Opinion

• Opinion

  Religion Helps Keep Fighting Spirit Alive

  A few hours before Barack Obama arrived in Jerusalem in late July, a Palestinian bulldozer driver went on a rampage around the corner from the Democratic presidential nominee’s hotel. It was the second bulldozer attack in Jerusalem in less than a month, and unlike the first attack in which three Israelis were murdered, this time…

  By Aryeh Tepper

  4 min read
• Opinion

  The Economic War Against the Palestinians Has Failed

  In recent weeks, the Israeli military shut down a series of West Bank charitable and educational organizations affiliated in one way or another with Hamas, even though the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority is apparently incapable of providing these services. Last week, threats by P.A. Prime Minister Salam Fayyad caused Israel to reverse itself in one instance…

  By Yossi Alpher Jul 31, 2008 | 4 min read
• 
  Opinion

  The Olympics Aren’t Always Fun and Games

  Ever hear of a Jewish motocross racer? Neither have I, and I’ve been around sports for almost 50 years and written about Olympics from the Alps to Barcelona. Yet somehow, despite our producing a minuscule number of participants, Jews wind up making news at the Olympic Games. I don’t necessarily mean on the playing fields,…

  By Gerald Eskenazi Jul 31, 2008 | 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

  On the Same Side as Common Decency

  The Jewish Telegraphic Agency recently published a lengthy expose, the gist of which was that some grantees of the New Israel Fund “accuse the Jewish state of horrendous human rights violations.” The principle piece of evidence of NIF’s alleged perfidy is that “In March 2007, eight groups that promote human rights for Israeli Arabs and…

  By Leonard Fein Jul 31, 2008 | 4 min read
• Letters

  August 1, 2008

  JDC Shell Corporation The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee’s shell corporation in Cyprus has drawn more than Russian scrutiny, as a July 25 article reports; it has also drawn indignation and anger in the Jewish communities of the former Soviet Union (“Charity’s Shell Corporation Draws Russian Scrutiny”). Asher Ostrin, the head of the JDC’s Russian…

  Jul 24, 2008 | 4 min read
• Opinion

  The Man From Illinois and the Senator From New York

  The senator from New York was remarkably talented, a political leader of the first order, a person of great influence at the highest levels of government, and destined for the party’s nomination for president of the United States. Although the senator faced stiff competition, for the four years preceding the election it was widely assumed…

  By Menachem Genack Jul 24, 2008 | 3 min read
• Opinion

  Lady Liberty Is Yearning To Breathe Free

  Between 1892 and 1954, thousands and thousands of Jews escaping religious persecution came into the United States through Ellis Island. The tired, poor, huddled masses were greeted by the Statue of Liberty, a beacon of light and hope, a symbol of the future that lay ahead. Tall and proud, she welcomed Jewish immigrants to their…

  By Anthony Weiner Jul 24, 2008 | 2 min read
• Opinion

  Get Used to More Davids Becoming Dianes

  You have to hand it to Rep. Barney Frank, the man knows how to empathize. In the first-ever congressional hearing on workplace discrimination against transgender people, held by the House in late June in an Education and Labor subcommittee, Frank said he understands what it means to be trapped in the wrong body — because…

  By Kathleen Peratis Jul 24, 2008 | 4 min read
• Opinion

  When I Was Hated Like an Arab

  It happened not so long ago, on a particularly hot Saturday afternoon in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. Red shopping carts hugged the newly paved road. Baby strollers and soccer moms passed by. I had just parked, and was walking up to Target to use up the $50 in gift cards I had gotten for my…

  By Daniel Vahab Jul 24, 2008 | 3 min read
• Opinion

  Throats in Trouble

  Tobacco is back in the news again, with the $375 million pledge by billionaires Bill Gates and Michael Bloomberg to help curb smoking. In my lifetime — I am now 96 — the story of tobacco has undergone a profound change. At one time, the smoke-filled room was an ever-present mark of social and political…

  By Gus Tyler Jul 24, 2008 | < 1 min read
• Opinion

  Endow This Column Today, for Only a Pittance

  At Brandeis University, the standard advice given to visitors is that they must not stop as they walk about the campus — for in less than a minute, a plaque is attached to any immobile object. Nor is Brandeis unique in its offer of “naming opportunities.” Atop one synagogue in Newton, Mass., there is an…

  By Leonard Fein Jul 24, 2008 | 4 min read