Philip Roth and Judy Blume were born five years apart in the 1930s. Both grew up in New Jersey, in the crucible of Jewish American suburban assimilation. Both were haunted by the Holocaust, news of which trickled stateside just as they were nearing adulthood. And both are literary icons.

But they’re icons of different kinds.

We see Roth as a giant of American Jewish literature, and Blume as a giant of American children’s literature. Within that distinction is a kind of tacit hierarchy. Roth was perceived as a writer for serious adults with serious concerns; Blume, as a writer for girls with girlish concerns. When Roth wrote about diaphragms (see Goodbye, Columbus) it was a bracing examination of shifting sexual mores at an inflection point in American culture. When Blume did, in Forever, it was sex education with a narrative twist.

I’ve been reading Mark Oppenheimer’s new biography Judy Blume: A Life, and thinking a lot about that hierarchy. I’ve read and loved a decent amount of Philip Roth, and a lot of Judy Blume. (I’ve written about both of them for this publication.) But I have a stronger relationship with her work than with his. One measure of a great novel is the dimensionality with which a reader experiences it. Do you see the characters as you read, smell their surroundings, hear their music? With Blume, my answer is always “yes.” With Roth, it’s “sometimes.”

So why have I, like many others, tended to think of Roth as an Important Writer, and Blume as merely an important writer to me?

This is a classic conundrum when it comes to children’s literature. As Alison Lurie wrote in her Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Foreign Affairs — which I am, by coincidence, also reading right now — children’s literature is the “stepdaughter grudgingly tolerated” in any English department. We must read extensively to grow up well, but there is a sense that anyone who stays overly attached to the things they read in those early years has somehow gone developmentally awry.

The book that has most influenced me is almost certainly Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery, but for much of my adult life, I would never have named it if a stranger asked me about my favorite novel. Not just because doing so would have seemed like a bit of a faux pas — what if that stranger thought I was childish, rather than merely open to the joys of childlike wonder? — but because it felt private. Like the part of me that loves that red-headed orphan beyond measure was too personal to share.

Roth and Blume both made careers out of writing about things that felt too personal to share. Both were taboo breakers, who experienced the vicious backlash that can accompany such transgression.

But Blume broke taboos in what might be seen as safer ways. Roth engaged with the unspeakable; she attacked the impolite. By being open about the stranger parts of girlhood — the bleeding, the sexual experimentation, the friendships that collapse in ways neither party really understands — her work made it feel a little safer to be a girl. The intimate things could now be intimate, but shared.

A tragic literary paradox is that women writers often need to win male readers to be taken seriously. Once they’re known as a writer who women like, the spectre of “chick lit” attaches itself to their work, a phenomenon that predates the development of that label by centuries. Aphra Behn, one of the first professional women writers, broke boundaries in the 17th century only to be dismissed by the 18th as a lightweight who was too open about sex. I once spent a six hour drive from Chicago to St. Louis fighting with my progressive-minded college boyfriend about his reluctance to read Jane Austen. The fight wasn’t really about him; Persuasion was never going to be quite his style. It was about my sense that the things I liked lost respect in some vaguely defined public eye because people like me liked them.

On a certain literary level, it’s strange to argue that Judy Blume should be considered as great an American Jewish literary master as Philip Roth. Her sentences are simpler. So are her themes. Her approach to great American issues, like race, can be hamhanded. (To be fair, Roth’s could, too.)

But on another level, I think it’s not just reasonable but right to define great literature in part by its impact. Books are meant to deepen our connection to the world. They are meant to brighten our experience of life. They are meant to help us understand ourselves and our neighbors. Few American authors have done either of those things more powerfully, or for more people, than Judy Blume.

The release of Oppenheimer’s book has been clouded by the mystery of why Blume fell out with the author after reviewing his first draft. As a reader, I understand: Nothing is more enticing than a mystery. But I find it, frankly, sad that the first in-depth accounting of how Blume came to be a writer of such impact has been clouded by the desire for an accounting of what mysterious rifts opened between her and her biographer.

