Opinion

• Opinion

  The (Overlooked) Man in Ramallah

  Now that the recent war in Gaza seems to have come to some kind of end, we’ve arrived at the portion of this cyclical fighting in which each side vies to spin itself as the winner. But amid this jockeying, the position of perhaps the most important player in the drama to come has been…

  2 min read
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  Opinion

  Gaza War Leaves Broken Friendships in Wake

  If Hollywood and television are a microcosm of the real world, the current Middle East conflict didn’t just leave an estimated 1,814 Palestinians and 67 Israelis dead, but also left countless friendships and relationships destroyed in its aftermath. The collateral social damage stemming from baseless insults, fuming rhetoric, serves no purpose other than to hinder…

  By Eliyahu Federman Aug 8, 2014 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  Israel Professor Gets in Big Trouble for Showing Concern for Gaza War Victims

  Hanoch Sheinman, the philosophy professor at Bar-Ilan University’s law school caught in the midst of a fierce controversy involving an email sent to his second-year law students, expressing sympathy for all victims of Israel’s Gaza conflict, phoned me in frustration because he couldn’t manage to shut the roof of his rented convertible. I had emailed…

  By Steven J. Zipperstein Aug 8, 2014 | 3 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

  All Your Gaza Questions Answered in 1 Interactive Map

  Confused about Gaza? You’re not alone. Le Monde has created an animated map to help people who can’t tell Gaza from the West Bank navigate the facts. Say what you will about supposed French bias against Israel, the map is fairly informative, easy to follow and essentially lays out the bare bones of a very…

  By Anne Cohen Aug 7, 2014 | < 1 min read
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  Opinion

  7 Ways for Bibi and Barack To Move Ahead

  Getty Images (JTA) — President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are not the best of friends – that seems pretty clear by now. But following reports during the Gaza conflict of cut-off phone calls, tough talk of “demands” and eavesdropping, it may be time for them to figure out a way back to…

  By Ron Kampeas Aug 7, 2014 | 5 min read
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  Opinion

  Benjamin Netanyahu Confronts Minefields After Gaza War

  Israel didn’t participate in the Cairo negotiations that produced the 72-hour Gaza cease-fire on Tuesday morning, August 5. The invitation had come just hours after an earlier 72-hour cease-fire collapsed with the ambush and attempted kidnap of Lt. Hadar Goldin. That was the fifth cease-fire to collapse in 25 days. Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu,…

  By J.J. Goldberg Aug 7, 2014 | 5 min read
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  Opinion

  Yup, Rand Paul Wanted To Cut Israel Aid

  Getty Images (JTA) — Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who has cultivated Jewish support as he considers a presidential run, tells Chris Moody of Yahoo News that he never made a legislative proposal to cut assistance to Israel. “I haven’t really proposed that in the past,” Paul told Yahoo News when asked if he still thought the…

  By Ron Kampeas Aug 6, 2014 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  Did Right-Wing French Jews Provoke Anti-Semitic Violence?

  In late July, the French newspaper Libération revealed that the Ministry of the Interior is considering outlawing the Ligue de Défense Juive (the Jewish Defense League, known in French by the acronym LDJ). The ministry opened this dossier following the dismal ruckus outside the Don Isaac Abravanel synagogue two weeks earlier in Paris. According to…

  By Robert Zaretsky Aug 6, 2014 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  6 Ways To Spin the Gaza War

  Getty Images (JTA) — Now that the latest Gaza conflict appears to be nearly over it’s time to take stock of the winners and losers. Who won the war? Perhaps more than the other two Gaza conflicts in the last six years, Israel is the clear winner this time. The Israel Defense Forces dealt a…

  By Uriel Heilman Aug 5, 2014 | 6 min read
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  Opinion

  Jews Shouldn’t Blame Palestinians for Getting Killed

  Getty Images For Israelis and Palestinians, as well for their friends and family around the world, these past few weeks have been torture. Each day for Israel brings new rocket attacks, new cross-border terrorist raids, new funerals and shivas for IDF soldiers. Each day for Palestinians in Gaza brings new rounds of artillery shelling, fresh…

  By Logan Bayroff and Jacob Plitman Aug 5, 2014 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Stem Tide of Anti-Semitism in Europe

  (JTA) — The conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza is spilling over into Europe, where in the past several weeks, Jewish communities have witnessed a chilling display of anti-Semitism, the likes of which has not been seen in many years. European governments need to act decisively to stem this tide of hatred. No longer…

  By Robert Singer Aug 5, 2014 | 3 min read