Careful readers of the Forward will notice something different about the second page of this newspaper. What had been our “Shmooze” page, filled with fun, gossipy tidbits of popular culture, has now become a section devoted to the best of our many blogs on www.forward.com. This is more than a design change. It’s another step…
“Don’t ask, don’t tell,” the controversial Clinton-era policy of not allowing gays and lesbians to openly serve in the military, is nearing its end, at least according to White House spokesman Robert Gibbs. The administration, he said, is committed to changing the policy and the only question is how the repeal of will DADT come…
Bathers on a northern Israel beach witnessed a strange spectacle in late September, when a group of Orthodox Jews arrived, discussed a number of talmudic passages, and waded into the water, wearing snorkels, to unravel a biblical mystery. As well as demanding that “the Children of Israel make tzitzit on the corners of their garments,”…
In mid-September, for the first time, I spent several nights away from my daughter, Orli. She is now 20 months, and I’ve barely spent a night away from her, let alone three. The time away got easier as it went on; leaving was the most difficult part. We spoke every night by phone; one evening,…
Pushing to the Finish Line: Today, the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee was supposed to add 10 more races to its “Essential Races” list, but instead, plans to add 15, including state senate races in New York and Pennsylvania. With over 6,000 state legislative races across the country — many of which rarely receive attention or…
The American Jewish Committee’s survey of Jewish opinion published yesterday is widely considered the best resource out there for actually gauging the mood of Jewish voters. AJC surveys are non-partisan and, some critics (including Forward columnist and former editor J.J. Goldberg) notwithstanding, have a good reputation throughout the years of providing a fair portrayal of…
These Days, Is Anything Safe?: With three weeks left to this campaign season, it’s looking like seats considered safe by Democrats are getting risky: “As Republicans made new investments in at least 10 races across the country, including two Democratic seats here in eastern Ohio, Democratic leaders took steps to pull out of some races…
Dressed to … Distress: The Atlantic found photographs of Ohio Republican house candidate Rich Iott in Nazi Uniform. His campaign maintains his affiliation is purely historical — it was for a group that reenacts SS battles — but experts disagree. Either way, not a great calling card for Jewish voters. (BBC) Republican Jewish Push: Speaking…
A new debate looms over what to call Orthodox Jewish women trained in rabbinic texts and serving the Jewish community as religious leaders. And the ‘R’ word has once again reared its disruptive head. Yeshivat Maharat, the institution that is training women to work as Orthodox religious leaders, has formed its first advisory board and…
This could be the biggest single injection of Jewish organizational money into the mid-term campaign so far. The Republican Jewish Coalition announced today that it was putting $1 million into eight congressional races, in attempt to promote Republican candidates. The money will go for TV and newspaper ads, mainly those attacking Democratic rivals in key…
POTUS, Hammering Away: While on the campaign trail, Barack Obama chided the GOP’s private donations, suggesting that some of the cash came from abroad. “Groups that receive foreign money are spending huge sums to influence American elections, and they won’t tell you where the money for their ads come from,” he said. (The New York…
