Opinion

• 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

  4 min read
• Opinion

  Rule of Law, or the Law of the Jungle?

  The Bush administration was not speaking metaphorically when it declared “war” on terrorism. It has incarcerated in Guantanamo approximately 650 alleged terrorists, labeling them “unlawful combatants,” and it is holding them without charge or trial, many presumably until the end of the “war on terrorism,” a day that may never come. The United States is…

  By Kathleen Peratis Mar 26, 2004 | 4 min read
• Letters

  March 19, 2004

  Greenspan Increases Our Social Insecurity Your editorial on Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan and Social Security was excellent (“Pickpocket,” March 12). The real damage Greenspan did was to shake the faith of young people in the system. So many have expressed the opinion that Social Security won’t be there when they retire, and he has…

  Mar 19, 2004 | 5 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

  An Unfinished Revolution

  The reputation of politicians these days is not exactly in good health. Some of us view politicians — the more so those at the state and local level — cynically all the time, and all of us view them cynically some of the time. But like the waters of the Red Sea parting, the debate…

  By Leonard Fein Mar 19, 2004 | 4 min read
• Opinion

  Spanish Democracy

  Given their oft-stated commitment to the spread of democracy, the Bush administration and its allies have shown a strangely ungenerous response to the results of this week’s elections in Spain. Spanish voters did exactly what citizens in a democracy are supposed to do: They considered the facts, examined their representatives’ records, weighed the options and…

  Mar 19, 2004 | 2 min read
• Opinion

  Postcards from Creation

  For most of us, it took some imagination to make sense of those photos of distant galaxies released last week by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The pictures looked like nothing so much as colored blotches. You had to read NASA’s explanations to understand what they were: postcards from the dawn of time. The…

  Mar 19, 2004 | 2 min read
• Opinion

  A Bad Faith Decision

  Your local Jewish federation’s social welfare agency — whether providing counseling to battered women, vocational training to the disabled, care and comfort to the elderly or a host of other noble and needed services — is not, as a matter of law, a Jewish organization. At least, this is now the law in the state…

  By Nathan J. Diament Mar 19, 2004 | 3 min read
• Opinion

  The Smearing of Senator Kerry

  It has already begun. We’re eight months away from the presidential election, and the Bush-Cheney team is trying to distort the record and blacken the name of John Kerry in the Jewish community. No matter that Senator Kerry has a perfect 18-year voting record on Israel and signs onto all of the pro-Israel letters, initiatives…

  By Ira N. Forman Mar 19, 2004 | 3 min read
• Opinion

  Some of Americans’ Best Friends Are…

  With the release of Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ” and surging hostility toward Jews overseas, many American Jews are feeling rumblings of dread about the possibility of a wave of antisemitism arriving on these shores. In light of these anxieties, it’s worth looking at how Americans really feel about their Jewish fellow citizens….

  By Bethamie Horowitz Mar 19, 2004 | 3 min read
• Opinion

  A War That Left America Less Secure

  Before the invasion of Iraq, the United States was more secure than the Bush administration would have had us believe. Because of the occupation of Iraq, the genuine threats we face may be multiplied more than most Americans recognize. The removal of Saddam Hussein’s regime has yielded some positive dividends, but a comprehensive reckoning suggests…

  By Daniel Benjamin Mar 12, 2004 | 4 min read
• Opinion

  Shaking Up the Arab World

  It is not difficult to understand why last year’s invasion of Iraq has had the impact of an earthquake on the Middle East, with tremors and aftershocks spreading from the epicenter in Baghdad throughout the entire Arab world. In the first place, Baghdad has a unique and special significance in Arab history and culture totally…

  By Osama Al-Ghazali Harb Mar 12, 2004 | 3 min read