Opinion

• Opinion

  Agencies Must Gird Themselves For a Recession

  As Americans increasingly wonder whether the nation will fall into a full-blown recession, many of us are considering the deleterious effect such a development would have on Jewish organizational life. While the complex and caring American Jewish community has survived numerous economic cycles, this time around there are some significant differences. First, non-profit organizations —…

  By Jeffrey Solomon

  3 min read
• Opinion

  The Siege of Gaza Has Failed

  There are times we are drawn to reject that which is obvious. If the answer’s so simple, how can it be true? Anyone would have known it, so it can’t be right. For example: Israel’s sealing of the Gaza borders and its withholding of fuel and electricity from Gaza was a stupid act. In retrospect,…

  By Leonard Fein Jan 30, 2008 | 4 min read
• Opinion

  Fear Factor

  Please read our clarification of this editorial here. When the dust settles, the uproar over Barack Obama’s religious beliefs will have taught us little about the candidate and his loyalties that we don’t already know. If we look closely, however, we can learn a great deal about American Jews and their anxieties. More pointedly, we…

  Jan 30, 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 There’s a shocking new report on civilian deaths in Gaza. If only it were accurate.

  

• Nora Berman Is Netflix’s new show the most Jewish cartoon ever?

  

• Dan Perry Israel is not deliberately killing journalists in Gaza. But it does bear responsibility for their deaths

  

• Emily Tamkin Trump’s attack on George Soros is ludicrous. It also endangers Jews (and everyone else)

  

The Latest

• Opinion

  How an Economy Fails

  It was encouraging to hear President Bush and the congressional Democratic leadership promising this week to work together on an emergency economic rescue plan. Our hope is that they will act quickly, before the economy slips into recession. Our fear is that the effort will bog down in ideological posturing, leaving the rest of us…

  Jan 25, 2008 | 3 min read
• Opinion

  Debating Stimulus

  The president and the congressional leaders appeared last week to have agreed in principle on a stimulus package of some $150 billion, or about 1% of the Gross Domestic Product, which should be enough to get a lot of people back to work. The two parties agree in broad terms on a package combining tax…

  Jan 25, 2008 | 2 min read
• Letters

  January 25, 2008

  School Is True to Torah In Banning Gay Couples The Yeshivah of Flatbush behaved properly in denying a reunion invitation to the partner of a homosexual graduate (“Gay Alumni of Brooklyn Yeshiva Fight for Right To Bring Partners to Reunion,” January 18). The institution prides itself on instilling in its students the values of the…

  Jan 25, 2008 | 6 min read
• Opinion

  Our Museum Problem

  Ground was broken in September for a vastly expanded Museum of American Jewish History on Independence Mall in Philadelphia. What is now basically a one-room exhibit sharing space with the historic Congregation Mikveh Israel will soon be a multi-level complex that will stand as a major tourist attraction alongside Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell and…

  By Jonathan S. Tobin Jan 23, 2008 | 4 min read
• Opinion

  Capitalism in Crisis

  The fallout of America’s sub-prime mortgage crisis goes beyond the economic realm. More than even its military failures in Iraq, the decline in America’s economic fortunes has damaged its global standing, as well as the attractiveness of its political and economic model in the eyes of many Europeans. Even for sympathetic observers, the events that…

  By Eric Frey Jan 23, 2008 | 3 min read
• Opinion

  What Makes a President?

  Let us speak of political virtues. There’s oratorical skill, long since recognized as a major asset, obviously a Barack Obama strength. Here’s how Aristotle frames the matter in his “Rhetoric” (Book One, Chapter Two): “Of the modes of persuasion furnished by the spoken word there are three kinds. The first kind depends on the personal…

  By Leonard Fein Jan 23, 2008 | 4 min read
• Letters

  January 18, 2008

  Worker Safety and Health Are Priorities In a December 28 opinion article, Avram Lyon reports that a former Smithfield employee was knocked down when an animal carcass fell on her and, after receiving little or no medical attention from the company, she later miscarried in the hospital, supposedly as a result of the injury she…

  Jan 18, 2008 | 3 min read
• Opinion

  Reckless in Gaza

  Ehud Olmert, Israel’s perpetually embattled prime minister, probably thought he was performing a daring display of political balancing this week. First he saw off the visiting President Bush with grand words of peace. Then he announced that he opposed any major ground incursion into lawless Gaza. The next day, his troops opened up the bloodiest…

  Jan 18, 2008 | 4 min read