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Jonathan S. Tobin

Jonathan S. Tobin

Jonathan S. Tobin is editor-in-chief of the Jewish News Syndicate, a senior contributor for The Federalist, a columnist for Newsweek and a contributor to many other publications. He covers the American political scene, foreign policy, the U.S.-Israel relationship, Middle East diplomacy, the Jewish world and the arts. He hosts the JNS “Think Twice” podcast, both the weekly video program and the “Jonathan Tobin Daily” program, which are available on all major audio platforms and YouTube. Previously, he was executive editor, then senior online editor and chief political blogger, for Commentary magazine. Before that, he was editor-in-chief of The Jewish Exponent in Philadelphia and editor of the Connecticut Jewish Ledger. He has won more than 60 awards for commentary, art criticism and other writing. He appears regularly on television, commenting on politics and foreign policy. Born in New York City, he studied history at Columbia University.

Israeli Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot and U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Joseph Dunford at a welcoming ceremony in Dunford's honor at the Ministry of Defense in Tel Aviv, May 09, 2017. Photo by Flash90.
From the Editor-in-Chief
Does Israel need a mutual defense pact with the United States?
A treaty might strengthen the Jewish state’s ability to deter foes, but it also might prove more of a burden than a benefit.
Sep. 17, 2019
Jonathan S. Tobin
Palestinians hang posters depicting the late Palestinian chief Yasser Arafat and the current Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank city of Nablus, March 14, 2017. Photo by Nasser Ishtayeh/Flash90.
From the Editor-in-Chief
The elections that decided the future of the conflict
Israeli voters won’t determine whether peace is possible. That happened when Abbas succeeded Arafat and subsequently refused to hold another vote.
Sep. 16, 2019
Jonathan S. Tobin
Tourists take in the view of the Dome of the Rock and Temple Mount from the Mount of Olives platform overlooking the Old City of Jerusalem, on Oct. 11, 2018. Photo by Hadas Parush/Flash90.
From the Editor-in-Chief
Critics deny Jerusalem’s past and its future
A plan for cable cars to take worshippers to the Old City is debatable, but calling it a nefarious Israeli plan to ‘Judaize’ the capital reveals the motivations of some critics.
Sep. 13, 2019
Jonathan S. Tobin
U.S. President Barack Obama addressing the biennial conference of the Union for Reform Judaism, Dec. 16, 2011. Credit: Union of Reform Judaism.
From the Editor-in-Chief
Reform launches a political war in time for the High Holidays
A condemnation of Trump and the implication that all people of faith are bound to oppose him creates a toxic mix of partisanship and religion.
Sep. 12, 2019
Jonathan S. Tobin
Remains of World Trade Center 9/11
From the Editor-in-Chief
Why Israelis have never forgotten their 9/11
Many Americans have sunk back into a Sept. 10 mentality about terrorism. But the horror of the Second Intifada is still very much on the minds of Israelis.
Sep. 11, 2019
Jonathan S. Tobin
U.S. President Donald Trump, joined by National Security Advisor John Bolton, speaks on the phone with Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi during a visit to the Al-Asad Airbase in Iraq on Dec. 26, 2018. Credit: Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead.
From the Editor-in-Chief
With Bolton gone, will Trump make a deal with Iran?
As national security advisor, he acted as a break on the president’s neo-isolationism. The future of diplomacy with North Korea, the Taliban and even Tehran now hangs in the balance.
Sep. 10, 2019
Jonathan S. Tobin
Linda Sarsour speaks at the Women Disobey protest against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) “zero tolerance” policy separation children and families at the Mexico border, June 28, 2018. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.
From the Editor-in-Chief
The ‘first Jewish’ president’s anti-Semitic surrogate
Bernie Sanders’s embrace of Linda Sarsour is disqualifying even for progressives who care about the rising tide of anti-Semitism disguised as anti-Zionism.
Sep. 9, 2019
Jonathan S. Tobin
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) speaking at the CNN town hall on climate change. Source: Screenshot.
From the Editor-in-Chief
Why people of faith should oppose Bernie Sanders on population growth
Supporting choice is one thing. Advocating abortion to control the number of humans born in the Third World is the racist theory of eugenics, not women’s rights.
Sep. 6, 2019
Jonathan S. Tobin
A member of the Israeli police and a Shin Bet Israeli security officer stand next to each other in a scene in HBO's "Our Boys." Credit: HBO.
From the Editor-in-Chief
What ‘Our Boys’ doesn’t want us to know
The problem with the HBO series about the summer of 2014 is not its subject matter, but its agenda of moral equivalence about a conflict whose story demands context.
Sep. 5, 2019
Jonathan S. Tobin
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani (right) and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. Source: Wikimedia Commons.
From the Editor-in-Chief
How far can the West go to entice Iran to talk?
Negotiations are Trump’s goal. Still, the threat of war against Hezbollah in Lebanon illustrates the high price of appeasing Tehran.
Sep. 4, 2019
Jonathan S. Tobin
Chassidic Jews in Brooklyn, N.Y. Photo by Mendy Hechtman/Flash90.
From the Editor-in-Chief
The true face of American anti-Semitism is primarily anti-Orthodox
The epidemic of attacks against Jews in Brooklyn, N.Y., is a crisis, but it’s an afterthought to groups interested in weaponizing the issue for partisan purposes.
Sep. 3, 2019
Jonathan S. Tobin
Illustration of the first American Labor parade held in New York City on Sept. 5, 1882, as it appeared in the Sept. 16, 1882 issue of “Frank Leslie's Weekly Illustrated Newspaper.” Source: “Frank Leslie's Weekly Illustrated Newspaper” via Wikimedia Commons.
From the Editor-in-Chief
What the Jewish left needs to understand about working people
The gap between those promoting left-wing causes and today’s American working class has never been greater.
Aug. 30, 2019
Jonathan S. Tobin
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