Opinion

• Opinion

  Remembering the Rebbe, 20 Years Later

  WIkipedia (JTA) — It has been two decades since the death of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the rebbe whose influence was felt far beyond the Chabad-Lubavitch hasidic sect he led. Within hours after the long-ailing Schneerson, more commonly known as “the rebbe,” died at age 92, JTA reporters visited Crown Heights, the Brooklyn neighborhood where…

  By Julie Wiener

  3 min read
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  Opinion

  The Elephant in the Room

  Eric Cantor was not your typical Jewish Republican, at least as we had come to know them in the past half century. He was Southern, for one thing, his voice inflected with an accent uncommon in the Northeast and Midwest, from where other Jewish Republicans in Congress once hailed. Cantor’s politics were more strident and…

  Jun 12, 2014 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  No, LGBT Inclusion Isn’t Just Window-Dressing

  Transgender Jews celebrate Shabbat at a California synagogue My friend and colleague Jay Michaelson’s op-ed “Include Me Out of This Jewish Community” calls into question the value and utility of “LGBT inclusion” in the mainstream Jewish community. I agree with some of Michaelson’s overarching points that being included in the mainstream without participating in fundamental…

  By Idit Klein Jun 12, 2014 | 2 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 Is Netflix’s new show the most Jewish cartoon ever?

  

• 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

  Did Eric Cantor Lose Because He’s Jewish? You Betcha.

  Did Eric Cantor lose because of his Judaism? Everybody’s been tiptoeing around the question for the last two days, so let’s just come out and say it: Of course he did. That and redistricting. The Virginia Republican leadership accidentally did him in by trying to build him a safer district. They took away some of…

  By J.J. Goldberg Jun 12, 2014 | 6 min read
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  Opinion

  Israel Loves Gay Cash — Just Not Gay Marriage

  Israelis take part in Jerusalem’s annual gay pride parade in 2011 / Getty Images What do you reckon is the busiest time of year for Tel Aviv’s hotels — maybe the High Holidays? Perhaps Christmas/New Year’s, when America’s families are on vacation? How about Gay Pride Week? Bingo! With the annual Gay Pride parade scheduled…

  By Emily L. Hauser Jun 12, 2014 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  Bowe Bergdahl Is All of Us

  ‘Was He Worth It?” blared the cover of Time magazine, as if that should be the question Americans ask in light of the release of Bowe Bergdahl after five years of brutal captivity by the Taliban. No, the question we should be asking is a version of the one Pope Francis made famous in a…

  Jun 12, 2014 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Why Eric Cantor’s Loss Will Hurt Jewish Democrats, Too

  There is a gleeful air among liberal Jews about the political demise of Eric Cantor, and perhaps that is a credit to Cantor’s effectiveness. Nobody ever rejoices at the self-immolation of an incompetent opponent. If Cantor was not good at opposing the liberal agenda, liberals would certainly bemoan his loss. Yet Cantor’s sudden disappearance will…

  By Noam Neusner Jun 12, 2014 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  In Cantor vs. Cantor Feud, a Liberal Kvells

  Dan Cantor, right, isn’t exactly broken up over the political demise of the man who shares his last name. Not all Cantors are mourning over House Majority Leader Eric Cantor’s stunning fall from political power. Dan Cantor, the national director of the progressive Working Families Party, shamelessly celebrated the downfall of the man who shares…

  By Hody Nemes Jun 11, 2014 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  Eric Cantor Killed By Monster He Helped Create

  Jewish Republican Eric Cantor campaigning in 2012 / Nathan Guttman Nineteen months ago, on the eve of the 2012 elections, I asked the following question in these pages about Tea Party Conservatives and neo-conservatives like Eric Cantor: “Who’s using whom?” That question may never be answered. But like Dr. Frankenstein, Rep. Cantor has just been…

  By Jay Michaelson Jun 11, 2014 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Memo to Nathan Cummings Foundation: Don’t Abandon the Jews!

  The decision by the Nathan Cummings Foundation to fire its well-known CEO, Simon Greer, sent shockwaves throughout the Jewish nonprofit world. Greer is a bit of a celebrity in his own right, and had been shepherding the NCF’s strategic realignment. At first, some speculated that the NCF board was rethinking that change in strategy, which…

  By Jay Michaelson Jun 11, 2014 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Eric Cantor Defeat ‘Apocalyptic’ for GOP Mainstream

  (Reuters) — The shocking defeat of Eric Cantor was dubbed an “apocalyptic” moment for the Republican mainstream as Tea Party populist conservatives showed off their grassroots muscle — and proved virtually no lawmaker is safe from a challenge from the right. Cantor’s defeat to a political unknown is likely to halt any efforts to craft…

  By John Whitesides Jun 11, 2014 | 2 min read