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…
In this week’s podcast Forward editor Jane Eisner makes a case for why George Washington’s famed letter to the Jews of Newport, R.I., should be liberated from a Maryland vault and placed on public display. Then staff writer Nathan Guttman, opinion editor Gal Beckerman and Forward Fellow Naomi Zeveloff discuss what a new poll showing…
Illustrators Tomi Ungerer and Jules Feiffer Hold Court at Society of Illustrators The June 9 standing room only “An Evening With Tomi Ungerer and Jules Feiffer — A Conversation,” was hosted by the Society of Illustrators at its base on Manhattan’s East Side. Ungerer, world-renowned illustrator and author of more than 150 books, and Pulitzer…
The American Jewish Committee, one of America’s largest Jewish advocacy groups, owns a 10-story glass building on East 56th Street in Midtown Manhattan, built in 1959. Like most buildings from that era, it was, until recently, a picture of environmental inefficiency. The steam-powered central air conditioner periodically shut down, prompting complaints from the organization’s 160…
