Opinion

• Opinion

  Of Democrats and Democratic Principles

  Last week’s Aipac convention, where President Bush spoke to calls for “four more years,” left the impression that many of America’s Jews are moving away from their traditionally Democratic preferences to rally around a president whom they see as a strong friend of Israel. But is it really the case that American Jews on the…

  By Bethamie Horowitz

  4 min read
• Opinion

  Bush’s Speech, Full of Our Sound and Their Fury

  President Bush’s not quite prime-time address on Monday at the Army War College had four vital audiences: the American people, the international community, the Iraqi people and the American military. But the president could not or did not tell any of his audiences what they needed and deserved to hear. At a critical moment for…

  By P.J. Crowley May 28, 2004 | 4 min read
• Letters

  May 21, 2004

  Teach the Children Well After reading the April 16 account of Holocaust education teachers in New Jersey and Iowa, I found that I could not simply turn the page (“Two Holocaust-Ed Teachers Find That Empathy Is Often Born of Adversity”). My reasons were many and varied. As a combat infantryman in France and Germany during…

  May 21, 2004 | 6 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 I have the answer to Jon Stewart’s toughest question about Israel

  

• Nora Berman ‘Eddington’ is full of conspiracy theories but it’s not about Jews. Or is it?

  

• 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

  The Spectacle Of a Dirty War

  A few days ago, in a conversation with a retired senior officer in the Pentagon’s intelligence arm, the Defense Intelligence Agency, I dropped a derogatory remark about the now infamous posing of naked Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison. “We learned it from you,” the DIA man retorted. “Not the taunting women and the photos,”…

  By Yossi Alpher May 21, 2004 | 3 min read
• Opinion

  The Same War

  In the space of eight days this month, Islamist radicals successfully assassinated both the president of the American-backed governing council in Iraq and the president of the Russian-backed government in Chechnya. While America and the West frantically debate the progress of our war in Iraq, the mounting violence of the opposition and the best way…

  May 21, 2004 | 2 min read
• Opinion

  The Gift of the Law

  Traditionalists may be forgiven for finding a dark irony this year in the celebration of Shavuot, which begins next Tuesday, May 25. The festival traditionally marks the giving of the Law to the children of Israel at Mount Sinai, seven weeks after their departure from Egypt. True, the Passover holiday, coming just weeks before, enjoys…

  May 21, 2004 | 2 min read
• Opinion

  Tearing Down the Ethnic Wall in Germany

  Once again, Jews are fighting for their place in German society. This time, however, the battle is internal — Jew vs. Jew, with the identity of the world’s fastest growing Jewish community hanging in the balance. In one corner stands the Central Council of Jews in Germany, the longtime champion of communal interests and official…

  By Michael Maier May 21, 2004 | 4 min read
• Letters

  May 14, 2004

  O.U. Firm in Position An April 30 article on the New York City “Equal Benefits Bill” suggests that Agudath Israel of America is about to compromise its position on homosexual relationships in order to remain eligible for city funding (“Orthodox Group Opens Door to Same-Sex Benefits,” April 30). That is nonsense. We would never trade…

  May 14, 2004 | 6 min read
• Opinion

  Jewish Faces in a Changing America: The Numbers Speak for Themselves

  America is changing rapidly. If American Jews don’t grasp the significance of these changes, then we just might be left in the dust one day, notwithstanding our remarkable success to date. America has played a unique role in the life of the Jewish people, particularly in the postwar era. That role, simply put, is irreplaceable,…

  By David Harris May 14, 2004 | 4 min read
• Opinion

  Greater Expectations

  Is it really so snobbish to ask, “What did you expect?” when it comes to the soldiers who behaved so inhumanely, so outrageously, at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq? After all, who are they? Six, at least, come from the 372nd army reserve unit, many of whose members live in Appalachia. One of them, married…

  By Leonard Fein May 14, 2004 | 4 min read
• Opinion

  Opening Our Eyes

  ‘The quiet of that spring morning blinded him, and he didn’t see those lying in wait for his soul.… Do not bother blaming the murderers. What more can we say about their powerful hatred of us?… Not from the Arabs of Gaza, but from ourselves, we must demand an accounting of his blood. How did…

  May 14, 2004 | 3 min read