By 1964, Oppenheimer writes, Blume’s “specific milieu of suburban Jewish middle-class ease was nationally recognizable,” thanks to Roth’s work. When Blume had not yet started to write, Roth had produced a “shorthand for a kind of tacky, nouveau riche suburban Jewish experience.”

But he had done so for only a select portion of that populace: the young man on the come-up, the wealthy, bored girl trying to throw off her parents’ values without breaking herself off from their comfortable lifestyle.

The unspoken others in that vision — the basically good mothers, the mostly obedient daughters — needed their own chance to be recognizable, too. They were just as interesting, only, perhaps, in quieter ways. The literature of American Jewish life isn’t just more complete because Blume gave them voices. It’s better, too.

The post We need to talk about New Jersey’s Jewish master of literature. No, not that one appeared first on The Forward.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference, amid the US-Israel conflict with Iran, in Jerusalem, March 19, 2026. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun/Pool

Israel continued its efforts to kill key Iranian officials and destabilize the regime on Friday, one day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised what he described as the military’s unprecedented achievements three weeks into the war.

The Israeli military said on Friday it killed Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) spokesperson Ali Mohammad Naini in an overnight airstrike against regime targets across the Iranian capital of Tehran.

“Naini disseminated the regime’s terrorist propaganda to its proxies across the Middle East,” the military said, describing him as a central figure in messaging tied to attacks against Israel.

Kasra Aarabi, director of IRGC research at United Against Nuclear Iran, described Naini’s death as “a significant blow to the regime’s psychological warfare and propaganda operations — an increasingly central pillar of the IRGC’s current war strategy.”

Iranian state media had reported his death earlier in the day.

The Israeli military also announced on Friday that, two days ago, it killed a key, senior commander in Iran’s intelligence ministry, Mahdi Rostami Shamastan, in an airstrike in Tehran following a joint operation involving Israel’s Military Intelligence, Mossad, and Shin Bet.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) also said on Friday that it killed the Basij militia’s intelligence chief, Esmail Ahmadi, in a strike in central Tehran.

ELIMINATED: Esmail Ahmadi, Head of the Intelligence Division of the Basij Force, as well as several other senior commanders in a strike on the senior leadership of the Basij Force in the heart of Tehran.

Ahmadi played a central role in advancing and executing terror attacks… pic.twitter.com/M9mwVmlvH7

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) March 20, 2026

The Iranian regime uses the Basij paramilitary force, which is affiliated with the IRGC, to violently suppress protests and crush political opposition across the country.

“Ahmadi played a central role in advancing and executing terror attacks carried out by Basij Forces,” the IDF posted on social media. “He was also responsible for enforcing public order and the regime’s values on behalf of the IRGC and leading major suppression operations during the recent internal protests in Iran.”

Ahmadi was killed earlier this week in the strikes that targeted and successfully eliminated other senior Basij militia members, including top commander Gholam Reza Soleimani and his deputy, Seyyed Karishi.

The IDF’s announcements came after Netanyahu on Thursday vowed the campaign against Iran will continue “as long as necessary” until all objectives are met.

Speaking at a press conference, Netanyahu reiterated the war’s three main objectives, emphasizing the dismantling of Iran’s nuclear program, the destruction of its ballistic missile capabilities, and the creation of conditions for the Iranian people to determine their own future.

“Today, after 20 days [of conflict], I can tell you: Iran does not have the ability to enrich uranium … and it does not have the ability to produce ballistic missiles,” the Israeli leader said. “Not only did we destroy the existing missiles [and nuclear components], but we seriously damaged the industries that make it possible to produce them.”

He also stressed that Israel is operating on all fronts — by air, on land, underground, and across the Caspian Sea — where, this week, Israeli forces launched their first attack on Iranian Navy targets since the outbreak of the war.

“A revolution cannot be made from the air; there are also ground-based options,” Netanyahu said.

