Opinion

• Opinion

  Why Is This Israeli Land Grab Different?

  The big story in Israel is no normal decision to build a few extra settlement homes; it is a highly unusual development for the occupied West Bank. According to an as-yet unconfirmed report, the state is setting the wheels in motion for an appropriation of nearly 250 acres of territory in the Gush Etzion settlement…

  By Nathan Jeffay

  2 min read
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  Opinion

  The Real Exodus of Passover — on JetBlue to Miami

  I’m about to embark on a little Exodus of my own. I’m leaving New York City and flying straight to Miami Beach for Passover, which is where my parents live. What? You don’t feel bad for me? Much like the Jewish nation accepting the holy Torah at Mt. Sinai, Miami Beach represents sacred ground; a…

  By Mimi Minsky Apr 13, 2014 | 5 min read
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  Opinion

  A Passover Concert: Songs of Liberation and Longing

  To get us in the spirit of the Seder, here are a few songs of exodus, freedom, rebellion and an only kid. We’ve got selections by Bruce Springsteen, Chava Alberstein, Pete Seeger, Moishe Oysher, Bob Dylan, Shuli Nathan, Paul Robeson, Paul Simon, Lahakat HaNachal, the Maccabeats and many more, including two late and very much…

  By J.J. Goldberg Apr 13, 2014 | 4 min read

Columnists View All

• Jay Michaelson What can really be done to prevent antisemitic attacks like Bondi Beach?

  

• Rob Eshman Australia shooting terrifies Jews worldwide — and strengthens the case for Israel

  

• Nora Berman Did crypto-Jews invent the modern tarot deck?

  

• Dan Perry The 3 responses to the Bondi Beach Hanukkah attack that could make Jews safer

  

• Emily Tamkin The fundamental miscalculation behind the GOP’s antisemitism crisis

  

The Latest

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  Opinion

  Rejoicing at the Presence of the Wicked Son at the Seder Table

  In the varied depictions, he’s a medieval knight; a dandy in a zoot suit; a boxer with fists held high; an aloof fellow with a Hitler moustache or a mischievous one who looks like Groucho; a jester; a boy with a mohawk and a yo-yo (really!), and (as once depicted in the pages of the…

  Apr 13, 2014 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  The One Move That Might Save Mideast Peace Talks

  Whatever else might come of Secretary of State John Kerry’s tottering Middle East peace effort, it will leave behind an intellectual legacy in the form of a new addition to the lexicon of high-stakes diplomacy: “Poof.” That’s the word that the secretary interjected into his April 8 Senate testimony, while narrating the missteps that led…

  By J.J. Goldberg Apr 11, 2014 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Should I Die for Passover?

  Photo credit: Getty Images This week is prime time for Passover shopping and cleaning. But in Jerusalem, hundreds of people will be engaged in a very different type of preparation for the festival — witnessing the slaughter of a lamb, just like in the olden days. The Seder has its origins in ancient times, when…

  By Nathan Jeffay Apr 11, 2014 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  What The Forward’s Jewish Charity Poll Teaches

  Jewish charity goes largely to Israel-related groups. Our readers think that’s a bad idea. Last week, as part of our ongoing investigation into Jewish charity finances, we asked you how you thought Jewish charitable dollars should be spent. The results, embedded below, suggest that Forward respondents think that education-related Jewish charities should get the largest…

  By Josh Nathan-Kazis Apr 11, 2014 | < 1 min read
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  Opinion

  The Death of a Soviet Jewry Prophet

  On the morning of May 1, 1964 — almost exactly 50 years ago — an unusual sight greeted anyone walking along 67th Street on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. A thousand young men and women in two neat rows, dressed like they were heading off to synagogue, the boys in skinny black ties, the girls in…

  By Gal Beckerman Apr 11, 2014 | 5 min read
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  Opinion

  Obamacare Adds 9 Million Newly Insured: Study

  Last minute Obamacare signup, Miami, March 31 / Getty Images About 9.3 million more Americans had health insurance in late March 2014 than in September 2013, according to a survey released Tuesday by the RAND Corporation, the respected centrist think tank. Nearly all the new enrollments are a direct result of Obamacare. As a result,…

  By J.J. Goldberg Apr 11, 2014 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  I Miss J&R Already

  Shopping at J&R Music World always felt weirdly haimish. Despite the fact that the electronics retailer owned an entire (and very lucrative) block in Lower Manhattan, there was something endearingly shabby about the chainlet founded by Israeli immigrants Joe and Rachelle Friedman (J. and R., get it?) as a basement record store in 1971. On…

  By Michael Kaminer Apr 10, 2014 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  No, Brandeis Isn’t ‘Silencing’ Ayaan Hirsi Ali

  Anti-Islam activist Ayaan Hirsi Ali / Getty Images To begin with, let’s clear up a few details of the flap over Brandeis University’s decision to revoke an invitation for Ayaan Hirsi Ali to receive an honorary degree and address the graduating class: Hirsi Ali is emphatically not being “silenced,” as she and her defenders claim….

  By Ali Gharib Apr 10, 2014 | 3 min read