Opinion

• Opinion

  I’m No One’s ‘Heretic’

  Rabbi Yaakov Perlow speaks at the Agudath Isael annual gala / YouTube On Wednesday we learned that, while speaking at a fundraising gala for the ultra-Orthodox Agudath Israel of America, Rabbi Yaakov Perlow, head of that organization, slandered virtually every Jew on the planet, down to and including a bunch of plain-old-Orthodox folks. We were…

  By Emily L. Hauser

  3 min read
• 
  Opinion

  The Deceptive Style of Settlement Leader Dani Dayan

  “My religion is Zionism,” Dani Dayan says. It is hard to know quite what to make of him. Is he, as Yariv Oppenheimer, director of Peace Now suggests, the enemy? “His agenda is the same as the most fanatic right-wing settlers. But he has this ability to hide it and to speak with the public…

  By Leonard Fein May 29, 2014 | 4 min read
• 
  Opinion

  The Point of the Pope’s Visit

  Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority have all hailed Pope Francis’s whirlwind pilgrimage as a success — and indeed, the very fact that it went as smoothly as it did was no small achievement for all involved. Pope Francis’s global superstar status guaranteed media focus on local voices and images wherever he went. For the…

  By David Rosen May 29, 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

• 
  Opinion

  ‘Go to Hell, Leftist’ and Other Jerusalem Day Slogans

  The crowd enters Jerusalem’s Old City singing racist chants / A. Daniel Roth Photography As I made my way out of the Muslim Quarter, the dark alleyways suddenly seemed too quiet. Just moments before, crowds of ultranationalist Jewish celebrants had marched through this same space shouting “Death to Arabs.” Children had banged against shuttered Palestinian…

  By Leanne Gale May 29, 2014 | 4 min read
• 
  Opinion

  Maya Angelou’s Lesson for the Orthodox

  ‘People will forget what you said. People will forget what you did. But people will never forget how you made them feel.’ – Maya Angelou (1928–2014) (Haaretz) — To me, this beautiful quote from the now late, great Maya Angelou, encapsulates so much of the tension in Orthodox Judaism today. Generally, people in my community…

  By Eliyahu Fink May 29, 2014 | 3 min read
• 
  Opinion

  Turning Israel Day Parade Into Right-Wing Echo Chamber Rolling Down Fifth Ave.

  Here’s a brain-teaser: If Mordechai Anielewicz, commander of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, had survived the war and ended up in New York, could he march in the Israel Day Parade? Answer: Not if certain self-appointed guardians of Zionist purity had a say. Anielewicz led the Warsaw chapter of Hashomer Hatzair, the socialist-Zionist youth movement that…

  By J.J. Goldberg May 29, 2014 | 4 min read
• 
  Opinion

  Help Us Find The Do-ers

  Tikkun Olam. Repair the world. If you’re anything like me, the mere mention of the phrase is enough to make you cringe. Not because we don’t want to do our part for a better world. But for many in my generation, brought up with the idea that you wouldn’t get into college or get a…

  By Anne Cohen May 28, 2014 | 2 min read
• 
  Opinion

  6 Jewish Memories of Maya Angelou

  Maya Angelou, who has died at 86, was a celebrated poet, author, and chronicler of the African-American experience. Angelou also had several memorable interactions with the Jewish community. Here are six Jewish memories of Maya: 1) Poignant Poetry In one of his final acts in office, President Bill Clinton appointed Angelou to the board of…

  By Hody Nemes May 28, 2014 | 3 min read
• 
  Opinion

  Trying To Prove a Palestinian Died? Good Luck.

  In college I had a Palestinian friend who, due to her ethnically ambiguous appearance, was often asked about her heritage. She would sometimes answer the invasive question by stating “I’m 95% Palestinian and I think about 5% squirrel or perhaps raccoon.” After hearing that line three or four times I decided to ask her why…

  By Jordan Kutzik May 28, 2014 | 4 min read
• 
  Opinion

  Brandeis Shouldn’t Cut Ties to Palestinian University

  Sari Nusseibeh in his office at Al-Quds university / Haaretz Open Letter to Brandeis President Dear President Lawrence: By this letter I am resigning from the advisory board of the International Center for Ethics, Justice and Public Life at Brandeis. While I appreciate that you were willing to reappoint me for another term, I do…

  By Michael Ratner May 28, 2014 | 4 min read
• 
  Opinion

  Why Jerusalem Day Is One Big Lie

  (Haaretz) — Jerusalem Day, we’re told, celebrates the reunification of Israel’s eternal capital, symbolizing “the continued historical connection of the Jewish people to Jerusalem.” It’s a moment to remember that, as Prime Minister Netanyahu once said, “Israel without Jerusalem is like a body without a heart.” So we’re told, and so the vast majority of…

  By Emily L. Hauser May 28, 2014 | 3 min read