Opinion

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  We Still Don’t Know How To Teach the Holocaust

  A Jewish boy wears a yellow star like those forced on Jews during the Holocaust / Getty Images “So, children, tell me how you came to Theresienstadt.” Thus began my seventh grade intro to Shoah education. Not that we hadn’t been learning about the Holocaust for most of our day school careers. There was the…

  By Leah Bieler

  4 min read
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  Opinion

  Holocaust Lesson: Don’t Just Mourn — Fight Back

  This is a talk I delivered yesterday afternoon at the Holocaust commemoration ceremony of the Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust in Pan Pacific Park. My theme could probably best be summed up by quoting Joe Hill’s final message to Big Bill Haywood: “Don’t waste time mourning. Organize! The Talmud teaches us that from the…

  By J.J. Goldberg Apr 28, 2014 | 6 min read
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  Opinion

  5 Reasons Israel Was Smart — Not Right — To Kill Peace Talks

  Getty Images For Benjamin Netanyahu, timing is a beautiful thing. When Mahmoud Abbas announced the formation of a Fatah-Hamas unity government on Wednesday, Bibi knew he had it made. He pulled out of the peace talks on Thursday, doing the smartest possible thing at the smartest possible moment. Not the wise thing, not the morally…

  By Sigal Samuel Apr 28, 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 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

  Obama’s Peace ‘Pause’ Spells Victory for Bibi

  Getty Images There’s a lot of talk about what Barack Obama and John Kerry should, or can, or might, or won’t do in support of the two-state Israeli-Palestinian peace that has been a stated American policy goal for many, many years, following the collapse of talks. On Friday morning, we learned that Obama has suggested…

  By Emily L. Hauser Apr 27, 2014 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  J Street on the Docket

  On April 30, the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations will vote on J Street’s application for admission. It will be a significant moment not just for the left-leaning lobby, but also for the Jewish establishment as a whole, which will have to provide a verdict on whether the communal tent should include…

  By Theodore Sasson Apr 27, 2014 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  How a French Economics Prof Became U.S. Pop Idol

  Author-economist Thomas Piketty speaking at University of California-Berkeley, April 23, 2014 / Getty Images If you haven’t yet gotten your copy of Thomas Piketty’s new book, Capital in the Twenty-First Century, you might as well relax. First of all, both Amazon and Barnes & Noble are sold out, so if you haven’t picked one up…

  By J.J. Goldberg Apr 27, 2014 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  The Dangerous Man Who Dreams of Leading Israel

  He may one day be Prime Minister of Israel. He has multiple qualifications. He’s a multi-millionaire (software), smart, young (42), charming — and ambitious. In the meantime, as a member of the Netanyahu cabinet, he is the Minister of Economy, Minister for Jerusalem and Diaspora Affairs and Minister of Religious Services of the State of…

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

  What Does Rancher Cliven Bundy Have in Common With Jewish Settlers of Yitzhar?

  On Passover, the festival of freedom, we are commanded to view ourselves as if we personally had come out of Egypt. As such, it’s a traditional time to ponder the concept of liberation from bondage and tyranny and what that might mean in our own lives. Sometimes the parallels are pretty straightforward. On the first…

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

  Is Israel Playing Into Hands of Hamas?

  Palestinians celebrate new Fatah-Hamas unity // Getty Images. A few days ago, Israel was engaged in a bitter blame game with the Palestinians, with each side accusing the other of being responsible for sabotaging peace talks. Now, Israel is competing for recognition as the party that brought the flagging talks to an end. The Palestinians…

  By Nathan Jeffay Apr 25, 2014 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  Hey Mr. Mayor, Remember Your Promise

  Hey, Mr. Mayor! When you were the public advocate of the City of New York — an office with little more than a megaphone — you criticized city agencies for failing to respond to Freedom of Information Law requests. Government, you said, must be held accountable! Now, Mr. de Blasio, you’re the mayor, and it’s…

  Apr 25, 2014 | < 1 min read
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  Opinion

  News Quiz: The Happiest American and a New Israeli Game Show

  Game shows, Hawaiians and the IDF’s new “Guardia. Is this really a Jewish news quiz? Answer the questions and find out!

  By Lenore Skenazy Apr 24, 2014 | < 1 min read