For 125 years, the Forward has delivered accurate, timely and nuanced news to American Jews. From breaking news to in-depth investigations, our reporting team covers the people, institutions and issues that define the many ways to be Jewish in the…
News
-
A Revived Interest in Death
Why are American Jews interested in washing dead bodies? For many, the work of the chevra kadisha, or Jewish burial society, takes some getting used to: A corpse is lovingly washed and tended to according to local custom and ancient ritual, dressed in linen shrouds and laid in the plainest of coffins. Rabbi Joel Soffin,…
-
Bush’s Odds in 2004 Depend on the Economy
At this moment, one of the hottest political questions is: Who will be the Democratic candidate for president? Right now, Howard Dean appears to be the frontrunner. But he is not necessarily the only candidate who could fare well in a contest with President Bush. Almost any one of the serious present aspirants has a…
-
Israel Fears Isolation, Sanctions Over Fence
WASHINGTON — Bracing for a ruling against its separation fence by the World Court — which could pave the way for South Africa-style international sanctions — Israel and its allies here are considering a campaign to discredit the court as a biased organ of the United Nations. The proposed campaign is highly controversial even among…
The Latest
-
CAMPAIGN CONFIDENTIAL
Kerry Question: Massachusetts Senator John Kerry, after jumping down Howard Dean’s throat last fall when Dean suggested that America should pursue an “evenhanded” policy in Middle East negotiations, used a similar phrase himself on the campaign trail in New Hampshire, according to a tape supplied by a rival campaign. Dean later apologized for using the…
-
Embattled Foundation Enlists Eizenstat
The Ford Foundation has hired a former Clinton administration official with strong ties to the Jewish community to help promote a new policy forbidding grant recipients from supporting terrorism or bigotry. The appointment of Stuart Eizenstat comes as key leaders in Congress say they will move forward to investigate the use of Ford funds and…
-
Lives –– and Legacies –– in Law
There is an age-old connection between Judaism and law. For centuries, rabbis and other Jewish scholars studied, re-studied and ceaselessly interpreted the Talmud, producing a vast corpus of juridical writing, which to many was the very heart of the Jewish religious tradition. Jews have always prized the scholarship of judges and lawyers in their own…
-
DER YIDDISH-VINKL January 9, 2004
Stanley Siegelman returns to Der Vinkl once again with his inimitable, irresistible, irrepressible sense of humor, penned in Yinglish poetry (a mix of Yiddish and English). His masterpiece this time is inspired by a recent news item from Rio de Janeiro. Gerald Thomas, the Jewish director of a performance of Richard Wagner’s opera “Tristan and…
-
Law as Social Action: A Life in Advocacy Recalling Five Jewish Justices
In 1945 Will Maslow set out to defend the lives of Jews across America with something no one had ever considered a weapon: a law degree. Until that point, the American Jewish community had attempted to fight antisemitism and prejudice largely through “brotherhood meetings” and other quiet strategies aimed at conciliating and persuading the Christian…
-
Pressured, Assad Offers Charm Campaign
TEL AVIV — Syrian President Bashar al-Assad continued his version of a peace offensive this week, publicly offering to give up weapons of mass destruction if Israel agreed to do the same, knowing in advance that it won’t. Israel’s Prime Minister Sharon replied in kind, sending a message to Assad that if the Syrian leader…
-
CALENDAR EVENTS
Arizona “Stories Untold: Jewish Pioneer Women, 1850-1910”: TREX: the Traveling Exhibitions Program of the Museum of New Mexico is circulating this exhibition, which features the work of Santa Fe artist Andrea Kalinowski and is composed of nine large works telling the stories of Jewish pioneer women as they made their way across the Great Plains…
-
Ethiopians Protest Immigration Delays
Israel’s absorption minister is under fire for reportedly speaking out in opposition to a Cabinet decision to immediately bring up to 20,000 Ethiopians of Jewish descent to Israel. Several Israeli media outlets have reported that the minister of immigrant absorption, Tzipi Livni, disparaged the idea of bringing the Falash Mura, descendents of Jews who converted…
Most Popular
- 1
Fast Forward After Minneapolis shooting, local Jewish service channels a city’s grief and resolve
- 2
Culture ‘The Pitt’ tackled the trauma of the Tree of Life attack. Here’s how survivors of the synagogue shooting reacted to the episode.
- 3
Holy Ground A Millennial rabbi built a synagogue where others have closed. Her maverick ideas are becoming a model.
- 4
News Why Josh Shapiro’s memoir could complicate a presidential run
In Case You Missed It
-
Yiddish פֿאָרווערטס פּאָדקאַסט, קאַפּיטל דרײַ: דער בית־עולםForverts podcast, episode three: The cemetery
הערט איין אַרטיקל וועגן פֿעלדמעסטן און אַ צווייטן וועגן די פֿאַרשידענע ווערטער פֿאַר „בית־עולם“
-
Letters Actually, many Mizrahi and Sephardi Jews support Mamdani
-
Fast Forward TikTok deal fuels rise of UpScrolled, whose founder conceived it as a haven for Palestinian activism
-
Opinion In Bruce Springsteen’s new anti-ICE protest song, a nod to Minnesota’s own Bob Dylan
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism