Opinion

• Opinion

  Authoritarian Rule May Be Iraq’s Only Hope

  The only sacred cow left to slaughter in Iraq is the illusion that somehow, if the United States persists, democracy will survive and reign and be good for America and its interests. Admitting that democratization has failed and abandoning the democratization project is the real issue still to be confronted in the course of extricating…

  By Yossi Alpher

  4 min read
• Opinion

  War Clouds Gather Over the Golan

  While the world’s attention is riveted on the conflict in Iraq and a possible American attack on Iran, Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad may be quietly preparing for a war against Israel. From the mid-1950s until the end of the Cold War, what made Syria’s aggression against Israel possible was the fact that Damascus got its…

  By Martin van Creveld Mar 10, 2007 | 6 min read
• Opinion

  Recognize Resurgence of Antisemitism in France

  Physical attacks on Jews in France increased by 45% last year, and verbal attacks increased by 71%, according to a new report prepared by CRIF, the umbrella group of French Jewish organizations. That is bad enough news. But to make matters worse, the French ambassador to the United States has been quoted as claiming that…

  By Edward Koch and Rafael Medoff Mar 9, 2007 | 3 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

  Finally, a Jewish Population Study Worth Studying

  A study recently released by The Steinhardt Social Research Institute at Brandeis University shows that the Jewish population in America is actually about 20% larger than previously estimated. Whereas the National Jewish Population Survey 2000-01 put the figure for the “core Jewish population” at 5.2 million, the new numbers range from 6 million to 6.4…

  By Bethamie Horowitz Mar 9, 2007 | 4 min read
• Opinion

  Amir Peretz Turns His Lens Inward

  The question: What did he see? By now, you may well have watched or heard about Amir Peretz’s blooper the other day. It made the front page of Israel’s two mass circulation dailies and has been featured on Jay Leno, on NPR’s “Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me!” quiz show, and approximately everywhere else as well….

  By Leonard Fein Mar 9, 2007 | 4 min read
• Letters

  March 9, 2007

  Applaud Gov’t Defense Of Religious Freedom A March 2 article on the recent speech by Attorney General Alberto Gonzales before a meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention was a disservice to the excellent work the Justice Department is doing in the defense of religious freedom (“Speech by Attorney General Sparks Church-State Furor”). The important news…

  Mar 9, 2007 | 3 min read
• Opinion

  The Cover-up and the Crime

  Conventional wisdom in Washington has it that the cover-up is always worse than the crime. Just as Al Capone was nailed for tax evasion, so the pundits like to recount, White House schemers end up paying not for their actual schemes, but for the fibs they tell Congress and the grand jury as they try…

  Mar 9, 2007 | 2 min read
• Opinion

  A New Wind

  There are still those who believe that the frenzy of diplomatic initiatives coming out of Saudi Arabia in the past few weeks — the brokering of the Palestinian unity government deal, the weekend visit to Riyadh by Iran’s president, the planned Arab League summit where the 2002 Saudi peace plan is to be revived —…

  Mar 9, 2007 | 3 min read
• Opinion

  The Jefferson Y

  We know a thing or two about Virginia politicians with secret Jewish roots. Just ask George Allen. But Thomas Jefferson? As The New York Times reported Wednesday, “Researchers studying Jefferson’s Y chromosome have found it belongs to a lineage that is rare in Europe but common in the Middle East, raising the possibility that the…

  Mar 2, 2007 | < 1 min read
• Letters

  March 2, 2007

  Leaders Did Not Applaud ZOA’s Criticism of Abbas A February 16 article reports on a meeting between Richard Jones, America’s ambassador to Israel, and participants in a recent Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations mission to Israel (“As Capitals Cautiously Greet Palestinian Deal, Israel’s Allies in D.C. Push for Pressuring Hamas”). In the…

  Mar 2, 2007 | 3 min read
• Opinion

  Dreaming of Surge, Acting in Serge

  Good news from Iraq has been a rarity for so long that the very idea seems almost oxymoronic. This week, however, brought some of the best news in a very long time: The Bush administration has finally agreed to talk to the other players in the worsening conflict, including Iran and Syria. Over the next…

  Mar 2, 2007 | 3 min read