The Knesset’s recent vote outlawing any advocacy of a boycott of Israel or the occupied territories and Jewish settlements under its control is seen by some as a mortal threat to democracy. But there are others who see the law in more concrete terms: as a threat to themselves. The Law to Prevent Harm to…
It was September 1960, with hometown hero Richard Nixon running neck and neck with John F. Kennedy in the final stretch of the race for the White House, when a handful of Jewish families in Whittier, Calif., a small city 12 miles southeast of Los Angeles, decided to reinvent themselves as Jews. They formed a…
My husband, Martin, and I have been married for 31 years, so it’s not as if there hasn’t been time to consider an end-of-life strategy. We could have resolved the issue while driving to Costco, except it’s a conversation Martin was determined to avoid. That we had no Exit Plan was less troubling when our…
Host Josh Nathan-Kazis is joined by Forward editor Jane Eisner and opinion editor Gal Beckerman to discuss the political implications of a bill passed by the Knesset imposing harsh punishments on anyone engaged in boycotting Israeli goods or institutions. Josh then talks with Forward reporter Naomi Zeveloff about the contenders for the New York congressional…
One of Rabbi Shmuel Goldin’s prime goals as the new head of Modern Orthodoxy’s largest rabbinic association is, on its face, exceedingly modest: Goldin, who became president of the Rabbinical Council of America in June, hopes to keep the 76-year-old organization from breaking apart. “I do see the extremes becoming more extreme,” Goldin said in…
The life and legacy of pioneering feminist E.M. Broner, the controversy surrounding a San Francisco ballot measure that would ban circumcision and (male) politicians behaving badly are the topics of the latest Women’s Roundtable. Lilith editor Susan Weidman Schneider, senior editor Rabbi Susan Schnur and assistant editor Sonia Isard join Sisterhood editor Gabrielle Birkner for…
A legislative wave is surging through the nation’s heartland: In Tennessee, Louisiana and Arizona, lawmakers have passed statutes prohibiting courts from relying on any foreign law, legal code or system that is contrary to state or federal public policy in reaching their decisions. Similar statutes are being considered in 20 other states. In some of…
This is a tough moment to be a Jew. Not because of the sex scandals involving members of our tribe. Not because of calls for Israel’s withdrawal from this or that strip of land. (What else is new?) Not because of anti-Semitism here or abroad. No, it’s because we are living through an unprecedented Bacon…
A four-alarm fire Thursday night engulfed Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun, a large and high-profile Modern Orthodox synagogue on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. Five firefighters sustained minor injuries fighting the blaze, which sent flames and billowing black smoke into the night sky. The fire was reported around 8:30 p.m. and was contained about an hour later, the…
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Four decades in the political limelight have made newly minted Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta a familiar and trusted figure to the Jewish and pro-Israeli communities. A middle-of-the-road politician known for his management skills, Panetta has taken the helm at the Pentagon at a time when defense cooperation between the United States and Israel is…
לעסלי טורנער האָט אָנגעשריבן און אויפֿגעפֿירט אַ ליאַלקע־שפּיל אין איר ייִדיש־קלאַס בײַם טאָראָנטאָ־אוניווערסיטעט
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