Opinion

• Opinion

  Define Zionism as the Jewish Right of Return

  From November 1975 to December 1991, Zionism was “officially” a form of racism and racial discrimination. So the United Nations famously proclaimed by a vote of 67- 35 (with 32 abstentions), and so it was for 16 years, until, by a vote of 111-25 (with 13 abstentions), the “Zionism is racism” resolution was simply rescinded….

  By Leonard Fein

  4 min read
• Opinion

  They Are Both Borrowers and Lenders

  The classic warning was that “Thou shalt neither a lender nor a borrower be.” At this moment, there are mighty financial moguls who are both borrower and lenders. Here’s the way they play the game: They are known as “leveraged” take-over artists. The term “leveraged” means that they borrowed the money for their operation. With…

  By Gus Tyler May 9, 2007 | < 1 min read
• Opinion

  Youngstown: An American Tragedy

  The story of Youngstown, Ohio, is the sad tale of a tragedy “made in America.” Youngstown was once one of the greatest producers of steel in the world. Today, it is a ghost town. It can no longer depend on its once thriving steel mills to provide employment for its people. In search of a…

  By Gus Tyler May 6, 2007 | < 1 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

  Ehud Olmert Is Not Solely To Blame

  Nine months after the end of Israel’s war in Lebanon comes the Winograd Commission’s interim report — and it is being used to put a gun to the head of the wrong person. The Winograd report ignores the plain fact that the war ended in a victory of sorts; how else to explain why the…

  By Martin van Creveld May 4, 2007 | 4 min read
• Opinion

  Obscene Orthodox Hatred Demands a Clear Denunciation

  Several weeks ago, the former Israeli chief Sephardic rabbi, Mordecai Eliyahu, charged that the Holocaust was divine punishment meted out against our people on account of the sin of Reform Judaism. Such an accusation is infuriating, and unleashes unnecessary hatred and incitement among Jews. But there is unfortunately nothing particularly novel about this obscenity. I…

  By David Ellenson May 4, 2007 | 3 min read
• Opinion

  Increasing Affiliation Requires More Than Sabbath Yoga

  A spate of data released within the past year indicates that Jews in their 20s and 30s are not affiliating with American Jewish institutions or otherwise connecting with organized Jewry. This has caused many lay and professional leaders of synagogues, communal organizations and philanthropies to craft a new set of strategies designed to engage these…

  By Hal Lewis May 4, 2007 | 4 min read
• Opinion

  Can We Still Say That a Fetus Does Not Suffer?

  The Supreme Court’s recent decision on partial-birth abortion is sickening. Its four-paragraph description of an abortion doctor at work, only snippets of which have been quoted in the mainstream press, sounds like something out of Jeffrey Dahmer’s basement. Such as: “The doctor grips the fetal part with the forceps and pulls it back through the…

  By Kathleen Peratis May 4, 2007 | 4 min read
• Opinion

  The Global Crash

  The forces are gathering for the first truly globalized depression. True, the Great Depression of the 1930s was not confined to the United States. But there were large chunks of the world — typically underdeveloped agricultural societies — that escaped the full brunt. The coming crisis is not likely to spare any nation. It will…

  By Gus Tyler May 4, 2007 | 2 min read
• Opinion

  If There’s Life Out There, Do They Eat Pastrami?

  All right, folks; this could be very serious. As you have likely read, astronomers have now discovered a planet some 120 trillion miles from Earth, off in another galaxy, which seems — from a distance, as it were — capable of supporting life. (The astronomers tell us that 120 trillion miles isn’t all that far…

  By Leonard Fein May 4, 2007 | 4 min read
• Opinion

  No Crystals Needed

  What is meditation, and why is it continuing to appear in more and more synagogues long after the Kabbalah craze and other spiritual fads have faded? As someone who has practiced meditation for many years and has now begun to teach it in Jewish settings, I’ve found it useful to start with what meditation isn’t….

  By Jay Michaelson May 4, 2007 | 6 min read
• Opinion

  A Florida Psychologist Asks: Kabbalah With Your Sushi?

  **Fort Lauderdale, Fla. ** – A new beachfront restaurant in this South Florida city is billing itself as the country’s first kabbalistic restaurant. Café Emunah is relatively new to the competitive kosher dining scene in the area, yet it has already distinguished itself with its holistic approach to kosher food — combining organic chic with…

  By Sara Liss May 4, 2007 | 2 min read