Opinion

• Opinion

  Why I Disagree With My Cousin, the Israeli Chief Rabbi

  The other day, I woke at the crack of dawn to finish studying halachic rulings in time for my Jewish Law class at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York. But as I was plugging in, social media alerts from several sources alerted me that just minutes ago the Israeli Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi David Lau…

  By Amichai Lau-Lavie

  3 min read
• 
  Opinion

  What Ayman Odeh Teaches Us About the Limits of Open Dialogue

  Arab Israeli MK and Joint List leader Ayman Odeh’s decision not to meet with the Conference of Presidents this week in New York — because the meeting was to be held in Jewish Agency offices — was the right move. As Odeh , “I came here to represent the Arab public in Israel to American…

  By Mairav Zonszein Dec 14, 2015 | 3 min read
• 
  Opinion

  Time To Crack Down on Newtown ‘Truthers’ Who Tarnish Memory of Noah Pozner

  It’s been three years since we last embraced our precious little boy, Noah. At six-years-old, he was the youngest child murdered at the Sandy Hook Elementary School. While our family may have managed to live through this tragedy, the passage of time has nowhere near dimmed the vivid memory of that day nor made it…

  By Veronique and Lenny Pozner Dec 14, 2015 | 4 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 A new humanitarian outrage is unfolding in the Middle East. It’s not in Gaza

  

• Nora Berman The left is turning on AOC over Israel — and imperiling its own agenda

  

• 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

  3 Things You Can Do To Help Close Gender Gap

  In 2001, Shifra Bronznick created a national organization with an audacious mission: to advocate for women’s leadership in Jewish not-for-profits, and for policies that were family friendly and gender equitable. It wasn’t easy. But Bronznick was relentless — and visionary. She talked about the need for, and the benefits of, paid family leave long before…

  Dec 14, 2015 | 4 min read
• 
  Opinion

  Chief Rabbi’s Criticism of Conservative Jews Is Doomed To Backfire

  (JTA) — At the Jewish Federations of North America General Assembly this year, it was made clear that a healthy Jewish community does not have to have unanimity on all issues, but we do need to be unified and, above all else, have civility in our discourse. It was obvious this week that Israel’s Ashkenazi…

  By Jerry Silverman Dec 13, 2015 | 3 min read
• 
  Opinion

  Why Chief Rabbi Couldn’t Be More Wrong About Conservative School

  Rabbi David Lau’s condemnation this week of Naftali Bennett’s visit to the Solomon Schechter School of Manhattan was shortsighted and inaccurate in many ways. Most close to home for me, it denigrated the vital work we are doing at Schechter Manhattan to nurture positive Jewish identity in our students, the future leaders of the American…

  By Benjamin Mann Dec 12, 2015 | 2 min read
• 
  Opinion

  How Republican Hate for Obama Is Burning Up the Planet

  When we talk about the Paris climate talks, most of our attention goes to the tug-of-war between the rich and poor nations. They’re playing chicken over who’ll pick up the tab for warding off disaster. But there’s another confrontation simmering at the edge of the major conference. Discussed mainly in whispers, it carries much higher…

  By J.J. Goldberg Dec 11, 2015 | 4 min read
• 
  Opinion

  What 1,000 Rabbis Should Have Said in Syrian Refugee Petition

  Kudos to the calling on the United States government to welcome refugees from Syria. An impressive feat, even in the digital age, to gather such a large number of supporters on a hotly debated political topic in such a short period of time. Even so, the petition represents a fundamental misread of American Jewish history,…

  By Marc Dollinger Dec 10, 2015 | 3 min read
• 
  Opinion

  Are French Jews Falling for Marine Le Pen’s Xenophobic Siren Song?

  In France, we have just been reminded that historical time is now divided by an avant, before, and après, after, November 13. The results are in from the first round of regional elections, and they are striking. Marine Le Pen’s xenophobic and authoritarian Front National political party has made big gains, finishing first in six…

  By Robert Zaretsky Dec 9, 2015 | 4 min read
• 
  Opinion

  Want To Be a Good Liberal? Don’t Push for Gun Control Right Now.

  Small-bore gun-safety measuresprobably wouldn’t have much, if any, impact on the phenomenon of mass shootings that so troubles us

  By J.J. Goldberg Dec 8, 2015 | 7 min read
• 
  Opinion

  What Sex Abuse Cases at Horace Mann and Y.U. Should Teach Us

  As a former student at Horace Mann School in the Bronx’s Riverdale neighborhood, I was instrumental in breaking the silence around the prestigious prep school’s decades-long history of child sexual abuse. Although I myself am not an abuse survivor, I saw many of my fellow alumni’s stories come to light when The New York Times…

  By Amos Kamil Dec 8, 2015 | 4 min read