Opinion

• Opinion

  In Iran Elections, Hezbollah Loses — Will Israel Too?

  Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad aren’t the only people who have staked their reputations on Iran’s disputed presidential election results. In a TV interview, Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah described the Iranian elections as a mass endorsement by the Iranian people of their country’s system of Velayat-e Faqih — or “guardianship by Islamic jurist”…

  By Meir Javedanfar

  3 min read
• Opinion

  Gilad Shalit’s Plight, and Israel’s Dilemma

  There are many beautiful theories about how to bring Gilad Shalit home, but it’s an ugly fact that he now has been a captive for three years. And it’s an ugly fact that a series of Israeli governments have been unable to free him. Both diplomatic and military means have failed so far. Shalit’s family…

  By Haim Watzman Jul 1, 2009 | 4 min read
• Opinion

  A Fourth of Jew-ly Celebration

  As a young child, I always loved the Fourth of July — the fireworks, the meat on the grill, the picnics and everyone seeming so grateful to be American. As I got a little older and learned about the Founding Fathers, who cherished their principles and beliefs so much that they were willing to risk…

  By Michael Barclay Jul 1, 2009 | 3 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

  Sharansky Inherits a House Divided

  One of the stranger and nastier episodes of modern Israel-Diaspora mud wrestling was laid to rest in late June in Jerusalem when Natan Sharansky, the onetime Soviet political prisoner and human rights icon, was elected chairman of the Jewish Agency for Israel. The episode was unusual because it broke new ground in the growth field…

  By J.J. Goldberg Jul 1, 2009 | 4 min read
• Letters

  July 10, 2009

  Blaming the Victims Of the Mullahs’ Hate Leonard Fein’s attempts to rationalize the hatred of the Islamic Republic of Iran toward Israel in “After the Uprising, Whither Iran?” is perplexing (July 3). Fein mocks Prime Minister Netanyahu’s assertion that “there is no conflict between the Iranian people and the people of Israel.” But the prime…

  Jul 1, 2009 | 3 min read
• Opinion

  First, Do No Harm

  Yoram Blachar is president of the Israel Medical Association, a pediatric nephrologist with a quiet manner who practices at the Kaplan Hospital in Rehovot. In 2007, he beat out two other candidates to become president of the World Medical Association, an umbrella organization representing 9 million physicians in 84 countries with a mandate to define…

  Jul 1, 2009 | 3 min read
• Opinion

  Prizes and Partners

  Forgive us for smiling. The past few weeks have brought exciting awards and new purpose to the Forward, confirming the quality of our work and helping to craft the future. At a time when the economy is struggling and journalism is stumbling through a complete rewrite, our good news is very welcome. First, in Chicago…

  By Jane Eisner Jul 1, 2009 | 2 min read
• 
  Opinion

  Actions Speak Louder Than (Even Ugly) Words

  Newly released tapes of President Richard Nixon’s private conversations in 1973 include a remark that antisemitism will increase in the United States if American Jews “don’t start behaving.” As outrageous as that comment was, it should be kept in mind that Nixon was not the first American president to privately express antisemitic sentiments — nor…

  By Rafael Medoff Jun 24, 2009 | 4 min read
• Opinion

  Jewish Peoplehood Denied, While Israel’s Foes Applaud

  Although there is probably no book too foolish to go un-admired by someone, there are subjects for which the market for foolishness is especially large. Any list of these would have to include “Jews” and “Israel” near its top, as has once again been demonstrated by the granting of this year’s prestigious Aujourd’hui Award to…

  By Hillel Halkin Jun 24, 2009 | 4 min read
• Opinion

  Carving Our Niches at Summer Camp

  I owe my life to Jewish summer camp — literally. I met my wife when we were counselors at Camp Ramah in Massachusetts. My in-laws met as staffers at Camp HES (Hebrew Educational Society) in Suffern, N.Y. My father met my mother when he was a camp teacher and she a camper, also at Ramah….

  By Noam Neusner Jun 24, 2009 | 3 min read
• Opinion

  After the Uprising, Whither Iran?

  No one knows, or can know, what the short-term result of the uprising in Iran will be. The demonstrations may continue, frequently or intermittently, or darkness may again descend on the land. But it is well to remember — as one interesting precedent — that Poland’s Solidarity movement, which ultimately led to the downfall of…

  By Leonard Fein Jun 24, 2009 | 4 min read