Opinion

• Opinion

  What American Jewish Fear Looks Like Through Israeli Eyes

  In recent weeks I’ve had many conversations with friends from the United States, some while they were visiting in Israel, others through correspondence and phone calls. In all these talks the issue of Iran came up. “What do you think?” they asked me, the Israeli. “Are you afraid?” Like many other confused lay people, I…

  By Elan Ezrachi

  3 min read
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  Opinion

  What Syrian Refugees Have To Say About Coexistence With Israel

  The refugee crisis is making headlines the world over. Here in Hungary, most refugees arriving treat the country as a stop, part of a longer journey to Western Europe. Thousands are taking temporary shelter in one of Budapest’s three main train stations. The lower level of the Keleti train station links directly with the entrance…

  By Shahar Shoham Sep 6, 2015 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Has the American Jewish Left Lost All Sense of Boundaries?

  Helped by Michael Douglas and J Street, I have recently become increasingly painfully aware, in the most personal and intense way, of the growing rift between traditional Judaism and everything else that calls itself Jewish. Mind you, I’ve been a Jewish journalist for more than 40 years and I’ve associated professionally and spiritually with almost…

  By Yori Yanover Sep 6, 2015 | 6 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

  Will Anti-Semitism Drive Turkey’s Sephardic Jews to Spain?

  How about this for a Hollywood script? It’s 1492, and Spain’s King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella expel their Jewish subjects. In response, the Ottoman sultan Bayezid II sends ships to Spain to collect them. How nice of him. They flourish under Muslim rule and, centuries later, receive equal rights as citizens. Fast-forward to 2002 and…

  By Louis Fishman Sep 5, 2015 | 3 min read
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  Letters

  To Accept or Not to Accept the Iran Deal

  Many provisions of the proposed nuclear agreement with Iran are not satisfactory, which leads to the conclusion that the agreement itself is unacceptable. The most important issue is totally intolerable – namely, the proposed 10- to 15-year duration of the agreement. For some reason, opponents of the agreement don’t put this at the top of…

  Sep 4, 2015 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  Time To Save Iraq’s Treasures — By Force, If Necessary

  (JTA) — Seeing that no one was investigating the looting of Iraq’s National Museum in the wake of Saddam Hussein’s fall, Col. Matthew Bogdanos put the Marines under his command on the job. A first-generation Greek American with a master’s degree in classical history, Bogdanos appreciates cultures that value their history and preserve their antiquities….

  By Ben Sales Sep 4, 2015 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  Why Barack Obama Still Faces Uphill Battle To Avoid Iran Deal Veto

  Now that President Obama has more than the 34 Senate votes needed to uphold a veto and save the Iran nuclear deal, the fight has moved to another, less critical but highly symbolic threshold: winning over 41 senators to filibuster the Senate approval/disapproval vote. That would block the upper chamber from voting on the Iran…

  By J.J. Goldberg Sep 3, 2015 | 6 min read
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  Opinion

  No, God Is Not Punishing Jimmy Carter for ‘Anti-Semitism’

  (JTA) — Former President Jimmy Carter, 90, recently announced he has cancer that has spread to his brain. For some Jews (and evangelical Christians), the cause apparently is obvious. No, it’s not his genetic makeup, or the spread of a mass from his liver to his brain. It’s divine punishment for his behavior toward the…

  By Uriel Heilman Sep 3, 2015 | < 1 min read
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  Opinion

  5 Ways for Barack and Bibi To Get Along Better

  (JTA) — Now that enactment of the Iran nuclear deal appears to be a sure thing, the profound and often personal disagreement between President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over Iran is not about to go away. In the contemplative spirit of the Days of Awe, we canvassed the experts to recommend…

  By Ron Kampeas Sep 3, 2015 | 5 min read
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  Letters

  Elijah Became a Bar Mitzvah Whether He Marked the Occasion or Not

  In response to Neal Pollack’s article The beauty of Judaism is that Elijah became bar mitzvah when he turned 13, whether he chose to mark the occasion with an aliyah or a celebration or not, just as he will be old enough to vote, drink or drive when he reaches those chronological milestones whether or…

  Sep 2, 2015 | < 1 min read
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  Opinion

  Are Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump Flip Sides of Same Populist Coin?

  Bernie Sanders insists he’s nothing like his fellow insurgent-outsider, Donald Trump. He’s half right. On one hand, it may be true that Sanders differs from Trump, as he told MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell on August 31, in that he avoids “demagoguery” and “racist attacks” and tries instead to “talk about the reality facing the American people.”…

  By J.J. Goldberg Sep 2, 2015 | 4 min read