Jeff Jacoby
I'm a husband, a father, a Jew, a reader, a writer, a politically homeless conservative, and a longtime columnist at The Boston Globe.
Reach me at bostonglobe.com/about/staff-list/co…
- The #MassExodus continues: The latest Census Bureau data show that in 2025, Massachusetts suffered a net loss of more than 33,000 residents to other states. When will policymakers reckon with why so many residents and businesses keep leaving? My new column: www.bostonglobe.com/2026/02/04/o...
- Five years ago today, my father, Mark Jacoby, died of Covid in a Tel Aviv hospital. Kind, honest, humble, and faithful, he was "like a tree planted by streams of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season." This was my tribute to my dad: jeffjacoby.com/25088/mark-j...
- The Nazi architect who designed Auschwitz’s facilities for incinerating Jews on an industrial scale went into private practice after the war. He designed churches and received a papal honor — but never paid for his crimes. My column in today's Boston Globe. www.bostonglobe.com/2026/01/25/o...
- Rumeysa Öztürk may not be pro-Israel, but there's no shred of evidence that she ever posed a danger to American Jews. You know what does endanger Jews? A government that tramples the rule of law and ruthlessly persecutes people for expressing an opinion. www.nationalreview.com/news/dhs-fou...
- Around the corner from my home is a house where fugitive slaves were sheltered in the 1850s. Everyone involved was a lawbreaker—and a moral champion. That tradition of righteous defiance began 3,300 years ago when two humble midwives disobeyed an immoral order. www.bostonglobe.com/2026/01/15/o...
- Texas operates on the premise that if a metro area is growing, its transportation infrastructure must grow with it. Massachusetts does the opposite. The results are what you'd expect. I wrote about the contrast in my Arguable newsletter after a trip to Dallas. www.bostonglobe.com/2025/12/30/o...
- On Christmas in 1776, with the Continental Army at its lowest ebb, George Washington launched a last-ditch effort to keep the American Revolution alive. He ordered his exhausted troops across an ice-choked river — and what happened next changed everything. www.bostonglobe.com/2025/12/24/o...
- What would Jesus say if he knew that Christians can walk freely into church — while Jews, even in America, need an armed guard to be safe in a synagogue? And what would Jesus say if he knew that most Christians see this, yet say nothing? www.bostonglobe.com/2025/12/23/o...
- Bless Mr. Ahmed for his heroism and his humanity. And bless him for reminding all of us that *radical* Islam — not Islam itself — is the deadly menace that must be defeated.
- Mark Twain was a Republican, but when the GOP nominated a candidate notorious for his "utter lack of principle," he rebelled. Like "Never Trump" conservatives today, Twain valued character above all in political leaders. From my latest #Arguable newsletter: www.bostonglobe.com/2025/12/09/o...
- Viewed through the lens of law, the case for #BirthrightCitizenship is powerful. Through the lens of practicality, it is stronger still. But seen through the lens of American identity, the case is strongest of all. I write about all three in my new column. www.bostonglobe.com/2025/12/10/o...
- Ukraine would be forced to capitulate. Russia's aggression would be legitimized and rewarded. NATO would be put on a leash. As I write in a Boston Globe column today, the “peace” plan the Trump administration is pushing is shameful — a Munich for our time. www.bostonglobe.com/2025/12/03/o...
- On this and every #Thanksgiving, I am grateful for the 80th Infantry Division of the US Army which on 6 May 1945 liberated the Nazi death camp at #Ebensee in Austria, thereby saving the life of the teenager who would later become my father. encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/a...
- O. Henry’s classic short story, “Two Thanksgiving Day Gentlemen,” starts out as an anecdote about holiday charity — and ends in the hospital. As I write in a new Boston Globe column, the story it tells is ridiculous, heartbreaking — and strangely beautiful. www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/26/o...
- For too long, the MAGA right has tolerated the rise of Jew-hatred within its ranks. But last week, something encouraging happened: A chorus of leading conservatives said 'Enough'. Here's my column in today's Boston Globe. www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/09/o...
