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
-
U.N. Report Shoots Down Israel’s Exoneration of Troops in Gaza Beach Killings
One of the little-noticed findings of the United Nations commission on possible Gaza war crimes is the panel’s strong criticism of Israel’s move to close the books on its military’s killing of four Palestinian boys on a Gaza City beach. The Independent Commission of Inquiry’s comments on the episode — one of the most widely…
-
Why We Can Walk Without Fear in Prague
He’s the most visible Jew in Prague. And yet, Rabbi Manis Barash, a bearded, black-hatted Hasid who’s been the Chabad rabbi here for 20 years, has never experienced an anti-Semitic incident. By contrast, his Chabad colleague, Rabbi Shneur Kesselman, the most visible Jew in Malmo, Sweden, has been called the most persecuted Jew in Europe….
-
Jewish Groups (Mostly) Celebrate SCOTUS Gay Marriage Decision
(JTA) — How often do you get the opportunity to pack “109 years,” #LoveWins and the rainbow colors into 140 characters? That’s how the American Jewish Committee celebrated the Supreme Court ruling Friday extending marriage rights to gays throughout the United States. “For 109 years AJC has stood for liberty and human rights,” its tweet said….
The Latest
-
$20M Charity Embezzlement Case Shows Power of Rabbinic Courts
In late December 2013, a prominent Brooklyn rabbi made an eye-popping ruling in his rabbinic court: The former chief financial officer of an Orthodox charity called Aish Hatorah New York owed the charity $20 million that he had allegedly stolen. That startling sum amounted to roughly three times the charity’s annual budget, or more than…
-
Jury Decides Against JONAH in Landmark ‘Gay Conversion’ Therapy Case
A jury decided against a Jewish group that promotes so-called ‘gay conversion therapy’ in a landmark fraud case that could have a wide-ranging impact on the controversial anti-gay practice. In a first-of-its-kind decision, the jury awarded $72,000 to several mostly Jewish victims who said Jews Offering New Alternatives for Healing and co-founder Arthur Goldberg made…
-
That Time Jellyfish Swarmed an Israeli Power Plant
A swarm of giant jellyfish arrived at the Rutenberg power plant in Ashkelon Wednesday, which however was prepared with filters to keep the slimy sea creatures out of its cooling systems. The plant constantly cleared the filters from the animals, to keep the cooling systems and plant running. “Our coal-fired power stations are located by…
-
Jewish Groups Lead Push To Crack Open Doors to Syria Refugees
Of the four million Syrians who have fled their war-torn country in recent years, at least 135,000 of them require immediate resettlement. But America has absorbed fewer than 1,000. For Jewish activists pushing the government to shift gears, that feeble number and the accompanying bottleneck in resettlement of Syrian refugees are troubling reminders of their…
-
Landmark JONAH ‘Gay Conversion’ Therapy Case Goes to Jury
Jurors began deliberations Wednesday afternoon on whether gay conversion therapy constitutes fraud. The verdict comes after the close of a three-week trial that has drawn national attention to so-called “ex-gay” or “gay conversion” therapy, which aims to turn gay people straight using some highly controversial techniques. Although gay-to-straight conversion therapy was most prevalent in evangelical…
-
U.N. Judge Warns Israel It Crossed Line by Bombing Gaza Civilians
Mary McGowan Davis, the American judge who led the independent United Nations probe into the events of last summer’s war in Gaza, said the main message committee members wanted to transmit is that Israel must reexamine its policy of using its military might against civilians, because it led to unprecedented destruction in Gaza and to…
-
Could Russ Feingold Lead Democrats Back to Senate Win?
Democrats, who are looking to take back control of the Senate in 2016, have focused on a state that might seem implausible at first glance as a litmus test for their goal: Wisconsin. But the state that elected archconservative Scott Walker as governor in 2010, re-elected him in 2014 and decisively rejected a grassroots effort…
-
America’s Oldest Synagogue Wrestles With Court Battle and Its Own Decline
Rabbi Marc Mandel’s voice filled Touro Synagogue one recent Saturday morning, drifting past the wooden columns that line the basilica and rising toward the women’s gallery, just as the voices of baalei tefillah, or prayer leaders, did 250 years ago. Tourists stream through this, the oldest synagogue in America, five days a week. But it…
Explore
Most Popular
- 1
Fast Forward Unarmed man who tackled Bondi Beach Hanukkah attacker identified as Ahmed al-Ahmed
- 2
Fast Forward First Puka Nacua, now Mookie Betts: Why do sports stars keep getting antisemitic around a Jewish streamer?
- 3
Fast Forward After MIT professor’s killing, Jewish influencers spread unverified antisemitism claim
- 4
Opinion I grew up believing Australia was the best place to be Jewish. This Hanukkah shooting forces a reckoning I do not want.
In Case You Missed It
-
Fast Forward Holocaust survivor event features a Rob Reiner video address — recorded just weeks before his death
-
Fast Forward In Reykjavik, Hanukkah offers a chance for Iceland’s tiny, isolated Jewish community to come together
-
Opinion When my children decorate for Hanukkah, I don’t just see pride. I see pluralism in action.
-
Fast Forward ‘The most Australian name’: Matilda, the youngest victim of the Bondi Beach attack, embodies a nation’s grief
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
