Opinion

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  Is Israel Fighting a ‘Just War’ in Gaza — and What About Hamas?

  Israel’s current war with Hamas has claimed yet another casualty: As the violence between the Israeli army and Hamas militants has increased, the quality of discourse surrounding the conflict has suffered precipitously. While the conflict has generated unprecedented media attention both in print and online, commentary ranges from largely the vitriolic to the confused and…

  By Jamie Levin

  4 min read
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  Opinion

  Gaza War Diary: Everyone Is Proud of the Resistance

  The only power plant supplying electricity to Gaza was hit by Israeli shelling / Getty Images Editor’s Note: Walid Abuzaid’s diary is running in two parts. You can read the first part here. This is the second installment. Thursday, July 17 It’s 10 p.m. when the power finally returns. The electricity has been down since…

  By Walid Abuzaid Jul 29, 2014 | 9 min read
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  Opinion

  5 Reasons Why American Jews Are Standing With Israel

  Demonstrators show support for Israel outside the United Nations in New York / Martyna Starosta American Jews stand with Israel. At times of war and crisis, that’s the way it has always been, and this time is no different. Despite gruesome pictures of civilian casualties in Gaza, media coverage that is frequently critical of the…

  By Eric Yoffie Jul 29, 2014 | 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 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

  Max Steinberg Was Not Brainwashed

  L.A. native Max Steinberg, killed in combat during fighting with Gaza / Courtesy of Steinberg Family There have been many responses to Allison Benedikt’s indictment of Birthright in the death of Max Steinberg, an oleh and a lone soldier, the IDF’s term for new recruits whose families live outside Israel. Many have pointed out the…

  By Yareeve Zemel Jul 29, 2014 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  News Quiz: What Do You Call a Jew in Alaska?

  Thinkstock Penguins, Zumba and dirty pictures. If that doesn’t scream Jewish News Quiz, what does?

  By Lenore Skenazy Jul 29, 2014 | < 1 min read
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  Opinion

  8 Reasons Menachem Creditor Is Wrong To Be ‘Done Apologizing’ for Israel

  We’re all exhausted by the horrors of Gaza. Whatever our political points of view, this is a trying time to care about Israel, Palestine, or the prospects for peace in the Middle East. Recently in these pages, my friend Rabbi Menachem Creditor has given eloquent voice to this frustration. He is fed up, he says…

  By Jay Michaelson Jul 29, 2014 | 6 min read
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  Opinion

  Gaza War Diary: Silence, Then the Bombs Go Off

  A Palestinian carries the remains of an Israeli shell in the Gaza Strip / Getty Images Editor’s Note: Walid Abuzaid’s diary will run in two parts. This is the first installment. Thursday, June 27 I was in Cyprus when it all started. When we heard about the kidnapped teens, we were thrilled by the possibility…

  By Walid Abuzaid Jul 28, 2014 | 8 min read
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  Opinion

  When ‘Anti-Israel’ Looks Like ‘Anti-Semitism’

  Since Israel launched its military operation in Gaza, other countries are seeing an increase in anti-Semitic hate speech and attacks. In France, synagogues are being firebombed. In Belgium, coffee shops are barring Jews from entry. In Chicago, leaflets threatening the Jewish community are being discovered on parked cars. In India, Jewish sites are being threatened…

  By Sigal Samuel Jul 28, 2014 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  Solitude and Quiet Will Not Cure You

  It seemed like a fairly simple task. For a just-published study, researchers asked their subjects to sit in an empty room alone for 15 minutes. The only potential distraction was a device that allowed them to self-administer electric shocks, which they were allowed to try out beforehand. One-quarter of the women and two-thirds of the…

  By Elissa Strauss Jul 28, 2014 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  The Gaza War Through Ultra-Orthodox Eyes

  An ultra-Orthodox Jew watches the bombardment of Gaza from southern Israel / Getty Images (JTA) — Most Israelis blame the war in Gaza squarely on Hamas, though there are plenty who fault the Israeli government for not pursuing peace more aggressively. In the haredi Orthodox community, however, where practically everything is ascribed to the omnipresent hand…

  By Miriam Moster Jul 27, 2014 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  Israel’s Conflict Has a Past — and a Future

  Some years ago, a career military person told me that when the first intifada broke out, in 1987, there had been no indication of the impending uprising. A simple traffic accident sparked rioting that spread, while the military, and indeed Israeli society, was caught by surprise. I ventured that after 20 years of holding a…

  By Dahlia Scheindlin Jul 27, 2014 | 3 min read