In the Forward’s opinion section, you’ll find analysis and essays from diverse corners of the Jewish world.
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Opinion
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Letters
July 9, 2004
Respect Western Wall The women’s section of the Western Wall welcomes all — Jew/non-Jew, Orthodox/non-Orthodox, one-time visitors/regulars, short-sleeves/long-skirts;those praying Sephardic, Ashkenazi or not at all (“Breaking Sacred Ground for Equality,” July 2). There’s almost total freedom, the only request being to respect the minhag hamakom, or the local custom, and abstain from conspicuous group prayer…
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Opinion A Sick Health Care System
Somewhere in the shuffle, as you may recall, the now almost defunct Iraqi Governing Council approved an interim constitution. American experts and authorities had a good deal of influence on the constitution’s content, and the result of their work is fascinating. Here, for example, is Article XIV: “The individual has the right to security, education,…
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Opinion The Agency’s Pride
The Jewish Agency for Israel is to be saluted for its decision last week to help build new communities in Israel for settlers to be evacuated from Gaza in the coming months. In taking part in this venture, the Jewish Agency continues its historic role as a builder and shaper of the Jewish state. American…
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Opinion Words and Music
We’ve commented frequently on this page on the central role that Israel has played and continues to play in shaping the common dreams and imaginings of American Jews. We’ve often taken note of the place that music plays in that seasoning process. We’ve recalled those anthemic Hebrew songs that have successfully crossed the ocean and,…
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Opinion Bathsheba Bloomingdales Shmutz, Baron Ezekiel Gideon Rothschild
Bathsheba Bloomingdales Shmutz, 29, and Baron Ezekiel Gideon Rothschild, 69, were married today at the home of Queen Noor in St. Lucia. Rabbi Moishe Gawlshplatz officiated. Mr. Rothschild’s father, Baron Judah Jonah Rothschild, a cantor, participated. The bridegroom is known as Pish and invented the zipper. He served as the Senior Undersecretary to Presidents Gerald…
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Opinion Breaking Sacred Ground for Equality
On June 20, the second day of Rosh Chodesh Tammuz, ultra-Orthodox women physically and verbally attacked a group of religious women praying at the Western Wall in Jerusalem. This was not a spontaneous demonstration of hatred, but rather a calculated action to prove to the Israeli Supreme Court that the prayers of the Women of…
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Opinion America Is Not Above the Law In Bringing Saddam to Justice
The United States has turned over to Iraq “legal custody” of Saddam Hussein. He is apparently headed for a trial in an Iraqi courtroom. Unlike Slobodan Milosevic, whose trial before a highly qualified international criminal tribunal resumes this week, the quality of the justice Saddam will receive is very much in question. The United States…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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