Opinion

4 Stories from Zochrot Truth Commission On 1948

Palestinians mark the anniversary of the 1948 Nakba or ‘Day of Catastrophe’ / Getty Images Is Israeli society ready to reckon with 1948? On Wednesday, Zochrot, an Israeli organization devoted to raising awareness about the Nakba — when 700,000 Palestinians fled or were expelled by Jewish forces during Israel’s founding war — held its first…

‘A Split in the Jewish Soul’: Hanukkah Reconsidered

Hanukkah: A heartwarming story about Jew vs. Jew. Come again? Us against us? I thought it was Jew against Greek: Maccabee vs. Antiochus. Most of us grew up with the same idealized story: that Hanukkah celebrates the victory of the underdog-Maccabees in preserving our religion despite the callous Syrian-Greek attempt to quash all Jewish rituals….

Beautiful jazzy version of "Ma’oz Tzur" – listen to Alex Bershadsky

Longing for the Quiet of Separation in Jerusalem

With the aim of bringing peace to Jerusalem, foreigners often advise the warring natives to seek reconciliation. Speak to each other, study your differences, clarify the disputes and at the end everything will be solved. Rabbi Marc Schneier recently offered such advice in these pages: “To prevent a global conflagration that would be a disaster…

No, Judaism Doesn’t Justify CIA Torture

Christian art depicting Jews being tortured in hell Are the Jews somehow to blame for the CIA’s torture of detainees? That’s what some want to know after yesterday’s release of the so-called “CIA Torture Report” by the Senate Intelligence Committee. The CIA is in the business of extracting secrets and then burying them deep in…

I’m Jewish and Greek. Who Do I Root for On Hanukkah?

Youth from Ioannina’s Greek community in traditional dress / Haaretz They’ve switched on the window displays on Fifth Avenue, and the trees are for sale on the street corners, so I know I’m about to get asked the question: Do I miss Christmas? It’s a common question for a convert. But, despite a childhood full…

Coming to Terms With Death of the Jewish Mainstream

Reading a Jewish newspaper — and writing for one — is often an exercise in masochism. Of course, the Forward has inspiring pieces on the gefilte fish revival and the first female-majority Forward 50. But when you look at the “hard news” and follow the trend lines, it’s easy to feel despair. If you’re a…

Must-Watch TV: Obama on ‘The Colbert Report’

Watch the Leader of the Free World make fun of himself, his critics, Fox News and lots more in a hilarious “Colbert Report” appearance. In the following clip, Obama walks on the set “unexpectedly” (he was due to show up a few minutes later for widely advertised interview) and announces that he’s going to do…