Opinion

• Opinion

  Same Old Same-old

  One of the oddest features of Middle East debate in this country is its near-total detachment from the realities of the Middle East itself. Whatever happens over there, the players here can be trusted to continue reading from the script they learned years ago. In reality, Israel votes to begin dismantling settlements and withdrawing from…

  2 min read
• Opinion

  Looking Beyond Israel’s Withdrawal From Gaza…

  The Book of Judges records the death of Samson in Gaza. Bound to the columns of a Philistine temple, Samson brought the house down on himself and its occupants, crying, “Let me die with the Philistines.” In recent days, Samsonian recklessness and despair have again resurfaced in Gaza. Meet Yigal Kaminetsky, rabbi of the Gush…

  By Lloyd Green Feb 25, 2005 | 3 min read
• Opinion

  Looking Beyond Israel’s Withdrawal From Gaza…

  The headlines from the Middle East these days are full of optimism. Prime Minister Sharon and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas have been all smiles since this month’s summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, and Sunday’s Israeli Cabinet approval of the Gaza disengagement plan is being taken as a major step toward finally ending the conflict. The…

  By Amitai Etzioni Feb 25, 2005 | 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 Americans keep getting killed in the West Bank. Here’s how the US could fight that awful trend

  

• Nora Berman First Camp Auschwitz, now Alligator Alcatraz — why the right is obsessed with commodifying brutality

  

• Dan Perry What exactly is going on between Israel and Syria — and is the prospect of peace dead?

  

• Emily Tamkin Zohran Mamdani’s victory proves it: The ‘gotcha’ mode of fighting antisemitism has to go

  

The Latest

• Opinion

  …And the Debate It Sparked Among American Jewish Advocates

  Last year, Prime Minister Sharon put forward a plan to withdraw Jewish settlements from Gaza and the northern West Bank. His plan was approved by his government and was supported by nearly three-quarters of Israel’s citizens. It subsequently won the endorsement of the Bush administration, and clearly has the support of the great majority of…

  By Eric Yoffie Feb 25, 2005 | 3 min read
• Opinion

  …And the Debate It Sparked Among American Jewish Advocates

  Among his activities, uninformed criticism of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations appears to be one of Rabbi Eric Yoffie’s most frequent (“Confront the Extremists in Our Midst,” February 11). In his latest missive, his ignorance of the Presidents Conference’s statements of support for Israel’s policies, including for its disengagement plan, has…

  By James Tisch Feb 25, 2005 | 3 min read
• Letters

  February 25, 2005

  David Irving Responds In her gripping February 14 opinion article, Deborah Lipstadt shows that one reason she did not speak for three months during the British High Court trial of my libel action against her — a reticence that has puzzled many observers hitherto — was evidently because she was asleep (“60 Years Later, Dresden…

  Feb 25, 2005 | 5 min read
• Opinion

  What Palestinians Need in Order To Believe in the Peace Process

  Since a cease-fire was declared February 8 in Sharm el-Sheikh, the Palestinian people have demonstrated their desire to end the bloodshed with Israel. We have acknowledged that the security of Israeli and Palestinian civilians is a legitimate concern. Moreover, the recent elections in Palestine have demonstrated to the world that the Palestinian people are committed…

  By Mustafa Barghouti Feb 18, 2005 | 4 min read
• Opinion

  A Word From Belfast

  In Northern Ireland, as in many conflict zones, the outline of a final peace settlement is clear. When we are collectively ready for it, a group of well-meaning old enemies will work it out on the back of a postcard over lunch. A peace process is a corrupting and hypocritical business. It falls between two…

  By Malachi O'Doherty Feb 18, 2005 | 4 min read
• Opinion

  Trembling Before Saying ‘God”

  God. There, I’ve said it. And I didn’t flinch. That’s the big divide, according to Frank Luntz, a Republican strategist who first came to prominence when he helped draft Newt Gingrich’s late and unlamented “Contract With America” back in 1994. Now Luntz is freely dispensing advice to Democrats in search of “values.” Or, more properly,…

  By Leonard Fein Feb 18, 2005 | 4 min read
• Opinion

  Why We Must Raise the Alarm

  In an opinion article in the February 5 issue of The New York Times, the national editor of the Forward argues that “it is time Jews recognize that the old strategies no longer work…. Jewish organizations and advocates of Israel fail to grasp that they are no longer viewed as the voice of the disenfranchised….

  By Abraham Foxman Feb 18, 2005 | 4 min read
• Opinion

  What Dean Said

  Howard Dean carries a lot of baggage with him to his new post as chairman of the Democratic National Committee. Coming fresh from his failed presidential bid last year, he brings far more visibility and authority to the post than his predecessors did. He will be in a position to offer real leadership to a…

  Feb 18, 2005 | 3 min read