Opinion

• Opinion

  The Obama Lobby

  When the self-described “pro-Israel, pro-peace” group J Street was founded over a year ago, many in the Jewish community predicted that it would have little to no influence in the shaping of American foreign policy. While American Jews are indeed overwhelmingly left-of-center in their political orientation, they also happen to hold rather hawkish views on…

  By James Kirchick

  4 min read
• Opinion

  Opposed Outlooks, Shared Fears

  In recent months I’ve heard more and more reports of rabbis who say they no longer know how to talk with their congregants about Israel. They feel — correctly, as far as I can tell — that our community is deeply divided, and that the divisions extend to the communities within the whole: to wit,…

  By Leonard Fein Jul 22, 2009 | 3 min read
• Opinion

  Unholy Strife in the Holy City

  A reasonable person might suppose that a place revered worldwide as the Holy City would manage, if nothing else, to bring out some of the better angels from its denizens’ souls. One might even be forgiven for thinking that the people of the City of Peace could learn to get along. But, of course, we…

  By J.J. Goldberg Jul 22, 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

  July 31, 2009

  This They Call Leadership? It was more than a little dismaying to read of the meeting between a delegation of representatives of Jewish organizations and President Obama (“Jewish Leaders Give Obama No Push-Back on Settlement Freeze,” July 24). Not one person there had the courage to point out that Israeli settlements have never been a…

  Jul 22, 2009 | 2 min read
• Opinion

  Who Is a Convert?

  The biblical Ruth is lucky she isn’t converting to Judaism in 2009. If she ever wants to live in Israel, that is. Her moving, lyrical story of devotion to her mother-in-law and embrace of Jewish values has long stood as a potent symbol of the loving outsider who wishes to come in, and is lauded…

  Jul 22, 2009 | 2 min read
• Opinion

  No Excuses Left on EFCA

  Now that a new owner has been awarded the challenge of running Agriprocessors, once the nation’s largest kosher meat producer, there’s reason to hope that a new attitude toward workers will prevail. It cannot come a moment too soon in an industry that has become synonymous with exploitation and unethical behavior. The trouble at Agriprocessors…

  Jul 22, 2009 | 2 min read
• Opinion

  Baby Steps in Nazareth

  It’s not that conversation here (I write from Jerusalem) is about existential questions. In fact, there is little such talk. But the existential question, like a miasma, is everywhere, inescapable. The response approaches the bi-polar, grand visions of Israel’s might and power one minute, dismal perceptions of Israel’s alone-ness, its vulnerability the next. Such understandings…

  By Leonard Fein Jul 15, 2009 | 4 min read
• Opinion

  Reversal of Fortune

  President Obama’s first White House sit-down with Jewish communal leaders has gotten tongues wagging about whom he chooses as friends and what ulterior motives might lurk behind his hospitality. It seems that the list of 14 organizations represented at the July 13 meeting had a more liberal cast than the invitation lists that used to…

  Jul 15, 2009 | 2 min read
• Opinion

  The NAACP at 100

  The inauguration of our first president of African descent was a turning point in this nation’s struggle against racism, but it was not the end of the struggle. Black people still suffer more poverty than their white neighbors, poorer education, worse health and shorter life expectancy. There are still fears and divisions among us and…

  Jul 15, 2009 | 3 min read
• Letters

  July 24, 2009

  A Price Paid in Terror for Prisoner Releases Haim Watzman correctly observes that there are terrible dilemmas involved in seeking to secure the freedom of kidnapped Israelis like serviceman Gilad Shalit (‘Gilad Shalit’s Plight, and Israel’s Dilemma,’ July 10). At the end of the day, however, logic and experience have shown that freeing Palestinian terrorists…

  Jul 15, 2009 | 2 min read
• Opinion

  What We Could Learn From Pope Benedict

  ‘Turn it and turn it again, for everything is contained therein” — so says the Talmudic compendium of wisdom known as the “Ethics of the Fathers,” in trying to describe the value of the Torah. It’s got everything you need right inside, tradition teaches. It’s the all-in-one roadmap for living in this world. After all,…

  By J.J. Goldberg Jul 15, 2009 | 4 min read