Opinion

• Opinion

  Finding a Niche, Mameloshn Goes Mainstream

  So “oy” and “bubkes” are now in Merriam-Webster’s dictionary, as the Forward reported last month. Should we kvell or should we kvetch? And what do the terms’ entries into the American lexicon tell us about Jews in America? Probably not what you think. To begin with, these words and the 100 or so others like…

  By Benjamin Sadock and Jerrold Sadock

  3 min read
• Opinion

  Atop the Ivory Towers

  A few weeks ago I went out to dinner with Bob and Anita Summers, two distinguished economists who long taught at the University of Pennsylvania. Afterward they invited me back to their lovely home in the hills of Truro, one of the most beautiful towns on Cape Cod. In the course of the evening, as…

  By Peter Rose Aug 29, 2003 | 4 min read
• Opinion

  Delicious ‘Leber Days’

  When I was a boy in Brooklyn, the words “Labor Day” carried much weight, but they meant different things to different members of my family. To my father’s socially conscious, intellectually curious, working immigrant parents, it was the day to be thankful for the unions, to stand and march with all working people. It was…

  By Daniel Meltzer Aug 29, 2003 | 2 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

• Letters

  August 22, 2003

  Stand Up for the Roma I read with great interest George Soros’s article on the situation of the Roma in Europe (“In Ever-Richer European Union, Roma Still Live in Abject Poverty,” August 15). While this issue is not widely known in the United States, it remains a difficult challenge for European society. Even the dark…

  Aug 22, 2003 | 6 min read
• Opinion

  A Texas-Sized Scandal

  All eyes are fixed on — or averted from? — the ongoing debacle in California. But at least there, it’s all out in the open, for everyone to see and shake their heads at. Ever the contrarian, I have Texas on my mind even more than California. Texas in general, Houston in particular. The “in…

  By Leonard Fein Aug 22, 2003 | 4 min read
• Opinion

  The Blood Cries Out

  The barbaric savagery of modern terrorism induces, as it intends to do, a strange combination of rage and numbness in the target population. We are at once inflamed and stupefied, aroused to action and yet unfocused in our reactions. Just when cool thinking is most needed we are least disposed to make fine distinctions. The…

  Aug 22, 2003 | 2 min read
• Opinion

  ‘Spiritual Warfare’

  Roy Moore, the chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, has declared a religious war here in America. In what’s often seen as headline-mongering, Moore has refused for months to heed a federal court order to remove a 5,300-pound statue of the Ten Commandments from the state courthouse. Most dismiss it as a sideshow. This…

  Aug 22, 2003 | 2 min read
• Opinion

  A Tribute That Desecrates Rather Than Sanctifies

  Creating a memorial to the 600,000 Jews murdered at the Belzec death camp in Poland is of the utmost importance. It is profoundly distressing, however, that the planned memorial will feature an enormous trench running through the entire camp. The project has already disturbed — and will continue to disturb — the ashes and bones…

  By Avi Weiss Aug 22, 2003 | 5 min read
• Opinion

  Belzec’s Victims Have Waited Long Enough for a Memorial

  Between March and December 1942, more than 600,000 Jews were murdered in the Belzec killing camp in Poland. In 1943, to cover up the crime, the Nazis demolished the camp and dug up and burned hundreds of thousands of bodies. Ashes, bones and bodies were buried in chaotic fashion. Ever since, Belzec has been abused….

  By Irving Greenberg Aug 22, 2003 | 5 min read
• Opinion

  Hammer and Tong

  Democrats, who never lack for internecine squabbles, have lately been beating each other up with gusto over how steamed up they ought to be as they head into next year’s presidential race. Most of the party’s leadership has been sticking to the high road so far, fearful that a full-bore assault on the White House…

  Aug 15, 2003 | 2 min read
• Opinion

  The Doctor Steps Out

  Top-rated radio host Laura Schlessinger shocked both supporters and critics last week by telling her 12 million listeners that she was no longer observing Orthodox Jewish rites and rituals. Known to most as Dr. Laura, Schlessinger previously made news by converting to Judaism — twice — first under the auspices of the Conservative movement, then…

  Aug 15, 2003 | 2 min read