- The death of Dick Cheney was greeted with gleeful "rest in hell" messages from critics. But they won't get the last word. As I write in my Boston Globe column today, Cheney was a statesman and a patriot of deep conviction and seriousness. May he rest in peace. www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/04/o...
- I don’t begrudge anyone their shivery fun. But when did #Halloween decorations become so grisly? How did corpses in agony and dismembered skeletons become appropriate lawn displays? What kind of society finds scenes of violent death so amusing? My latest: www.bostonglobe.com/2025/10/28/o...
- Doctors revise mistaken diagnoses. Engineers correct blueprints that won’t hold. By the same token, as I write today in a new column, Supreme Court justices have always overturned precedents that were wrongly reasoned or inconsistent with the Constitution. www.bostonglobe.com/2025/10/26/o...
- Under Biden & Trump, the pardon power has degenerated into a partisan weapon. It is almost always used not to promote justice or healing, but to shield allies and settle scores. As I write in a new column, presidential clemency today does more harm than good. www.bostonglobe.com/2025/10/22/o...
- Republicans once mocked the vanity of self-adoring politicians like Barack Obama. But under Donald Trump, the GOP embraces what it used to condemn. So Team MAGA is sure to cheer this latest travesty — a $1 coin with the president’s face on both sides. My latest: www.bostonglobe.com/2025/10/19/o...
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- #YomKippur is here. Ahead lies a day of fasting, prayer, and repentance. We all have wrongdoing to atone for — above all, perhaps, for the terribly destructive sins we commit with words. May we deserve forgiveness, and be kinder next year. גְּמַר חֲתִימָה טוֹבָה www.bostonglobe.com/2021/09/15/o...
- Erika Kirk was widely praised for declaring that she "forgives" her husband's murderer. But as a Jew heading into #YomKippur, I found her words deeply troubling. 𝘕𝘰 𝘰𝘯𝘦 has the right to forgive someone else’s killing—not even his widow. My new essay explains why: www.bostonglobe.com/2025/09/30/o...
- There's no end to the ways the Trump administration finds to be odious. First it insisted names linked to Confederate traitors be restored to US military bases. Yet now it insists exhibits about slavery must be 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 from national historic sites. Shameful. www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...
- The Trump administration is deporting Russian dissidents back to Putin’s control. Russian defectors who escaped to avoid the war in Ukraine were rounded up and turned over to Moscow — together w/ details of their opposition. A truly shocking betrayal. My latest: www.bostonglobe.com/2025/09/14/o...
- It's not a mistake; it's a deliberate deception. The term 𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘦 was coined specifically to mean hatred of Jews. In case anyone does imagine in all sincerity that "antisemitism" includes hostility to Arabs, there is an easy way to check: Just look the word up in a dictionary.
- Reposted by Jeff JacobyThe online ghouls who are celebrating and/or justifying the shooting of Charlie Kirk have no idea how much damage they are doing…
- Most politicians treat scandal as a speed bump. For some it's a badge of honor. A rare few treat it as a turning point. As I write in my Boston Globe column today, the most uncommon kind of political comeback is remorse, humility, change — what Jews call teshuvah. www.bostonglobe.com/2025/09/10/o...
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- OTD in 2008, Barack Obama became the 1st black American nominated for the US presidency by a major party. His GOP opponent, John McCain, released a video to mark the occasion and congratulate Obama. "Truly a good day for America," he said. What a class act he was. www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4KI...
- Unlike Sen. Ed Markey, who refuses to retire from Congress even though he's 80, Tip O'Neill had no qualms about stepping down when it was time. How long will voters keep reelecting geriatric lawmakers long past their sell-by date? My new @bostonglobe.com column: www.bostonglobe.com/2025/08/24/o...
- Trump Derangement Syndrome? Look in the mirror, MAGA. www.bostonglobe.com/2025/08/17/o...
- The Toronto International Film Festival is refusing to show a documentary about the Oct. 7 Hamas massacre on the morally insane grounds that the terrorists didn't give filmmakers permission to use the video they took as they committed their atrocities. www.timesofisrael.com/toronto-film...
