Opinion

• Opinion

  Sharon’s Misbegotten Miracle

  The new Israeli government sworn in this week in Jerusalem is a stark testament to the power of one man’s will. Ariel Sharon, for a half-century the living embodiment of Israeli intransigence, has decided to remake Israel’s relationship with the Palestinians before his days are up, and he is willing to batter down any door,…

  3 min read
• Opinion

  A New Hope?

  Mahmoud Abbas is now the elected head of the Palestinian movement, but he is far from being its leader. What is indeed striking, behind all the international hoopla, is how little power he actually possesses. The focus has been mainly on Abbas’s personal views and leadership style, a welcome contrast to those of his predecessor,…

  By Barry Rubin Jan 14, 2005 | 3 min read
• Opinion

  Dr. King’s Faith-based Initiative

  On Martin Luther King Day, we are reminded of the significant role that progressive religious leadership can play within American society. When that leadership reaches beyond its own religious boundaries and builds working relationships and authentic bridges with other religious communities, the opportunities for positive social change become immense. In contrast to our present times,…

  By Peter A. Geffen Jan 14, 2005 | 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 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

• Letters

  December 31, 2004

  The Nucleus of Faith Cannot Be Science In his December 24 opinion column, David Klinghoffer cites the work of physicist Gerald Schroeder as a primary influence behind Antony Flew’s famous turn toward theism (“A Former Atheist Gives Us a Reason To Believe”). Klinghoffer begins with a wonderful statement about Jews being divinely ordained teachers, and…

  Dec 31, 2004 | 6 min read
• Opinion

  Privatizing Hope

  Let’s start with the president’s Christmas message: In his radio address on Christmas Day, George W. Bush observed, correctly, that “Many of our fellow Americans still suffer from the effects of illness or poverty,” and then went on to say that “Christmastime reminds each of us that we have a duty to our fellow citizens.”…

  By Leonard Fein Dec 31, 2004 | 4 min read
• Opinion

  Time for Heresy

  Four months ago, the American Jewish Congress stunned Israel and the Jewish world by naming a foreign diplomat, Alon Pinkas, outgoing Israeli consul general in New York, to be its new CEO. The congress, a struggling agency, was showered with plaudits (including an editorial in this newspaper) for its boldness in choosing an eloquent voice…

  Dec 31, 2004 | 2 min read
• Opinion

  Airport Insecurity

  Ann is a 64-year-old grandmother with an artificial hip, and a 10-inch scar to prove it. The titanium in her prosthetic sets off metal detectors every time she passes through an airport. Ann presents a card from her physician attesting to the implant. The security officials ignore her card and single her out every time…

  By Jeffry Mallow Dec 31, 2004 | 3 min read
• Opinion

  Our Kids and the Workplace

  Thousands of children will go to work with their mothers or fathers on Ms. Magazine’s “Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day” in April. Most of the kids will spend the day in a white-collar enclave, the sort of place they may hope or expect to inhabit in four or eight or 10 years….

  By Kathleen Peratis Dec 31, 2004 | 4 min read
• Opinion

  A Yellow Cab Ride to Minsk

  I got into the cab and sat back after telling the driver where I was going. Then I looked to see what country he came from, but the taxi driver’s face didn’t match what I thought was the Russian Jewish name on the license barely visible behind the clouded-glass partition. He was dark and unshaven….

  By Roseline Glazer Dec 31, 2004 | 3 min read
• Opinion

  Searching for the Next Herzl

  The funeral took place in Vienna on July 7, 1904. The stunning announcement had come three days earlier: Theodor Herzl, dead at age 44. Here is Stefan Zweig’s description of the day, as quoted by Ernst Pawel in “The Labyrinth of Exile, A Life of Theodor Herzl”: “A strange day it was, a day in…

  By Leonard Fein Dec 24, 2004 | 4 min read
• Letters

  December 24, 2004

  ‘You Gotta Go to Iran’ David Twersky’s selective quote in his December 17 opinion article on the exchange between Bill O’Reilly and his radio caller is misleading (“A Lesson in American Civics”). According to Twersky’s rendering, O’Reilly said that the United States is “a predominantly Christian nation.” “If you are really offended,” O’Reilly added according…

  Dec 24, 2004 | 6 min read