Opinion

• Opinion

  Staring Into the Void, for Both Israelis and Palestinians

  I visited Israel at the end of June, after the three yeshiva students were kidnapped but before their bodies were found, before the Palestinian teen was murdered in a revenge attack, before the air strikes and the ground war and the horrific death toll in Gaza. Before it all fell apart. It seems like a…

  By Jane Eisner

  5 min read
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  Opinion

  News Quiz: What Did John Kerry Say This Week?

  Getty Images John Kerry, Henry Kissinger and Natlie Portman? It must be this week’s Jewish News Quiz! Or perhaps it’s the hummus talking.

  By Lenore Skenazy Jul 22, 2014 | < 1 min read
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  Opinion

  Don’t Turn Them Away

  When thousands of children appear on your doorstep after a long and desperate journey from a hostile environment, do you turn them away? Great Britain didn’t. From 1938 to 1940, the British accepted thousands of Jewish children who were rescued by the Kindertransport from Nazi Germany in the middle of a war. But when thousands…

  Jul 22, 2014 | < 1 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

  L.A.’s Eric Garcetti Dons Kippah for Instagram

  Getty Images After a year on the job, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, 43, has enjoyed mostly positive reviews from Angelenos and from observers of City Hall, who have credited his low-key governance style with helping reform the daily operations of the city’s government as well as with moving his “back to basics” initiatives forward…

  By Noah Smith Jul 21, 2014 | 5 min read
• Opinion

  Is Gaza Fight Israel’s ‘War of Choice’?

  Israeli armored personnel carrier rolls at army deployment near Israel’s border with Gaza / Getty Images In his piece “Israel’s Moral Army?” in these pages, Michael Mitchell impressively deconstructs the Israel Defense Force’s conduct during its current military operation in Gaza. Using a variety of pedagogical criteria (international law, Jewish tradition, ethical theory) he ultimately…

  By Brant Rosen Jul 21, 2014 | 4 min read
• Opinion

  As Gaza Toll Rises, So Will Pressure on Israel

  Mark your calendars: It was on Sunday, July 20, that the momentum turned against Israel. Sometime around noon the wind shifted and the tide began to roll out, and Israel started to lose international sympathy for its Operation Protective Edge in Gaza. Up until Sunday morning Israel had a pretty clear field, owing to a…

  By J.J. Goldberg Jul 21, 2014 | 5 min read
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  Opinion

  Dan Markel’s Meaningful Life Ends in Senseless Death

  There was a time, not too long ago, when what we wanted were explanations. Religion, philosophy, art – these were meant to tell us how things fit together, how they made sense. Even today, many of us — religious, secular, spiritual-but-not-religious — hold to this view. “It was meant to be.” “God works in mysterious…

  By Jay Michaelson Jul 21, 2014 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Tel Aviv Is Under Red Alert — In Many Ways

  In 15 years of political activism, and about eight as a journalist, I cannot remember a time when people around me were so afraid to speak their minds. Not Jews, anyway, and definitely not in Tel Aviv. Palestinians in the occupied territories always knew that stepping up against the occupation, even with the most nonviolent…

  By Haggai Matar Jul 21, 2014 | 4 min read
• Opinion

  From Shul to Shrimp in New Orleans

  The French Quarter in New Orleans. We spent the last night of our road trip through the Jewish South in New Orleans — not really part of the South at all. The Big Easy is more like the northern extension of the Caribbean. And its Jewish life reflects that. The pattern we saw here differed…

  By Anne Cohen and Sigal Samuel Jul 21, 2014 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  When We Stop To Really See Each Other

  A phrase — actually, just a word — in Ethan Bronner’s recent New York Times analysis of the “divorce” between Israelis and Palestinians caught my eye. In lamenting that daily interactions between Israelis and Palestinians have virtually disappeared, Bronner writes, the two peoples “who once knew each other intimately” have become “virtual strangers.” The separation…

  By Leonard Fein Jul 19, 2014 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  3 Takes on the Hamas Endgame

  From the “If You’ve Only Got Time To Read One Thing” Dept. Actually, I’ve got three items to recommend, each of which casts invaluable light on what’s going on right now in Gaza. In a moment I’ll rank them in order of importance, but first, a comment on what they have in common. The three…

  By J.J. Goldberg Jul 18, 2014 | 4 min read