Opinion

• Opinion

  The Problem With Jewish Pope Envy

  Pope Francis is the pope a lot of American Jews wish they had if they had a pope. In the two and a half years since Jorge Mario Bergoglio became the 266th head of the Catholic Church, he has captured hearts and stirred longing well beyond his global flock of more than a billion Catholics….

  4 min read
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  Opinion

  Yom Kippur Playlist: Hot Tunes for Judgment Day

  We’re back with a Yom Kippur playlist. I’ve tried to follow the order of the day, starting with Kol Nidre, going to the evening and morning services, the cantor’s Hineni prayer (Here I Stand) preceding Musaf and so on. Our guests include Bob Dylan, Moishe Oysher, Chava Alberstein, The Beatles, Eminem, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Al…

  By J.J. Goldberg Sep 20, 2015 | 15 min read
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  Opinion

  When a Syrian Girl Named Halla Melted My Heart in Vienna

  That was some dinner. Good friends, great food. Think I’ll grab this tram and switch to another one in front of the Parliament. OK, here I am on the platform, waiting for my second tram. Midnight. What’s this on the bench? A mother, a sick-looking baby, two children, two men. Obviously Syrians. Oh how sad….

  By Edward Serotta Sep 20, 2015 | 3 min read

Columnists View All

• Jay Michaelson What can really be done to prevent antisemitic attacks like Bondi Beach?

  

• Rob Eshman Australia shooting terrifies Jews worldwide — and strengthens the case for Israel

  

• Nora Berman Did crypto-Jews invent the modern tarot deck?

  

• Dan Perry The 3 responses to the Bondi Beach Hanukkah attack that could make Jews safer

  

• Emily Tamkin The fundamental miscalculation behind the GOP’s antisemitism crisis

  

The Latest

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  Opinion

  Just How Deeply Split Is Jewish Public on Iran Deal?

  Looking at the public opinion polling on the Iran nuclear deal over the past few months, it shouldn’t surprise you to learn that there are some sharp differences — among Americans in general and among American Jews in particular. What might surprise you are the differences between the surveys themselves. It seems a slight difference…

  By J.J. Goldberg Sep 18, 2015 | 7 min read
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  Opinion

  How Ann Coulter Made It Kosher To Hate Jews

  It’s not exactly news when Ann Coulter . Her business has long been to provoke — and business is good. But with the rise of Donald Trump in the Republican primary for the presidency, Ann Coulter has gotten more outlandish than ever, and in a brand new way. While the old Ann Coulter was insulting…

  By Karol Markowicz Sep 17, 2015 | 3 min read
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  Letters

  We Can Do More to Teach Children to Be Part of the Community

  Dear Parent: I recently read in the Forward about a father (Neal) whose son has decided not to celebrate his bar mitzvah. There is no question that for many of us and our children the moment on the bima is full of meaning. Reading Torah, teaching a D’var Torah, leading the service. Our children learn…

  Sep 17, 2015 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Sympathy for Syrian Refugees — But Not African Asylum Seekers?

  The mainstream and Jewish media have both finally raised the world’s refugee crisis to the status it deserves in our news feeds and we, Jewish Americans, cannot help but feel immense sympathy for the Syrian refugees. We want to do whatever we can to help and we should. I have heard of a number of…

  By Maya Paley Sep 17, 2015 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Why Israel Must Bury Hatchet With U.S. Over Iran — Now

  The congressional debate on the Iran nuclear deal is over. President Obama has prevailed. The United States will implement the P5+1 agreement with Iran. Israel will have to live with it. In sharp contrast with Washington, no real public discussion of the deal’s details was ever conducted in Israel. Most of the opposition patriotically sided…

  By Efraim Halevy Sep 17, 2015 | 4 min read
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  Letters

  Four Anguished Questions on the Refugee Crisis

  Dear Editor: Lipstadt’s on the moral and political issues concerning policy on the Syrian refugee crisis raises four issues that trouble the author. One of the questions the author asks, is the “extent to which these new immigrants will commit to democratic principles.” This argument was raised several times at a Rosh Hashanah dinner I…

  Sep 16, 2015 | < 1 min read
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  Opinion

  Let’s Make Israeli Culture a Uniting Force for Jews Everywhere

  Rosh Hashanah is a time for taking stock. We size up that which we have and that which we are lacking, and we try to make out the course corrections we need to close the gap. As I see it, one of the greatest things we have going for us as a people is the…

  By Ido Aharoni Sep 16, 2015 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  What Shouldn’t We Compare to the Holocaust? A Refugee Crisis, for Starters.

  Even if we can’t agree on anything else, there’s one cardinal fact that I think we can all get behind: This has been a summer of intense drama where the Middle East is concerned. Also a summer filled with evocations of the Holocaust. And they’re not unrelated. One reason for the intensity of the drama…

  By J.J. Goldberg Sep 14, 2015 | 4 min read