- Exactly 20 years ago, Israel destroyed 21 Jewish communities in Gaza, evicted 9,000 residents, and handed the whole territory to the Palestinians. Israelis believed their withdrawal would pave the way to peace. It paved the way to the horror of Oct. 7. My latest: www.bostonglobe.com/2025/08/12/o...
- Born 100 years ago today. Survived Auschwitz. Immigrated to America. Married and raised a family. Built a life of hard work, humility, and faith. Earned a reputation for integrity and gentleness. Mark Jacoby, my father, my teacher. His memory remains an enduring blessing.
- My son was making minimum wage when an activist urged him to sign a petition to 𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙨𝙚 the minimum wage. He declined — and he was right. Time after time, when lawmakers hike the minimum wage, vulnerable workers lose their jobs. My latest for @bostonglobe.com: www.bostonglobe.com/2025/08/05/o...
- To ensure that Jews can live in safety is not only to defend a targeted minority, but to uphold the ideals that made America a light among nations. The US has been blessed because it blessed its Jews. May it never learn what happens if it stops doing so. #TishaBAv www.bostonglobe.com/2025/07/29/o...
- The scientific marvels of my lifetime — computers, the internet, mapping the genome, heart transplants — are wondrous. But for me, nothing can ever match the audacity of July 20, 1969, when Americans walked on the Moon. The memory still gives me chills. www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzAp...
- Actually, the only people who say "it takes a village to raise a child" are left-wingers, who are perfectly fine with a welfare state that never stops metastasizing.
- One-fourth of Americans regards violent attacks on Jews as "understandable." And most of the other three-fourths couldn't care less. This country is not the safe haven it used to be. Not for Jews, anyway. www.jta.org/2025/07/11/u...
- This would be more persuasive if it included even one example of Trump cracking down on right-wing antisemitism. But the only Jew-hatred the WH opposes is the kind found among leftist elites. Which suggests that antisemitism isn't Trump's target; it's his pretext. www.commentary.org/articles/tal...
- I love this country. I'm grateful I was born and raised here. I rejoice in all the ways America has made the world better. But am I "proud to be an American?" That question makes no sense, as I write this week in my Arguable newsletter. www.bostonglobe.com/2025/07/08/o...
- Reposted by Jeff JacobyFormer commander in NYPD's 6th Precinct: "The federal government should prohibit the wearing of masks by ICE agents and require them to properly identify themselves." (& thanks for mention) [Brandon del Pozo, The Atlantic]
- It has always been in our national interest to welcome peaceful and grateful foreigners. Bigoted nativists have always recoiled from the prospect of letting too many immigrants in. Clear-eyed patriots know the real danger is in keeping too many of them out. www.bostonglobe.com/2025/07/06/o...
- When Israel-haters like Zohran Mamdani refuse to repudiate slogans like "globalize the intifada," this is what they are endorsing: arson, violence, and the attempted murder of Jews anywhere in the world.
- New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani’s proposed supermarket socialism — government should own grocery stores! — is an idea with a long record of failure. Just ask anyone who grew up behind the Iron Curtain or in Cuba. Here's my new Boston Globe column. www.bostonglobe.com/2025/07/02/o...
- Sometimes the most meaningful prayer is not that the weapons should be silenced but that the righteous should be granted the strength to endure the fight. In a new @globeopinion.bsky.social column, I respond to Pope Leo's claim that "war does not solve problems." www.bostonglobe.com/2025/06/25/o...
- "It isn’t only Israel that has an overwhelming justification to act against Iran," I write in a new Boston Globe column today. "The United States does, too." The vicious and violent Islamists who rule Iran hate America as much as they hate the Jewish state. www.bostonglobe.com/2025/06/18/o...
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- "Napalm Girl" is among the most harrowing images of the Vietnam War. But its impact on events and public opinion was almost nonexistent. My new column for is about the famous "Napalm Girl" picture, and the mythology that has grown up around it. www.bostonglobe.com/2025/05/28/o...
