In the Forward’s opinion section, you’ll find analysis and essays from diverse corners of the Jewish world.
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Opinion
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Opinion
The Olmert Scandals
Israelis drew a collective gasp of surprise September 7, when the police formally recommended that Ehud Olmert be indicted on corruption charges. The surprise was not that their prime minister was facing accusations of financial impropriety and abuse of power. What caught many Israelis off guard was the flimsiness of the charges. Olmert had suffered…
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Opinion Peacemaker
The cause of intergroup understanding lost a courageous champion September 10 with the death in Chicago of Imam Warith Deen Mohammed, head of The Mosque Cares organization and the most widely respected leader of America’s black Muslims. Mohammed was born in Detroit in 1933, the seventh child of Elijah Muhammad, founder of the black separatist…
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Opinion When Leonard Bernstein ‘Dug’ the Irgun
‘I dig absolutely.” Those three awkward words, spoken by Leonard Bernstein to a Black Panther spouting pseudo-Marxist rhetoric at a soiree in the Bernstein home in 1970, immortalized the stereotype of the guilt-ridden upper-class liberal embracing violent radicals. The composer found himself publicly mocked, first by William F. Buckley Jr. in a newspaper column titled…
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Opinion Georgia Is on Our Minds, But Abuses Are Ignored
Georgia has been America’s darling in the Caucasus since its charismatic and telegenic young president, Mikheil Saakashvili, took over from the nasty old Russian-style despot Eduard Shevardnadze in the fall of 2003, in what came to be called the Rose Revolution (because Saakashvili carried a rose, and not an AK-47, as he and the throngs…
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Opinion How To Hand Off the Peace Process to Our Next President
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice just finished her seventh visit to Israel of 2008 to try to press the Israelis and Palestinians to reach some sort of agreement — one of the last major efforts of the Bush administration in its final months. But can the administration make any progress on this critical issue in the time…
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Opinion This Much We Know: Alaskans Love Israel
But where does she stand on Israel? The question, of course, is directed at John McCain’s choice for vice president of the United States. Please note well: This is neither an endorsement of Sarah Palin nor a refutation of the Alaskan governor’s candidacy. The readers of this paper are perfectly competent to make their own…
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Letters September 12, 2008
Don’t Blame O’Reilly An August 22 editorial mentions that books by conservative talk show hosts Bill O’Reilly, Michael Savage and Sean Hannity were found in the home of alleged killer Jim Adkisson (“Terrorism and the Lone Gunman”). The Forward does not mention what other books or other types of literature were found in Adkisson’s home…
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Opinion Preaching Abstinence
In a rare moment of consensus and civility in mid-campaign, Democratic and Republican leaders concurred last week that public debate over the candidates’ family troubles — specifically the pregnant, unwed 17-year-old daughter of Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin — is “off-limits,” in Barack Obama’s words. Families, even public families, should be left to sort…
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Opinion Elul, Prep Time
Elul, the Jewish lunar month that began September 1, is a mysterious, emotionally fraught time in the ritual year. It is an annual event that has its own distinct message and special rituals. Elul’s meaning derives from proximity: It is the month leading up to the New Year, Rosh Hashanah, which in turn kicks off…
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Opinion On the Jewish Agenda(s), Part 2
The next president will help set the national agenda on a wide range of issues of importance to the Jewish community. While our collective concern for the well-being of Israel has featured prominently in discussions of our community’s stake in the presidential election, Jewish groups are also vigorous participants in debates over a diverse array…
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Opinion No Time Nor Patience for Cynicism
I know, I know: The Summer Olympics were then, the Democratic Convention is now. But I find it hard to let go of the Olympics, and not just because of my flickering fantasy of yet becoming a gymnast. Not only because I don’t expect soon to forget the neo-fascist opening ceremony, so utterly and eerily…
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