In the Forward’s opinion section, you’ll find analysis and essays from diverse corners of the Jewish world.
To pitch an opinion piece, email our Opinion Editor, Talya Zax.
In the Forward’s opinion section, you’ll find analysis and essays from diverse corners of the Jewish world.
To pitch an opinion piece, email our Opinion Editor, Talya Zax.
The opening line of Psalm 24 — “The Earth is the Lord’s, and all of its fruits” — is considered by many to express the cornerstone economic principle of Judaism. It’s a principle that our biblical ancestors learned the hard way: According to one Hasidic teaching, Jews endured centuries of slavery in Egypt in order…
Today, as European nations continue to struggle with the legacy of the Holocaust, the role of the Greek state in facilitating genocide against its own Jews remains unacknowledged and ignored. Greece has rarely confronted its past; but with increasing demands for all nations to face their history, it is time that Greece followed suit. The…
On March 12, by action of its executive committee, the Union for Reform Judaism became the first national Jewish organization to take more than a tongue-clucking position on the Iraq War. It did what the Senate has been unable to do: It voted overwhelmingly to oppose President Bush’s “surge” of new troops, and it called…
If There are No Better Options, Then Back Bush What makes Iran a major threat to Israel is the deadly intentions of its rulers (“Candor Among Friends,” March 16). So far, this has taken the form of steady funneling of Iranian arms and funds to Hezbollah forces in Lebanon and Hamas terrorists in Gaza. The…
Passover, now a week away, occupies a unique place in the hearts of American Jews. It’s the holiday that most poignantly combines the warmth of family, the pageantry of tradition and the power of Judaism’s universal message of human dignity. More than that, it’s the holiday that most affirms our sense of place and belonging…
My Lebanese girlfriend does not want to listen to The Cure’s song “Killing an Arab.” “Turn it off,” she demands. This is odd. Helen is a huge Cure fan; in fact, I never really listened to The Cure until we started dating. I turn around to face her, my mind racing to produce some witty…
In speaking with people these days who were brought up in open-minded households, dedicated to progressive causes and educated in liberal schools, I have found considerable unease with the liberal approach in the vital area of security. Seeing the events of September 11, 2001, together with the wagons circling around Israel and violence against Jewish…
Despite his personally liberal views on abortion, surging presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani seems committed, if elected, to appointing judges with a judicial philosophy in line with conservative tastes. If he wins the White House, Giuliani could have the opportunity to make a Supreme Court nomination or two, which might very well spell the end of…
Ford Motor Co. Helped Israel in Early Years A February 16 Shmooze article on the National Jewish Democratic Council’s response to Mitt Romney launching his presidential campaign at the Henry Ford Museum demonstrates an extreme lack of historical understanding on the part of the NJDC (“Spinmeisters, Start Your Engines”). While satirical in nature, the article…
‘Friends owe it to friends to be as candid as possible,” Vice President Dick Cheney told the 6,200 delegates at this week’s annual gathering of Aipac, the vaunted pro-Israel lobbying organization. “So let me say that a precipitous American withdrawal from Iraq would be a disaster for the United States and the entire Middle East.”…
Back in October 1978, none of us in exile with Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini imagined that victory for the Islamic Revolution would be attained only a few months later. It was during those days in Neuf-le-Chateau that the notion of starting a “people’s army” first took hold, and expecting that our battle would be a long…
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