Opinion

• Opinion

  Roger (Cohen) and Me, Revisited

  It appears that my August 5-14 column about Roger Cohen has upset a few people, which is usually one of the perks of the job. But some of those who are upset with me are people I care about, and with them in mind I’d like to expand on my thoughts a bit, by way…

  By J.J. Goldberg

  4 min read
• Opinion

  The Anti-Pressure-Over-Settlement-Expansion League?

  The tag line above the Anti-Defamation League’s Web site reads, “To stop the defamation of the Jewish people, to secure justice and fair treatment for all.” Its mission statement, unchanged since it was founded in 1913 and prominent on the home page of its Web site, is straightforward: “The immediate object of the League is…

  By Leonard Fein Aug 13, 2009 | 4 min read
• Opinion

  James Bond, the Red Sox and the Mysterious Rise of the Hebrew Action Hero

  This week marks an important milestone for Kevin Youkilis, a star hitter for the Boston Red Sox of baseball’s American League. I bring this up not primarily because of its significance for baseball, about which I know little, but rather because it is the latest clue in an ever-widening mystery, namely the intense but seldom-discussed…

  By J.J. Goldberg Aug 12, 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

• Opinion

  The New Fatah

  Al-Fatah, the Palestinians’ nominal ruling party, presented Israel with both a gift and a challenge on August 12 as it wrapped up its international party congress in Bethlehem. It had been 20 years since the last congress. Party leaders were touting this one, in the face of near-universal skepticism, as a transformative moment in Palestinian…

  Aug 12, 2009 | 3 min read
• Opinion

  The Health Care Bullies

  The disgrace that is America’s health care system, with its millions of uninsured, runaway costs and arbitrary, profit-driven decision-making, has finally met its match in the disgrace that is America’s health care debate. Since Congress adjourned for its summer recess, and lawmakers dispersed to hear from voters, Americans have witnessed scene after scene of public…

  Aug 12, 2009 | 2 min read
• Letters

  August 21, 2009

  Those Who Wish To Receive Organs Must Also Give The issues relating to Jews and organ transplants are indeed troublesome (“How Kidneys Are Bought and Sold on Black Market,” August 7). There is a significant halachic issue for some rabbis regarding whether organs can be removed from brain dead patients. Those Jews who feel that…

  Aug 12, 2009 | 3 min read
• 
  Opinion

  Slouching in Bethlehem

  An hour into Mahmoud Abbas’s address to the 2,000-odd delegates at the Sixth Fatah Congress in Bethlehem, the Palestinian Authority president showed no sign of wrapping things up. The audience, chain-smoking, chatting and occasionally applauding with dubious enthusiasm, seemed to be channeling elements of a Soviet Congress and a Che Guevara fan club reunion. A…

  By Lisa Goldman Aug 12, 2009 | 3 min read
• Opinion

  Jewish Wisdom, and a ‘Wise Latina’

  With tears and gratitude, Judge Sonia Sotomayor was sworn in as the 111th United States Supreme Court justice — the third woman and the first Latino to make it to our high court. Sotomayor’s confirmation hearings brought to the forefront of American public discourse some fundamental questions about what law is and what the proper…

  By Shmuly Yanklowitz Aug 12, 2009 | 3 min read
• Opinion

  Dear Bibi: How To Raise Israel’s Approval Ratings

  **MEMO TO: **Prime Minister Bibi **FROM: **Wordsmith Noam RE: Crummy Numbers Mr. Prime Minister, You’ve seen the lousy numbers that came out recently on American attitudes toward Israel. According to surveys from the Israel Project, only 49% of Americans call themselves pro-Israel, down from 69% last September. It’s true that you’re not the prime minister…

  By Noam Neusner Aug 12, 2009 | 3 min read
• Opinion

  Ailing America: Unhealthy Debate, Sick System

  One of the first things children are taught in our society, once they’re old enough to speak, is to listen to others and respond appropriately. The lesson is usually imparted these days in some variation of the phrase “Use words.” What we really mean is, don’t use your fists. Don’t cry or shout or throw…

  By J.J. Goldberg Aug 12, 2009 | 4 min read
• Opinion

  Analogies Have Consequences

  In 1995, right-wing Israeli demonstrations opposing any political accommodation with the Palestinians featured posters depicting Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in the uniform of a Nazi SS officer. The message was duly received. On November 5, 1995, Yigal Amir, a far-right Israeli law student, assassinated Rabin at a Tel Aviv peace rally. Members of Israel’s…

  By Menachem Z. Rosensaft Aug 10, 2009 | 3 min read