Opinion

• Opinion

  As Miriam’s Cup Runneth Over, Jewish Men Go Missing in Action

  The feminist project of rethinking the Seder has begun — and my home is its next front. My eldest daughter, who recently became bat mitzvah, received as a gift a Miriam’s Cup. I’m not wild about such feminist flourishes, but as a father of three daughters, I dare not oppose them even if I find…

  By Noam Neusner

  3 min read
• Opinion

  A New Era, and New Paths to Peace

  With Benjamin Netanyahu taking the reins of power in Israel, his critics are wasting no time in making the case that his ascension to the post of prime minister is bad news for peace, and even worse news for relations with Washington. They are wrong on both counts. In fact, chances of arriving at a…

  By Zalman Shoval Apr 1, 2009 | 3 min read
• Opinion

  When the ‘Most Moral Army’ Goes to War

  At the end of her rendition of “Had Gadya,” the Israeli singer Hava Alberstein adds new lyrics: “On all other nights I ask the four questions, but tonight I have one more: ‘How long will the cycle last? How long will the cycle of violence last? The chased and the chaser, the beaten and the…

  By Leonard Fein Apr 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 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

• 
  Opinion

  The Pity of Bernie Madoff

  Bernard Madoff is in prison. All indications are that he will spend the rest of his days there, which is surely where he belongs. Still, many express concern that he will get off too easy, and urge that he be made to suffer as his victims have suffered. Some would have him assigned to clean…

  By Louis E. Newman Mar 25, 2009 | 2 min read
• Opinion

  Raising Cups, Dropping Oranges

  At the first Seder my husband and I hosted in 1999, we eagerly incorporated two feminist rituals we had seen in the Ma’yan Passover Haggadah. We placed a Miriam’s Cup (a wedding gift from several years beforehand) on our Seder table and an orange on our Seder plate. Our mothers cheered. In the following 10…

  By Aurora Mendelsohn Mar 25, 2009 | 3 min read
• Opinion

  Empowerment, Then Citizenship

  One of the greatest challenges facing the Jewish community is how to engage young adults during the long stretch of life between college and parenthood. Jewish young adults want to be involved with Jewish life, but to date the community’s response has been limited, uncoordinated and lacking in clear vision. Examination of the experiences of alumni…

  By Fern Chertok, and Leonard Saxe, and Theodore Sasson Mar 25, 2009 | 3 min read
• Opinion

  When Avigdor Lieberman Takes Your Idea

  I’m no fan of Avigdor Lieberman. I find his gutter rhetoric and talk of loyalty oaths repugnant. Still, I confess that there is one aspect of the criticism of Lieberman from which I dissent: his proposal to adjust the 1967 Green Line border within the framework of a two-state solution so that certain Israeli Arab…

  By Yossi Alpher Mar 25, 2009 | 3 min read
• Letters

  April 3, 2009

  Lerner’s Devotion, in Sickness and in Health I write to protest your article on Michael Lerner’s cancer and the way I was quoted in it (“Tikkun’s Founder: ‘I Have Cancer,’ Give to My Cause,” March 13). In my interview, I said that Lerner’s e-mail announcing his diagnosis and urging people to donate to the Network…

  Mar 25, 2009 | 3 min read
• 
  Opinion

  The Politics of Rescue

  It was Maimonides who said that there is no greater religious duty than pidyon shevuyim, the redemption of captives, an injunction with deep biblical roots and plenty of historical illustrations. This obligation fueled the movement to free Soviet Jews and undergirds the contemporary Israeli impulse to strike lopsided deals and embark on military campaigns to…

  Mar 25, 2009 | 4 min read
• Opinion

  Blaming the ‘Lobby’

  This newspaper took no position on Charles Freeman’s suitability as director of the National Intelligence Council, and we’re not about to, particularly now that he’s withdrawn his name. It’s worth looking back at the arguments surrounding the nomination, though. They carry some important lessons about the dangerous direction of this country’s Middle East debate. Freeman’s…

  Mar 18, 2009 | 2 min read
• Opinion

  Papal Fallibility

  Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was not universally welcomed when he became Pope Benedict XVI in 2005. Four years into his reign, the doubters’ fears are becoming steadily more understandable. The papacy does not lie easily on his shoulders. He is a scholar trying to be an inspirational leader, an ideologue trying to be a healer, a…

  Mar 18, 2009 | 2 min read