Opinion

• Opinion

  Was the Right Right About Obama?

  During the 2008 campaign, there were many Jewish Democrats who said — and probably believed — that Barack Obama would be a better friend to Israel than would John McCain. They argued that Obama would cement friendships with moderate Arab states and extricate us from the Iraq adventure that had done so much to antagonize…

  By Noam Neusner

  3 min read
• Opinion

  In Washington, a Clash of the Agendas

  What a story! It can’t be called a “Clash of the Titans,” since Bibi Netanyahu is hardly of titanic dimension and of Barack Obama it is far too soon to know. Call it, then, a clash of agendas. When these two meet in Washington, they will bring with them different hopes, different perspectives and very…

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

  Finding a Healthy Balance

  Now that Washington is finally getting to work on long-awaited, desperately needed health care reform, lobbyists and pressure groups are circling the arena like cornered tigers ready to pounce. That’s how democracy works. It’s important, though, that all voices are heard — that money doesn’t do all the talking. One essential voice is that of…

  May 13, 2009 | 2 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 Charlie Kirk and Alan Berg: 2 murders, 41 years apart, show the painful perils of polarization

  

• 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

  May 22, 2009

  Jewish Media Should Cover Abuse Issue Thank you for your very important, very well-written May 8 article “One Man’s Harrowing Path From Abuse to Survival.” First, may I say to the subject of the article, Pinny: I am so sorry for your suffering — and all this right after your mother died! It is paralyzing…

  May 13, 2009 | 2 min read
• Opinion

  Post-Postville: A Year After the Raid, Lessons Learned

  The controversy over abuses at the Agriprocessors kosher meat plant in Postville, Iowa, sparked an intensive bout of soul-searching and intra-communal debate among American Jews — and helped fuel our national discussion about immigration. A May 2006 investigation into working conditions at the plant by the Forward roiled the Jewish world, and heightened scrutiny of…

  May 6, 2009 | 6 min read
• Opinion

  Epistolary Fantasy: What Would Rahm Write?

  It’s not easy to top Rabbi Yakov Litzman, a Knesset member representing the United Torah Judaism party and now the de facto head of Israel’s health ministry, in the silliness department. He is the one who objected to the term “swine flu,” not, mind you, on grounds that swine do not seem to be particularly…

  By Leonard Fein May 6, 2009 | 3 min read
• Opinion

  Treyf Tactics in Postville

  One year after a federal immigration raid at the nation’s largest kosher slaughterhouse exposed deep flaws in the kosher meat industry, much has changed, but too many injustices remain. In this first year, much of the focus has rightly been on the legal and ethical issues raised by the treatment of animals and workers in…

  May 6, 2009 | 3 min read
• Letters

  May 15, 2009

  Limiting Deduction For Rich Will Hurt Poor In his May 1 opinion article “When Charity Isn’t Charitable,” Peter Singer highlights an important fact of which most of us who work in the philanthropic sector are well aware: Much charitable giving and much foundation giving do not really benefit the needy. He is correct that this…

  May 6, 2009 | 3 min read
• Opinion

  Bad Faith Efforts at Bagram

  At first glance, the video seems damaging enough. American soldiers are shown discussing how to bring their brand of Christianity to the Muslim population of Afghanistan. Bibles in the local languages of Pashto and Dari are piled high, funded by churches back home and ready for distribution. “These special forces guys — they hunt men…

  May 6, 2009 | < 1 min read
• Opinion

  Iran’s Jewish Rorschach Test

  This past March, I stood alongside hundreds of others lining Madison Avenue to watch New York’s Persian Day Parade. I am not the parade-watching type, but nostalgia for the country of my birth at times moves me to behave in uncharacteristic ways, like cheering for mediocre trumpeters and papier-mâché monuments. Among the marchers at the…

  By Roya Hakakian Apr 29, 2009 | 3 min read
• 
  Opinion

  In Pakistan, Good Intentions Go Awry

  The Obama administration is treating the situation in Pakistan with a growing sense of urgency that is entirely appropriate. Pakistan today is an unstable nuclear-armed state threatened by Islamic militancy, a combination that could make it the most dangerous country in the world. As head of an American Jewish organization, I have observed this gathering…

  By Jack Rosen Apr 29, 2009 | 3 min read