“We have eliminated the political and military top command, the [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] and the Basij,” he continued.

On Tuesday night, the IDF killed Iranian Intelligence Minister Ismail Khatib in Tehran during a precision airstrike carried out with a narrow window of real-time intelligence.

Appointed in 2021, Khatib led Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence, a central pillar of the regime’s repression apparatus, overseeing espionage, covert operations, and intelligence activities targeting both domestic dissent and foreign adversaries, including Israeli and US targets.

He also played a central role during the regime’s brutal crackdown on internal opposition, including the latest nationwide anti-government protests, which security forces violently crushed, with thousands of demonstrators tortured and killed.

Khatib’s assassination was part of an ongoing wave of targeted killings of senior Iranian officials in recent days, further weakening the regime’s leadership and operational networks.

During Thursday’s press conference, Netanyahu praised Israel’s recent military and strategic successes, presenting them as a defining moment for the country’s strength and influence in the region.

“I promised that we would change the Middle East — and we have changed it beyond recognition. The State of Israel is stronger than ever and Iran is weaker than ever,” he said.

“We have turned Israel into a regional power, and some would say … into a global power,” he continued. “The relationship between me and my friend [US President Donald Trump] is unprecedented, and together we are leading the fight of the free world against the forces of evil.”

Earlier this week, the Israeli Air Force also killed Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s National Security Council, in what was the most significant assassination since the killing of former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at the start of the campaign on Feb. 28. Larijani was widely believed to be running the country following Khamenei’s death.

With the military campaign escalating, Israeli forces have now been authorized to carry out targeted assassinations of senior Iranian officials without requiring approval from higher command.

Netanyahu also said he had instructed intelligence officers to “act so that the Revolutionary Guards’ killers know we will hunt them down in the cities as well.”

“It’s too early to say whether the Iranian people will take advantage of the conditions we are creating to take to the streets,” the Israeli leader said. “I hope so — but it will depend only on them.”

“I see this war ending much faster than people think,” he continued. The Islamist regime’s collapse “will not happen in one day, but we can already see the cracks.”

According to a recent intelligence assessment, the Iranian regime shows no signs of surrender and remains far from collapse, and Israeli officials have been warned that the war could continue for weeks, the Israeli news outlet N12 reported.

Even though there have been demonstrations in Iran in recent days, this latest assessment shows that they have been limited to a few locations with relatively small numbers of participants, and that the regime’s brutal repression continues to instill fear.

However, a senior Israeli source also told the outlet that the regime is in a state of “complete chaos,” with Jerusalem seeing increasing signs of a breakdown in the regime’s systems in Tehran.

“There is no one there at the moment who is taking the orders, and the government vacuum is deepening,” the official said, adding that Israel is “working to create a breaking point” for the regime.

“The goal is for the Iranian public to understand for itself, through the reality on the ground, that this regime has reached a ‘game over.’ We want to create the conditions in which the Iranian people feel they have an opportunity to take their fate into their own hands and take to the streets,” the source reportedly said.

Israel’s campaign is increasingly focused on dismantling Iran’s internal repression systems, aiming to create a leadership vacuum and logistical breakdown that could hinder the regime’s ability to respond if mass protests erupt again.

Israeli forces have carried out targeted strikes on senior Basij and IRGC officers, destroyed infrastructure used to suppress protests, and launched cyber operations to disrupt internal security communications and coordination, crippling the regime’s ability to redeploy its forces effectively.

So far, Israel says it has dropped some 10,000 munitions on targets linked to the IRGC, Basij, and other internal security forces, delivering a devastating blow to the regime’s security apparatus.

Late Tuesday night into Wednesday morning alone, around 300 Basij commanders and field officials were killed in a wave of strikes on key command and operational centers, according to Iran International.

During Thursday’s press conference, Netanyahu expressed pride in the Israeli people for their steadfast stand, praising their resilience and unity in the face of ongoing conflict.

