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
-
Bitter Feud Erupts Over Hungary’s Sweetest Wine
Hungarians take special pride in their Tokaji, a dessert wine made of grapes grown in the country’s northeast region. The nectar has even made it into Hungary’s national anthem. But for one family of Jewish Holocaust survivors from the Tokaji region, the revival of this sweet wine in modern Hungary carries bitter memories and growing…
-
Manny Waks Travels Around World To Confront His Alleged Abuser
Manny Waks stands on a street corner in Park Slope, Brooklyn. He drank so much the night before that he doesn’t remember what time he got back to his hotel room. His voice is hoarse and his eyes are hidden behind a pair of black sunglasses. Waks is not sure why he got so wasted,…
-
Remembering Fallen Jewish Soldiers as Memorial Day and Yizkor Coincide
Jews have a long history of U.S military service. Sephardic plantation-owner Francis Salvador became the first Jew to die in the American Revolutionary War when he fell fighting the Loyalists in South Carolina in 1776. Abraham Lincoln appointed Jacob Frankel as the first Jewish chaplain during the Civil War, to serve the growing number of…
The Latest
-
Barack Obama Says Israel Criticism Is Tough Love
Standing on the bimah and donning a white kippah on his head, Barack Obama passed his first synagogue appearance as president with flying colors. Obama chose a complex and subtle message for his Jewish American Heritage Month address at Adas Israel congregation, Washington’s prime Conservative synagogue, where many of the city’s Jewish government official, high…
-
Exotic Kosher Feast Sickens Some at Manhattan Synagogue
They came to the synagogue with empty bellies — and eclectic taste buds. For the hungry and adventurous, the program announced. On the menu: faux-butter poached brains with garbanzo beans; veal intestines, duck liver and kidneys, and goat testicles; slow-cooked ox tail in sherry wine mousseline; Mexican chipotle chocolate-covered locusts. All of this is perfectly…
-
Who the Jewish Billionaires Are Backing for 2016
A quick look at the list of top political donors for 2014 reveals a striking fact: At least a third of the most generous 50 mega-givers were Jewish. In fact, contributions from Jewish billionaires and multi-millionaires dominated the top 10 spots on the list. Striking, yet unsurprising. Political activists have known for years that members…
-
The Man Bitcoin Built – and Then Destroyed
This article is excerpted and adapted from “Digital Gold: Bitcoin and the Inside Story of the Misfits and Millionaires Trying to Reinvent Money” by Nathaniel Popper. Charlie Shrem sits in prison in central Pennsylvania, the cautionary face of the futuristic movement that developed around the virtual currency Bitcoin. This can seem a rather unlikely position…
-
JTS Puts Rare Gutenberg Bible on Block Amid Fiscal Woes
The Jewish Theological Seminary plans to sell a 1455 edition of the Book of Esther from a rare Gutenberg Bible at auction on June 19, the latest sign that the school is grappling with a long-running financial crisis. The eight Latin pages are expected to fetch between $500,000 and $700,000 at auction, said Richard Austin,…
-
Canada Jewry Takes a Sharp Turn to Right Republicans Can Only Dream About
Canada’s looming election is a contest about many things on the country’s agenda, but for the Canadian Jewish community, one aspect is leaping into sharp relief. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s fiercest supporter among world leaders, Stephen Harper, is facing off against Justin Trudeau, a liberal (and large-L Liberal) with a renowned family name and…
-
Steve Gutow Steps Down at JCPA
The head of the Jewish community’s grassroots umbrella organization on policy issues is stepping down after 10 years. Rabbi Steve Gutow, president and CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, announced his resignation effective December 31. JCPA’s top lay leader Susan Turnbull sent an email on Thursday to board members informing them of Gutow’s…
-
The 2 We Lost in the Philadelphia Amtrak Train Crash
The Amtrak train that hurtled off the tracks in Philadelphia left a trail of broken bodies and dreams. Among the dead are at least two Jews, both with inspiring stories. Justin Zemser, 20, was a midshipman at the Naval Academy heading back to his home in Queens, New York. Rachel Jacobs was a 39-year-old mom…
Most Popular
- 1
Culture I ranked the NYC mayoral candidates exclusively based on their bagel orders
- 2
News How Jewish can you be in a Boca country club? Wrapping tefillin got a family suspended, lawsuit says
- 3
Opinion Mike Huckabee’s stunning, terrifying new gift to the Israeli right
- 4
News An Alabama millionaire offered Jews $50,000 to move to his town. 16 years later, what’s left?
In Case You Missed It
-
Fast Forward As US appears increasingly likely to enter Iran conflict, tensions roil MAGA movement
-
Opinion My brother-in-law’s kibbutz weathered Oct. 7. Then came the Iranian missile strikes
-
Opinion I thought the Dyke March should be open to Zionists. So my fellow New York organizers kicked me out
-
Culture Why is Israel’s attack on Iran called ‘Rising Lion’ — and what does the Bible have to do with it?
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism