Opinion

• Opinion

  The Freedom To Hear Offensive Speech

  Much has been made of the spate of episodes on university campuses involving students and faculty seeking to block graduation speakers with whom they vehemently disagree. In the name of tolerance, transparency and “conversation,” too often the intolerant, a numerical minority, have prevailed. In the catechism of freedom of expression, from where does the “right”…

  By Mark G. Yudof

  3 min read
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  Opinion

  Brandeis Gave Up On Al Quds. Its Students Didn’t.

  Yasmin Khatib and Catie Stewart of the Brandeis-Al Quds Student Dialogue Initiative Talking about the Israeli occupation of the West Bank is difficult. Seeing it firsthand is harder. Living under it is nearly impossible. We learned this while leading a trip for a group of Brandeis students to Al Quds University in the West Bank…

  By Eli Philip and Catie Stewart Jun 29, 2014 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  World War I Shaped My Life, But I’ll Never Know How

  The author’s family in Romania, with great-grandfather Leib Nemes in the back row, furthest right Everyone thought he was dead. No one had seen Leib Nemes, my great-grandfather, for years — not since he was swept up into the bloody tornado of the First World War. The war was long over, but still he had…

  By Hody Nemes Jun 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 There’s a shocking new report on civilian deaths in Gaza. If only it were accurate 

  

• Nora Berman The Kennedy Center canceled its ‘woke’ programming — so why is this Jewish musical OK?

  

• Dan Perry Israel’s new gift to the far right could help end the Gaza war

  

• Emily Tamkin Entering motherhood — and an obsession with the works of an Italian Jewish literary hero

  

The Latest

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  Opinion

  In Defense of the Schmaltzy

  How long ago did something have to happen in order to merit nostalgia? Can we be nostalgic about last month? Last year? Can we be nostalgic about the Civil War? The Roman Era? (We’ve sure tried.) And how long did that moment have to last? Just an instant? A weekend? Or does it require more…

  By Elissa Strauss Jun 29, 2014 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Are Jews Now Safe and Free From Being Haunted?

  Is the manifest decline in anti-Semitism tied in some way to the uptick in attention to the Holocaust? Bear with me. For a variety of middlingly important reasons, I’ve recently spent some days re-reading appraisals of American Jewish life that were written and published in the 1950s. And oh my, how things have changed! Back…

  By Leonard Fein Jun 28, 2014 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Indyk Quits, Abbas Offers New Talks, Israel Erupts

  Martin Indyk, the Obama administration’s special envoy for Israeli-Palestinian peace, will formally resign this afternoon and return to his think-tank job at the Brookings Institution, the Associated Press reports. If there was talk of a renewed American effort to reignite peace talks, this is probably a bad sign. It’s probably just coincidence that the news…

  By J.J. Goldberg Jun 27, 2014 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  Who Will Speak Out for American Families?

  This summer has already given us its fair share of sensational news — from the attempted takeover of Iraq by jihadi militants to Eric Cantor’s downfall to the thrill of victory and agony of defeat at the World Cup in Brazil. And July has only just started. With all this drama, the smaller stories get…

  Jun 27, 2014 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  Two Neulanders — Two Dead Wives

  (JTA) — Robert Neulander, a Syracuse, N.Y., physician active in his local Jewish community, was indicted this week in the murder of his wife. Whether the 62-year-old Robert Neulander — who chaired his local federation’s campaign and has served on the board of his JCC — is found guilty or innocent in the Sept. 17,…

  By Julie Wiener Jun 26, 2014 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  No, Presbyterian Divestment Is Not Anti-Semitic

  Twitter Yesterday, Jane Eisner, with whom I most often agree, wrote about the Presbyterian vote to divest from Caterpillar, Hewlett-Packard, and Motorola Solutions. These are three companies that reportedly participate in the Israeli occupation of the West Bank by providing heavy equipment for the construction of the barrier-fence, the destruction of Palestinian homes and building…

  By Elisheva Goldberg Jun 26, 2014 | 5 min read
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  Opinion

  When Christians Fight Over Israel

  Choir members at the Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Florida / Getty Images When Christians fight, Jews are collateral damage. The prize is Israel, or at least how Americans perceive Israel. That’s one lesson to take away from the Presbyterian Church-USA’s (PC-USA) decision on June 20 to divest from three companies that profit from Israel’s…

  By Adam Rovner Jun 26, 2014 | 8 min read
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  Opinion

  Why We Should Honor Slain Civil Rights Workers With Jewish Holiday

  For much of America, the 50th anniversary of the Mississippi civil rights workers’ murders on June 21 was a moment for quiet reflection. The lessons are familiar, but it’s useful to be reminded now and then: how far we’ve come in a half-century, the price that was paid, the tasks that remain and our stubborn…

  By J.J. Goldberg Jun 26, 2014 | 4 min read