“I know how difficult it is to stay in the security rooms and showers, and I understand the challenges with studies, businesses, and reservist duties. Your patience gives us the strength to keep fighting until we achieve the campaign’s objectives,” he said. 

“Continue to stand tall, continue to stand with us, and with God’s help, together, we will stand and together we will win.”

An Israeli flag waves as Israeli Air Force planes fly in formation over the Mediterranean Sea during an aerial show on Israel’s 74th Independence Day on May 5, 2022. Photo: Reuters/Amir Cohen

Israel held on to its spot in the world’s 10 happiest countries, placing eighth in the World Happiness Report published Thursday, even as the country continues to grapple with war, instability, and trauma.

A key takeaway from this year’s data is the performance of younger Israelis. Those under 25 stand out not just domestically but globally, placing third worldwide and emerging as the most content group in the country. That contrasts sharply with peer countries, where younger cohorts are faring far worse. In the US, for example, they sit at 60th.

Across Israel’s population more broadly, other age groups also post strong results, averaging around 11th place.

In the overall country rankings, Finland secured the top spot once again, marking nine consecutive years in first place. The US ranked 23rd, while the UK and France came in at 29th and 35th, respectively.

The UN-backed World Happiness Report tracks how people rate their lives overall, not how they feel in a given moment, so extreme turmoil such as war may not be accurately reflected. Its scores draw on a three-year average and factors such as income, health, social support, and generosity, which can mute the immediate effect of shocks such as war.

The report’s emotional data is less reassuring. Measures of worry, sadness, and anger show Israel climbing from 119th before the war to 39th, while trust in public institutions has kept weakening. On perceived corruption, Israel now ranks 107th.

One of Israel’s leading demographers, Sergio DellaPergola of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, also noted the findings should be read with some caution because they reflect an average from 2023 through 2025, rather than a snapshot of current conditions. Still, he said, that period itself was marked by “war, disturbances, and great sorrow,” making Israel’s high ranking “quite extraordinary.”

“We see many countries in the West much more developed economically than Israel with much lower rates of optimism,” he told The Algemeiner. “The explanation must come not so much from the contingencies of the situation, but from deeper social forces that exist in Israeli society.”

DellaPergola pointed to what he described as a deeply rooted culture of solidarity. “The feeling of togetherness is what keeps morale high,” he said. “We are all on the same boat. We have first of all to survive, but also we have to win.”

He described how that dynamic plays out in daily life under fire. “You rush to the shelter, and the atmosphere is paradoxically happy,” he said. “People circulate jokes, encouragement, funny comments.” In his own building, he added, “there is a sense of mutual help, like an extended family.”

“This is one of the secrets of the extraordinary resilience of the Israelis under these deplorable and very sad circumstances,” DellaPergola said. 

That cohesion, he said, is reinforced by demographic patterns that distinguish Israel from much of the West. “The nuclear family has kept a role which has been lost quite completely in Western Europe,” he said. “There is still a belief that there is a future for your children.”

Even within Israel’s relatively strong showing, DellaPergola noted important internal differences. “Paradoxically, perhaps the most optimistic are also the most religious,” he said, pointing to surveys showing a clear link between religiosity and optimism despite lower average income levels. “Among the younger, the proportion of religious [people] is higher, and so the level of optimism increases.”

“Whatever it is,” he added, “Israel remains, even under pressure, a very exceptional case.”

Anat Fanti, a happiness policy researcher at Bar-Ilan University, said the results should not be read as evidence that the war has had limited impact. 

“Israel’s result in this year’s World Happiness Report does not erase the psychological and social cost of the war,” she said. “On the contrary, it highlights the gap between the resilience of Israeli society and the difficult emotional reality of daily life.”

“The fact that Israel is still ranked 8th in the world, and that young Israelis in particular are ranked 3rd, points to the strengths of Israel’s population in comparison to other countries,” she added. “At the same time, the rise in worry, sadness, and anger, together with the erosion of public trust, makes clear that resilience is not immunity.”