Opinion

• Opinion

  Reconsidering Antisemitism

  All seats were sold for this month’s “Old Demons, New Debates: Anti-Semitism in the West” conference at the Center for Jewish History in New York. It was addressed by a glittering assemblage of academics, journalists and activists from the United States, England, France, Poland, Israel, Italy, Canada, Mexico and even Iran. Much brilliance was on…

  By Ralph Seliger

  3 min read
• Opinion

  How Not To Be Afraid?

  One of the best known of the newish Jewish songs is “Kol Ha’olam Kulo,” the lyrics commonly attributed to Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav, the haunting melody by Boruck Chait. The first line — there are only two — tells us that “the whole world is a very narrow bridge,” and the melody for those words…

  By Leonard Fein May 23, 2003 | 4 min read
• Opinion

  Terror: Lessons from the Front

  In a deadly cascade of coordinated suicide attacks — 15 bombings on three continents in the space of seven days — Islamic fundamentalists demonstrated with brutal clarity last week that whatever our leaders’ claims about winning the war on terrorism, the terrorists haven’t been beaten. Far from it. While America and its allies have succeeded…

  May 23, 2003 | 3 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 The challah that changed everything: Tracing Jewish baking back to Poland

  

• Nora Berman The Kennedy Center canceled all its ‘woke’ programming — so why is this Jewish musical OK?

  

• Dan Perry Israel’s new gift to the far right could help end the Gaza war

  

• Emily Tamkin Entering motherhood — and an obsession with the works of an Italian Jewish literary hero

  

The Latest

• Opinion

  The Bank and the Fence

  A new report by the World Bank suggests that the separation fence going up between Israel and the West Bank will, when completed, leave some 95,000 Palestinians cut off on the Israeli side. Another 20,000 or so will be inconveniently cut off from their agricultural lands, forced to go through a fence to get to…

  May 23, 2003 | < 1 min read
• Opinion

  The Enduring Relevance of Black-Jewish Relations

  The recent conviction of Lemrick Nelson in the stabbing of Yankel Rosenbaum, the final spectacle of the Crown Heights riots of 1991, has been described by some as not just the nadir but the effective end of the alliance between blacks and Jews. Observers such as Samuel Freedman, associate dean of the Columbia School of…

  By Shmuley Boteach May 23, 2003 | 4 min read
• Letters

  May 23, 2003

  Organizations Stand Up To President’s Proposals The Workmen’s Circle/Arbeter Ring joins the Jewish Labor Committee in opposing the “Family Time Flexibility Act” before Congress and in calling on the Orthodox Union to reconsider its support for the legislation (“Orthodox Union Blasted by Labor Group,” May 16). This bill is another example of the Bush administration’s…

  May 23, 2003 | 5 min read
• Letters

  May 16, 2003

  Protecting Death Camps Helps Shoah Education I am pleased that the Forward is giving coverage to the continuing international efforts to protect and preserve important Jewish cultural, religious and Holocaust-related sites in Europe, including the most infamous death camps and killing fields (“‘A Place… Close to Our Heart’: Millions Raised To Fix Up Camps,” May…

  May 16, 2003 | 5 min read
• Opinion

  Pipes Dream Of a Road Map

  On the face of it, the nomination of Daniel Pipes by President Bush to be one of the 15 directors of the United States Institute of Peace seems weird. The nomination, which now awaits confirmation by the Senate, has quite predictably outraged Arab Americans, who see Pipes as their enemy. But though it is curious…

  By Leonard Fein May 16, 2003 | 4 min read
• Opinion

  Pryor and Restraint

  At first glance, it was narrow considerations of policy that prompted the separate decisions by two Jewish organizations to oppose one of President Bush’s latest judicial nominees, Bill Pryor of Alabama. To the National Council of Jewish Women, Pryor’s militantly anti-abortion views made him unacceptable as a federal judge. For the Religious Action Center of…

  May 16, 2003 | 3 min read
• Opinion

  First Steps Along the Map

  Next week’s visit to Washington by Prime Minister Sharon is more than just a courtesy call. President Bush opened a new page in Middle East history this month with the publication of his road map to Israeli-Palestinian peace. If he can persuade the two sides to begin implementing it, there may be some hope of…

  May 16, 2003 | 2 min read
• Opinion

  For Those Who Defend Our Liberties

  The incessant talking heads on our television sets commenting ad nauseam about Operation Iraqi Freedom have slowed to a trickle. The screaming newspaper headlines closely following the progress of the war have decreased in font size and have become a mere whimper. Troops have begun to rapidly leave the battlefield with many having already returned…

  By Maurice Kaprow May 16, 2003 | 5 min read