Opinion

• Opinion

  Divided By the Pledge, and Plenty More

  Michael Newdow’s challenge to the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance in public schools, argued last week before the Supreme Court, is only narrowly a case about the Constitution. No development in legal theory can explain why the country and its highest court are suddenly caught up in a bitter ideological clash over the constitutionality…

  By Marc Stern

  4 min read
• Letters

  Letter April 2, 2004

  Our Lawless World Columnist Kathleen Peratis presents a typically Western perspective on human rights and law in an age of terrorism (“Rule of Law, or the Law of the Jungle,” March 26). Missing totally, however, is the view of the adversary. From al-Qaeda to Hamas to Saddam Hussein, the intent, language and actions of these…

  Apr 2, 2004 | 5 min read
• Opinion

  Counting Our Blessings

  Blood, frogs, lice… The listing of the plagues in the prescribed Seder ritual has, I fear, fallen victim to the ordinariness that familiarity almost inevitably breeds. Indeed, for several years now, a “how to keep them from falling asleep” Seder toy has been available, in which the plagues are represented by rubber thingies that are…

  By Leonard Fein Apr 2, 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 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

  Elevating the Debate

  Israel’s parliament offered up a useful counterpoint this week to the mud bath that is America’s national debate on intelligence and counter-terrorism policy. In a crisp 80-page report, the Knesset on Monday released the findings of a special subcommittee investigating the performance of Israel’s intelligence services before and after the Iraq war. The report is…

  Apr 2, 2004 | 3 min read
• Opinion

  Celebrating Freedom

  Passover, which begins next Monday night, is the holiday best-loved and most widely celebrated by American Jews, and with good reason. It combines family, food and a readily understandable message — freedom and human dignity — to create a universal appeal that no other holiday can match. Hanukkah may get more media attention, Rosh Hashana…

  Apr 2, 2004 | < 1 min read
• Opinion

  Shock Waves From Madrid

  Colin Powell was fuming. While he was made to wait some 45 minutes for a scheduled meeting last week with Spanish prime minister-elect Jose Luis Zapatero, the latter was engrossed in an amiable talk with another, more important personality — French President Jacques Chirac. Journalists who followed the events last week in Madrid, where the…

  By Adar Primor Apr 2, 2004 | 4 min read
• Opinion

  Learning From Carter

  This past Friday marked the 25th anniversary of the Israel-Egypt peace treaty. As President Bush wrestles with an appropriate response to escalating Middle East tensions after Israel’s assassination of Hamas leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, there is much he can learn from the political courage demonstrated by President Jimmy Carter during those peace negotiations. A week…

  By Theodore R. Mann Apr 2, 2004 | 3 min read
• Opinion

  Culture War, Take Two

  Homosexual marriage is the hottest but hardly the only issue in the culture war. That struggle pits traditionalists against progressives, with Jews and Christians on each side having — from a certain perspective — more in common with their allies of a different faith than with their opponents who are ostensibly of the same religion….

  By David Klinghoffer Mar 26, 2004 | 3 min read
• Opinion

  The Killing of the Sheikh

  We do not celebrate this week. Israel has escalated the Middle East conflict into unknown and dangerous new territory with its killing of the Hamas leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin. The rules, such as they were, have been upended. All leaders are now fair game. Palestinian rage and determination to attack Israel have been scaled up…

  Mar 26, 2004 | 4 min read
• Opinion

  An Overlooked Renaissance

  On one of my recent trips to Poland, a young Jewish man studying at Warsaw University asked me: “Why do you American Jews send your children on death camp tours of Poland? Why choose only death when you could show life?” He had a point. Each year, more than 20,000 Jewish youth from the United…

  By Shana Penn Mar 26, 2004 | 4 min read
• Opinion

  Troubling Questions for Putin’s Russia

  With his landslide victory in last week’s presidential elections Russian President Vladimir Putin has tightened his already firm grip on the reins of power. Putin took more than 70% of the vote and faced no serious opposition. Putin’s margin of victory reflects his widespread popularity, fueled by an economic rebound and the perception that he…

  By Robert J. Meth and Yosef I. Abramowitz Mar 26, 2004 | 4 min read