Opinion

• Opinion

  Was John Kerry’s Speech a Swan Song to Israel — or a Last Gasp Peace Push?

  There are two ways to interpret the speech (text here, video here) that Secretary of State John Kerry delivered December 28 on his vision of Israeli-Palestinian peace. One interpretation is that it was his swan song, his angry farewell to the global community and the Middle East that he tried to reshape, Through four years…

  By J.J. Goldberg

  5 min read
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  Opinion

  After UN Resolution, This #NeverTrump Conservative Is Wondering If Donald Is So Bad After All

  At the conclusion of his second term as President, there are many areas of the world to which President Obama could have directed his attention. From Chinese and Russian cyber-warfare to the human rights catastrophe taking place in Syria, the world doesn’t lack opportunities for leadership from the leader of the free world. So where…

  By Bethany Mandel Dec 28, 2016 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Actually, This UN Resolution Is Much Better Than 71 Others the U.S. Allowed To Pass

  There’s not much that’s new or remarkable in that new resolution from the United Nations Security Council (text here) condemning Israel’s West Bank settlements as illegal. You might call that very fact remarkable — that the resolution is so unremarkable — given all the fuss the resolution has stirred up. Surely with all that smoke…

  By J.J. Goldberg Dec 28, 2016 | 7 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

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  Opinion

  Why Obama’s Failure To Veto U.N. Resolution Was Bad for America

  President Obama’s stinging December 23 refusal to veto a U.N. Security Council resolution condemning Israeli settlements as a “flagrant violation of international law” did more than just excite enraged claims that America abandoned Israel or stabbed it in the back. In departing from the custom of every American administration of the last four decades, Obama…

  By Allan Gerson Dec 27, 2016 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  How Israel Brought U.N. Resolution on Itself With Irrational Settlement Push

  The controversy over the U.S. decision to abstain rather than veto a UN Resolution supported by every other member of the Security Council diverts attention from the most important threat to a secure future for Israel. The single path forward for Israel to maintain its status as both Jewish and democratic is to realize upon…

  By Alan Solow Dec 27, 2016 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Our Great Moral Failure in Syria

  Two thousand and sixteen was the year that America lost all claim to moral leadership, the year when apathy, prejudice and self-absorption finally destroyed our ability to act wisely in the world. The siege of Aleppo signified the end. For five years until now, we have watched as Syria descended into a civil war that…

  By Jane Eisner Dec 27, 2016 | 5 min read
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  Opinion

  David Friedman’s Critics Are Wrong — Here’s Why

  Is it possible to be too pro-Israel for some Jews? Apparently, it is – given the hyperventilated response to President-elect Trump’s nomination of David Friedman to be the next U.S. ambassador to Israel. I understand that Friedman has made some remarks that do not comport with the views of many on the opposite end of…

  By Shmuley Boteach Dec 26, 2016 | 5 min read
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  Opinion

  David Friedman, What Do Your Donations to Radical Jewish Settlements Pay For?

  Dear David Friedman, Congratulations on your nomination to be U.S. Ambassador to Israel. I must say that I was alarmed to hear this news, as your rejection of decades of U.S. policy regarding a two-state solution and your smear of some liberal Jews as kapos should disqualify you from this position. T’ruah, the organization I…

  By Jill Jacobs Dec 26, 2016 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  That ‘Shameful’ UN Resolution Actually Blasts the Settlements — Not Israel

  Relations between Israel and the United States sank on Friday to their lowest point in years after the Obama administration declined to veto a resolution in the United Nations Security Council (full text here) declaring Israel’s settlements in the West Bank, “including East Jerusalem,” to be illegal under international law. Israeli leaders reacted with fury….

  By J.J. Goldberg Dec 23, 2016 | 6 min read
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  Opinion

  Are These Colleges ‘The Worst’ for Jews?

  Everyone loves lists. Lists are fun and informative, and ranked lists in particular help us make decisions more efficiently. But lists are also deceptively powerful: it’s really hard for a person to properly judge the objective value of something distinct from its ranking once they’ve seen it on a ranked list, whether that “something” is…

  By Laura E. Adkins Dec 23, 2016 | 6 min read
• Opinion

  Betraying Your Community for the Sake of Your Schooling

  The Orthodox, as Steven M. Cohen demonstrates, are growing in importance in the American Jewish community. Growing demographic power brings them increasing clout in terms of setting the broader communal agenda, but also attaches higher stakes. There will be difficult choices between legitimate internal needs and responsibility to the broader civic order, one that the…

  By Avraham Bronstein Dec 23, 2016 | 4 min read