Opinion

• Opinion

  In Iraq, a Mess That Knows No Borders

  As the Obama administration leads America out of Iraq, mayhem may be galloping in. The American public, however, does not seem perturbed: Afghanistan is now the controversial conflict du jour. Yet it is increasingly clear with every passing day that the underlying assumption of the invasion and occupation of Iraq by the Bush administration —…

  By Yossi Alpher

  3 min read
• Opinion

  The Zionist Melting Pot Boils Over

  The September 1 opening of Israel’s new school year was fairly uneventful as Israeli school years go: no nationwide teachers’ strike over salaries, no student protests against tuition hikes, hardly any violent opening-day riots. Compared to the storms of recent years, the back-to-school flare-ups this fall seemed at first glance to be little more than…

  By J.J. Goldberg Sep 2, 2009 | 4 min read
• Opinion

  Birth-responsibility

  Taglit-Birthright Israel is widely regarded as the most successful attempt yet to strengthen the religious identity and connection to Israel of the demographic that is hardest to reach: Jews in their 20s. In less than 10 years, 200,000 Jews aged 18 to 26 have availed themselves of the free, 10-day trip to Israel, and many…

  Sep 2, 2009 | 4 min read

Columnists View All

• Jodi Rudoren This is my last column as editor of the Forward

  

• Jay Michaelson American Jews were played — now what?

  

• Rob Eshman A billionaire Gen Z influencer is reinventing philanthropy — with this South African rabbi’s help

  

• Nora Berman Is Netflix’s new show the most Jewish cartoon ever?

  

• Dan Perry Israel’s strike in Qatar: An audacious bid for victory, or just another foolhardy provocation?

  

• Emily Tamkin Trump’s attack on George Soros is ludicrous. It also endangers Jews (and everyone else)

  

The Latest

• Letters

  September 11, 2009

  ‘Crazy Eddie’ Cousin Slurs Syrian Jews We at the Sephardic Community Federation were shocked and appalled by the Forward’s decision to print Sam Antar’s slanderous comments about our Sephardic community without any substantiation (“‘Crazy’ Eddie’s Cousin, a Former Fraudster, Speaks Out on Syrian ‘Subculture of Crime,’” September 4). To run a prominent article alleging in…

  Sep 2, 2009 | 2 min read
• Opinion

  N.J. Town’s In-tents Battle With Libyan Dictator

  Folks in the leafy New York suburb of Englewood, N.J., are up in arms, according to news reports, over plans by the Libyan government to pitch a tent on a Libyan-owned property in their town. The pavilion is supposed to house strongman Muammar Gadhafi while he attends the opening of the United Nations General Assembly…

  By J.J. Goldberg Aug 27, 2009 | 2 min read
• Opinion

  Toppling Saddam, Unleashing Iran and Anticipating the Unanticipated

  Every day, it seems, something else happens somewhere to prove again, if any more proof were needed, just who is the big winner from America’s six-year adventure in Iraq. We refer, of course, to the Islamic Republic of Iran. America’s successful toppling of Iran’s nemesis, Saddam Hussein, accidentally ushered in a golden age for Iranian…

  By J.J. Goldberg Aug 27, 2009 | 2 min read
• 
  Opinion

  Bringing Our Labor Legacy to Life

  On November 22, 1909, thousands of shirtwaist workers gathered at Cooper Union’s Great Hall on the Lower East Side. The workers were mostly girls in their teens and early 20s, the bulk of them Eastern European Jewish immigrants. They had convened to discuss how to address the inhumane conditions they faced in their factories. Before…

  By Jo-Ann Mort Aug 26, 2009 | 3 min read
• Opinion

  With Mary Robinson Fracas, Picking the Wrong Battle

  The Jewish community has good reason to be disappointed by President Obama awarding the presidential medal of freedom to Mary Robinson. But our communal response to the award has unfortunately done more harm than good. Robinson, a former president of Ireland, forfeited any claim to accolades by presiding over the 2001 Durban World Conference Against…

  By Marc D. Stern Aug 26, 2009 | 3 min read
• Opinion

  On Pay Day, Women Are Still Not Equal

  On August 26 we celebrated Women’s Equality Day — the 89th anniversary of the date on which women gained the right to vote through ratification of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution. Since then, women have sought economic equality, too, achieving a great victory in 1963 with the passage of the Equal Pay Act. But…

  By Nancy Ratzan Aug 26, 2009 | 2 min read
• Opinion

  What if Rabbis Heed Obama’s High Holy Day Appeal?

  In the hands of Obama the potter, American Jews are but clay. In his recent telephonic pep talk to a reported 1,000 American rabbis, the president invoked some of the most memorable (and theologically challenging) passages from the Rosh Hashanah liturgy to support his health policy agenda. He spoke about the new month of Elul,…

  By Noam Neusner Aug 26, 2009 | 3 min read
• Opinion

  A Counter-Revolution in Jewish-Catholic Ties

  Forty-four years of Catholic-Jewish reconciliation, set in motion by the Second Vatican Council in 1965 and nudged forward by thousands of hours of dialogue and theological review, appear to be in jeopardy right now, threatened by an ideological battle inside the Catholic Church. The crisis was sparked by a church statement on Catholic-Jewish relations, issued…

  By J.J. Goldberg Aug 26, 2009 | 4 min read