Opinion

• Opinion

  Gaza Tunnels: How They Work, What Israel Knew

  In my last post I promised to translate Alex Fishman’s Friday column in Yediot Ahronot discussing Hamas’s tunnels. Here it is. He briefly traces Israel’s growing awareness of the problem over more than a decade. He reaches much the same conclusion as Nahum Barnea: “…the fact is that everyone saw, everyone knew, everyone understood, and…

  By J.J. Goldberg

  6 min read
• Opinion

  Dani Danon Is Such a Threat to Israel Even Bibi Fired Him

  Credit where credit is due: A year ago, I wrote about Israel’s Deputy Minister of Defense, Dani Danon, that he is Israel’s “enemy within,” perhaps the most dangerous current threat to Israel and a star of Likud, the linchpin of the governing coalition. My favorite Danon quotes: He refers to “the mistake we made in…

  By Leonard Fein Jul 26, 2014 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Israel’s Latest Fib: ‘Gaza Tunnels Were Surprise’

  Nahum Barnea, commonly described as Israel’s most respected political journalist, has spent much of the past two weeks with the troops in Gaza and talking to general command in Tel Aviv. His weekly column in today’s Yediot Ahronot weekend supplement, which I have translated below, happens to say some of the things I’ve been writing…

  By J.J. Goldberg Jul 26, 2014 | 8 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

  For Peace To Win, Hamas Must Lose

  Heading into the third week of its campaign against Hamas in Gaza, Israel finds itself tripping over an unexpected impediment: its overwhelming military superiority. The problem is that Israeli forces can do pretty much whatever they want in the densely populated district except figure out how to get out. And the longer they stay, the…

  By J.J. Goldberg Jul 25, 2014 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Why Israeli Left Should Stop Backing Gaza Wars

  Palestinians carry a boy following an Israeli military strike on the Gaza beach / Getty Images In the current outburst of violence, perhaps the only pliable and docile actor is Israel’s center-left. Politically speaking, opposition leader Isaac Herzog might as well be cowering in a shelter. He toes Prime Minister Netanyahu’s line, supporting both the…

  By Raphael Magarik Jul 25, 2014 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  No, Birthright Didn’t Kill Max Steinberg

  L.A. native Max Steinberg, killed in combat during fighting with Gaza / Courtesy of Steinberg Family I’ve gone on the record about my ambivalence about Birthright, having argued that it actually discouraged a connection to Israel for Jews like me due to the clear bias of its agenda. Should I have been offered a more…

  By Elissa Strauss Jul 24, 2014 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Don’t Reward Hamas for Israeli Soldier’s Body

  Palestinians celebrate after Hamas’ armed wing said it had captured an Israeli soldier / Getty Images Immediately after a Hamas military spokesperson announced the capture of an Israeli soldier this Sunday, the streets of Gaza, Hebron, Ramallah and Bethlehem erupted in fireworks and celebration. Israel confirmed this week that the body of, Oron Shaul, a…

  By Eliyahu Federman Jul 24, 2014 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  Israel Has a New Worst Enemy — Twitter

  Shortly after Israel began its ground invasion of Gaza, Anne Barnard, a New York Times reporter who has covered wars for over a decade, stood in the emergency room of the Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City and watched a 9-year-old girl die. The girl was alone, without family, nameless. And when the doctor finally pronounced…

  By Gal Beckerman Jul 24, 2014 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  ADL Needs To Drop Thane Rosenbaum Right Now

  Thane Rosenbaum / Getty Images So. Can we talk about Thane Rosenbaum? You probably already know that Thane Rosenbaum — who likes to talk about being a human rights professor — wrote an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal arguing that the Gazan noncombatants are fair game in this war, because “they” voted for Hamas…

  By Emily L. Hauser Jul 23, 2014 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Gaza War Proves My Pro-Israel Dad Was Right

  It pains and shocks me to say this, but here goes: My father was right all along. He always told me, as I spouted liberal talking points at the Shabbos table and challenged his hawkish views on Israel and the Palestinians to his unending chagrin, that I would one day change my tune. I guess…

  By Tova Stulman Jul 23, 2014 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  I’m Done Apologizing

  A Palestinian gestures as flames rise from the site of an Israeli air strike in Gaza / Getty Images I’m done apologizing for Israel. It’s tiring to apologize over and over. Instead, I’ve decided to come clean: I am a progressive American rabbi who leans left pretty hard. I’ve been engaged, as a US faith…

  By Rabbi Menachem Creditor Jul 23, 2014 | 3 min read