Opinion

• Letters

  July 2, 2004

  Restitution and Justice I would like to correct two misconceptions that can arise from the otherwise important June 18 article on property restitution (“Court Actions Highlight Lack of Special Rep on Restitution”). First, while I believe that it remains important for the Bush administration to have a senior political representative work on Holocaust restitution issues…

  5 min read
• Opinion

  Honoring Australia for Misguided Policies

  Earlier this month, the American Jewish Committee bestowed on visiting Australian Prime Minister John Howard its highest honor, the American Liberties Medallion. Previous recipients of the award include Martin Luther King, Lyndon Johnson, Ronald Reagan, Vaclav Havel, Natan Sharansky and Elie Wiesel. The citation for Howard’s award reads: “in recognition of [his] longstanding commitment, as…

  By Geoffrey Brahm Levey Jun 25, 2004 | 4 min read
• Opinion

  Proposed Law Pays for Belief With Bias

  The problem with the Workplace Religious Freedom Act is one of poor draftsmanship, not malice aforethought. Civil rights advocates and most religious groups are of one mind in supporting broader accommodation standards for religious dress, appearance or holy days. However, WRFA legislation, as it currently stands, is dangerously broad and would force the courts to…

  By Laura Murphy and Marsha Atkind Jun 25, 2004 | 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 A new humanitarian outrage is unfolding in the Middle East. It’s not in Gaza

  

• Nora Berman The left is turning on AOC over Israel — and imperiling its own agenda

  

• Dan Perry Recognizing a Palestinian state is a great way to doom Palestinians

  

• Emily Tamkin Is starvation in Gaza really Israel’s fault? The facts are clear

  

The Latest

• Opinion

  Shelter the Displaced Among Us

  On Monday, residents of Chicago’s Cabrini-Green public housing development appeared in federal court, charging the Chicago Housing Authority with violating international human rights standards prohibiting forced evictions. For the first time, human rights laws on displacement are being used to contest the eviction of public housing residents in the United States. Now on trial is…

  By Jill Jacobs and Noah Leavitt Jun 25, 2004 | 4 min read
• Letters

  June 25, 2004

  Higher Standards Not Matched by Recognition Phrasing used in a June 11 article on the Sudan — specifically, the statements that “after months of inaction [Jewish groups are finally making an effort to help]” and that “Jewish organizations… [failed] to do enough to stop the 1994 genocide that took place in Rwanda” — demonstrate the…

  Jun 25, 2004 | 5 min read
• Opinion

  Right’s Wrong On Being Left

  All right, let’s say that I am wrong. It wouldn’t be the first time. Let’s say that in the November elections, America’s Jews will indeed abandon their traditional loyalty and vote for the Republican nominee for president. As I’ve written fairly often in recent months, I see no reason to think that will be so…

  By Leonard Fein Jun 25, 2004 | 4 min read
• Opinion

  Affirming Life

  The threat by Catholic bishops to withhold communion from politicians who uphold abortion rights is an affront not just to democracy, but also to the best moral teachings of Catholicism. Church leaders have been standard bearers for years in the effort to recriminalize abortion. They base their opposition to the procedure on the Catholic doctrine…

  Jun 25, 2004 | 3 min read
• Opinion

  Singer at 100

  ‘Writers can stir the mind, but they can’t direct it,” Isaac Bashevis Singer said in an interview in 1978. “Time changes things, God changes things, the dictators change things, but writers can’t change anything.” As it turned out, Singer was wrong about writers. For evidence all he had to look at was his own life….

  Jun 25, 2004 | 2 min read
• Letters

  June 18, 2004

  U.S. Support for Israel Not Contingent on Gaza A June 4 news article quotes supporters of Prime Minister Sharon’s withdrawal plan as claiming that Israel’s failure to leave Gaza would set off a major clash between Israel and the United States (“U.S. Groups Warn Israel on Failure to Pull Out”). I and other representatives of…

  Jun 18, 2004 | 5 min read
• Opinion

  Let a Hundred Flowers Blossom

  Contrary to the prevailing sentiment — and, for that matter, very substantial evidence — the sky is not falling down, nor is the world fatally ill. There is, in fact, cause for rejoicing. Please don’t misunderstand: I am not about to deny the dour assessment of where the world is these days. I will spare…

  By Leonard Fein Jun 18, 2004 | 3 min read
• Opinion

  Across the Atlantic

  International summitry is a vexing mixture of overblown pomp and hard-nosed horse-trading, not always in equal measures, and observers must take care to separate substance from symbolism. And yet there are moments when the magnitude of the event speaks for itself, and the symbolism becomes the substance. The current round of summitry is such a…

  Jun 18, 2004 | 3 min read