Opinion

• Opinion

  Abuse and Trust

  A trial of sorts is looming for the famously insular ultra-Orthodox Jewish community in New York, as a Catholic lawyer and an Orthodox Jewish legislator prepare to face off in court over allegations of rabbinic child molesting. The two combatants are on the same side when it comes to the basics. Both agree that sexual…

  2 min read
• Opinion

  Watching Blue America Celebrate

  These days of Obamamania are dusting off the memory chips of my childhood. It is late fall, and the holidays of Christendom are upon us. There is great anticipation — and for the children in particular, great hope. In a few weeks, there will be joy and celebration, song and dance, drink and good cheer….

  By Noam Neusner Nov 20, 2008 | 3 min read
• Opinion

  An Intolerable Spot for a Museum

  In the Jewish community, the name Simon Wiesenthal is sacrosanct — which is why Rabbi Marvin Hier chose to establish his West Coast empire on the bedrock of the Nazi hunter’s reputation when Hier entered the institutional Judaism vacuum of Los Angeles 30 years ago. Over the course of the past three decades, the Simon…

  By Buzzy Gordon Nov 20, 2008 | 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 Charlie Kirk and Alan Berg: 2 murders, 41 years apart, show the painful perils of polarization

  

• Nora Berman ‘A long record of failure’: Is it time to put the two-state solution to rest?

  

• 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

  A Two-State Solution May Have To Wait

  In a kind of “exit interview” in the Sunday, November 16, edition of The New York Times, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice summarizes her take on the Israel/Palestine conflict: “… There is a robust negotiating process, and they have made a lot of progress on how to get to a two-state solution…. On the…

  By Leonard Fein Nov 20, 2008 | 3 min read
• Letters

  November 28, 2008

  Seliger’s Opinion on Conference Misguided As organizers of the November 23 conference “Jews Uniting To End the War and Heal America,” we are greatly angered by Ralph Seliger’s November 21 opinion piece “The Progressive Politics We Need.” Seliger focused his suspicions on two out of 50 activists who are leading workshops or plenary sessions at…

  Nov 20, 2008 | 4 min read
• Opinion

  The Ethics of the Rabbis

  On the surface, the crisis besetting America’s largest kosher meatpacker looks a lot like the larger infection that is crippling the nation’s economy and undoing so many iconic brands, from Lehman Brothers to AIG to Circuit City. Like other firms, Agriprocessors fell victim to the arrogance of its owners and the dereliction of outside regulators….

  Nov 13, 2008 | 4 min read
• Letters

  November 21, 2008

  Mock Meat Is Kosher With three of the five largest kosher beef plants in the United States having stopped production, consumers can expect significant shortages of kosher meat as well as price hikes (“Shelves Empty as Three Plants Stop Beef Production,” November 14). But don’t worry: Many companies make great-tasting, kosher-certified mock meats. Jewish law…

  Nov 13, 2008 | 3 min read
• Opinion

  A Melting Pot President

  It was a century ago this year that Israel Zangwill’s iconic play “The Melting Pot” was first staged in New York. Hailed by President Theodore Roosevelt as the quintessential expression of the American spirit, the play celebrated America as the “crucible” that would melt away all Old World hatreds and rivalries. As I contemplated the…

  By David Biale Nov 13, 2008 | 3 min read
• Opinion

  Advice on the Arab-Israeli Front: Try Pursuing Peace, Just Don’t Fail

  By January 20, President Barack Obama will, no doubt, have already received a tsunami of recommendations on what to do about the Arab-Israeli issue. At the risk of adding to the flood, let me offer up some observations gathered from almost 20 years of traveling the negotiator’s highway. Following this advice will not guarantee success,…

  By Aaron David Miller Nov 13, 2008 | 3 min read
• Opinion

  The Progressive Politics We Need

  For 108 years, the Workmen’s Circle/Arbeter Ring has represented the best of the American Jewish progressive tradition. The Workmen’s Circle has been a champion of labor, a voice for social justice and a foe of communist totalitarianism. It fought for the freedom of Soviet Jews and for civil rights here at home. Though its roots…

  By Ralph Seliger Nov 13, 2008 | 3 min read
• Opinion

  And Now for That Other Election…

  Ahhhhhhh, that deep sigh of relief now that the elections are over. Peace and quiet. Good books. No polls, no ads, no rallies, no bumper stickers, no robo-calls or lawn signs. Life can be beautiful. Oops: Not so fast. The elections are not over. There are two more to go. I refer, of course, to…

  By Leonard Fein Nov 13, 2008 | 4 min read