Opinion

• Letters

  June 15, 2007

  WJC Election Was Free Of Backroom Intrigue I am not an uncritical supporter of billionaires, as a June 8 editorial on the World Jewish Congress implies (“Our Ownership Society”). But Ronald Lauder’s generous sponsorship of Jewish education in Eastern Europe and his immense contributions to Israel make him more than just another billionaire. Contrary to…

  4 min read
• Opinion

  Avraham Burg’s New Zionism

  Zionism has meant many things to many people over the past century. To Theodor Herzl and the founders of the Zionist movement, it meant creating a national home to gather in the Jewish people — to some minds, as a refuge from antisemitism; for others, as a fulfillment of an ancient promise. To Herzl’s great…

  By J.J. Goldberg Jun 13, 2007 | 6 min read
• Opinion

  Where Have All the Theologians Gone?

  Name five contemporary Jewish theologians saying something interesting about Jewish belief who had not already published a major work by 1990. Stumped? So am I. Over the past few months, I have asked my theologically minded colleagues this question, and the responses have been disheartening. Elie Wiesel? He is undoubtedly the premier spokesman on post-Holocaust…

  By Elliot Cosgrove Jun 13, 2007 | 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’s new gift to the far right could help end the Gaza war

  

• Emily Tamkin Entering motherhood — and an obsession with the works of an Italian Jewish literary hero

  

The Latest

• Opinion

  Treat Illness With a Dose of Thoughtfulness

  Barack Obama is the latest Democratic candidate to offer a plan that would bring us closer to universal health care coverage, along socialized British or Canadian lines. Almost all the developed nations have turned to such models of government-directed medicine, while the United States has thus far resisted. Could this be because our country remains…

  By David Klinghoffer Jun 13, 2007 | 3 min read
• Opinion

  The Power of One Voice

  The bad news drives out the good. Or, as I prefer, Elef’s Law: Every ounce of promising idea one can articulate will beget at least a pound of dismissive refutation. Here comes a promising idea. It will immediately be thought implausible, but not because it lacks merit. It will be thought implausible because we have…

  By Leonard Fein Jun 13, 2007 | 4 min read
• Opinion

  Drug Makers Buy Doctors

  The story of how pharmaceutical firms buy doctors to prescribe given medication would be unbelievable if it appeared in some publication with less credibility than the Bulletin of the AARP. Here’s the reported way in which a sales manager at Astra-Zeneca described the filthy operation: “There’s a big bucket of money sitting in every office….

  By Gus Tyler Jun 13, 2007 | < 1 min read
• Opinion

  Let Palestine Split Into Two

  Many divorces are bitter, and they rarely make for a pretty spectacle. Nevertheless, once the fireworks die down some of them end well. Quite often a divorce enables two people who cannot live together to go their separate ways, if not to achieve reconciliation then at any rate to find new partners and make a…

  By Martin van Creveld Jun 12, 2007 | 3 min read
• Opinion

  Behind The Big Boom

  Just about every state in the U.S. is discovering that unexpected riches are pouring into its treasury. As a consequence, they are quickly catching up with many neglected chores like bringing public roads up to date, doing the same for schools and other public buildings and even putting goodly sums away in savings accounts for…

  By Gus Tyler Jun 12, 2007 | < 1 min read
• Opinion

  The Arab Peace Plan: Seize a Diplomatic Opportunity

  Sometime in the coming weeks, a Jordanian-Egyptian delegation representing the Arab League will visit Israel to discuss the Arab peace initiative, which was first approved by an Arab summit in 2002 and was recently reconfirmed. This will be the first official contact between Israel and the Arab League. While that organization has never before been…

  By Yossi Alpher Jun 6, 2007 | 4 min read
• Opinion

  The Arab Peace Plan: Say No to Rights, Recognition

  The Arab League’s plan for Middle East peace is back on the table and, as has been the case since the initiative was first unveiled, any real progress requires movement on the Israeli-Palestinian track. In order to give this round a chance, those wishing to see a breakthrough ought to take a page from an…

  By Natasha Gill Jun 6, 2007 | 4 min read
• Opinion

  A Danger Burns From the Ashes of Communism

  Poland and Russia are now experiencing a backlash against the liberal and democratic values that flourished after the fall of communism nearly two decades ago. Not surprisingly, the targets of these forces in both countries are often Jewish. While the threats in Poland and Russia are quite different, both places offer plenty of reason to…

  By Eric Frey Jun 6, 2007 | 3 min read