Kick-off is a free daily newsletter. Now owns other publications, including eJewish Philanthropy.
Sapir: A quarterly journal of ideas for a thriving Jewish future. Free. Editor: Bret Stephens (of the Washington Post), published by Maimonides Fund.
Hadasssah Magazine: the popular bimonthly publication of Hadassah, the Women's Zionist Organization of America. Paid circulation over 225,000. Editor: Lisa Hostein. Free online. Join with a life membership to receive the bimonthly print magazine.
Tablet: Good arts and culture coverage. Free. Read New Mexico writer Dianne R. Layden's recent article there about the innovative Jewish project at the cemetery in Santa Fe, Remote Remembrance.
Lilith: Independent, Jewish and Frankly Feminist: Lively and diverse. Surprise yourself. Free weekly blog online, sign up! and read Diane Schmidt's Interview with Maria Espinosa there. Print edition by subscription.
Jewish News Service: American, conservative, opinionated, pro-Netanyahu. Editor: Jonathan S. Tobin, a smart guy, with a strong voice against antisemitism.
Foreign Affairs: Published by the Council on Foreign Relations. Very influential.
Intermountain Jewish News: A weekly independent newspaper based in Denver, founded in 1913, covering the Jewish communities of Colorado's Front Range. Rabbi Hillel Goldberg, editor and publisher.
Tikkun "The Prophetic Jewish, Interfaith & Secular Voice to Heal and Transform the World." Founder: Rabbi Michael Lerner. Progressive-left. Ideas, arts and culture you won’t find elsewhere, such as Diane Schmidt's film analysis/personal essay Wounded Healing, a review of “Three Minutes—A Lengthening” and ” Hallelujah” by Leonard Cohen, published in their 'emancipatory spirituality' section. Emancipatory Spirituality. UPDATE: in April, 2024, Rabbi Lerner announced Tikkun is closing. To continue t0 read past issues going back 40 years https://www.tikkun.org/archives.
Jewish Currents: Politically far left, coverage will be one-sided. Erudite, award-winning, often exceptional writing. Worth reading, arguing with. "Founded in 1946, Jewish Currents is a magazine committed to the rich tradition of thought, activism, and culture on the Jewish left and the left more broadly." Interesting history in their About section.
Commentary Magazine Since 1945. Politically right-leaning Republican, erudite. Founded by the American Jewish Committee in 1945, in 2007, the magazine ended its affiliation with AJC when Commentary, Inc., an independent non-profit enterprise, took over as publisher.
Some lighter reading from 70 Faces, Ami Eden publisher:
heyAlma: For young Jews, pop culture
Kveller: Women and parents raising kids
My Jewish Learning: Pluralistic, nondenominational Jewish learning
The Nosher: Traditional and new Jewish recipes
New York Jewish Week: See what Jewish New Yorkers are talking about
View some of the newest digital models for Jewish Journalism:
TCJewfolk: Independent, Twin Cities, published by Jewfolk, Inc.
Arizona Jewish Post: Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona publisher
American Jewish Press Association (AJPA): Under their Membership tab, click on "Current AJPA Members" to view members (and links to their websites) of this large inclusive international organization of Jewish publications. They sponsor the annual "Jewish Pulitzers," the Rockower Awards for Excellence in Jewish Journalism.
3. Think tanks, newsletters, etc.
Washington Institute for Near East Policy: Pro-Israel. Dennis Ross, David Makovsky.
The Tikvah Fund: Right-wing conservative organization. Important, prominent thought leaders. Elliott Abrams, Chairman (policy advisor to Ronald Reagan on El Salvador, 1980's, but you know, takes all kinds to make a horse race).
Maimonides Fund: “Combines modern philanthropic strategies with classic Jewish values.” Among its many culturally sponsored arts activities, it has just launched the new Sapir Institute.
Open Society Foundations: "The Open Society Foundations, founded by George Soros, are the world’s largest private funder of independent groups working for justice, democratic governance, and human rights..." In 2023 they launched the Open Society Barometer which "...serves as a global reality check, painting a picture of the attitudes, concerns, and hopes of people across 30 countries—making it one of the largest studies of global public opinion on human rights and democracy ever conducted."
ADL: Anti-Defamation League, to stop the defamation of the Jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment to all.
More newsletters to get your blood going (or boiling) first thing in the morning:
added 8/24: V.B. Price Albuquerque: https://mercmessenger.com/
Gary Rosenblatt: "Deciphering the American Jewish experience." Former Editor/Publisher NY Jewish Week for decades.
Erika Dreifus: “Writing and resource maven” particularly for Jewish writing opportunities.
Deep Shtetl: Yair Rosenberg’s “guide to the stories behind the stories,” at The Atlantic
Robert Reich: liberal, critical of the '1%', always illuminating.
Peter Beinart: "The Beinart Notebook" - Editor and writer, Jewish far left, anti-Zionist, editor-at-large at Jewish Currents. Provocative, irritating, but at least worth arguing with.
The Free Press - Bari Weiss
Heather Cox Richardson "Letters from an American" In a league of her own, a history professor at Boston College who synthesizes the news of the day and places it in a historical context. 1.4+million subscribers.
Isaac Saul, editor, at "Tangle", a website roundup of independent politics news coverage. June 12, 2024 post: https://www.readtangle.com/israel-frees-hostages-gaza/
In this recent Tangle post, scrolling down to the bottom of the post, the data of numbers in polls, the links to the polling sites and how they arrived at their numbers is very instructive. I learned, for instance, how polls were conducted in the Gaza Strip, and that very few had seen videos of Hamas' atrocities on Oct. 7th, but that among those who did see videos, 44% agreed that they showed atrocity, whereas only 3% believed this who had not seen the videos. Also, polls showed those living in Gaza were less supportive of the war than those living in the West Bank. -djs.
Sarah Posner, Journalist. New blog: The Looking Glass. Reporting and analysis on the religious Right. Author of UNHOLY: How White Christian Nationalists Powered the Trump Presidency, And the Devastating Legacy They Left Behind.
4. American news and news magazines
CNN news - lands somewhere in the middle between FOX and MSN
NPR radio - Morning Edition news program, hourly news headlines
New York Times newspaper
Washington Post newspaper
Wall Street Journal newspaper
The New Yorker magazine
The Atlantic magazine
British & Canadian, available online
BBC: British Broadcasting Company
CBC: Canadian Broadcasting Company
The Guardian: British newspaper, free American online edition. Critical of Israel.
Jewish Literary Foundation: "We are the UK’s leading platform for the dissemination of Jewish literature and ideas across the UK and the world..."
The suggested sites, comments and assessments given here have been suggested by our editorial staff and contributors and are subject to change.
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