Opinion

• Opinion

  Finding New ADL Chief: Hard. Replacing Foxman: Impossible

  The Anti-Defamation League will surely find a new national director to take over when Abe Foxman retires in July 2015, but it won’t replace Abe Foxman. And it won’t be the same ADL. For one thing, he’ll be a hard act to follow. There’s nobody quite like him, inside the league or outside. Nobody with…

  By J.J. Goldberg

  5 min read
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  Opinion

  7 Secrets of Highly Successful Synagogues — and Churches

  Less than one-third of American Jews belong to a synagogue, according to the Pew Research Center study of 3,475 Jews. And while a third is nothing to sneeze at, it does leave plenty for the picking. Ah, but how? While some synagogues are bursting with everyone from babies to bubbes, it’s no secret that others…

  By Lenore Skenazy Feb 11, 2014 | 9 min read
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  Opinion

  Handing Over the JDate Keys to My Mom

  ‘I have a good feeling about this,” my mother says. Which is refreshing to hear, since we are talking about my dating life, and most conversations about my dating life just turn into nonsensical debates over why the heck I’m still single — with an added serving spoon of Jewish guilt for me to do…

  By Jen Glantz Feb 11, 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 I have the answer to Jon Stewart’s toughest question about Israel

  

• Nora Berman ‘Eddington’ is full of conspiracy theories but it’s not about Jews. Or is it?

  

• Dan Perry Recognizing a Palestinian state is a great way to doom Palestinians

  

• Emily Tamkin Is starvation in Gaza really Israel’s fault? The facts are clear

  

The Latest

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  Opinion

  Chatting With JDate’s CEO

  The Forward interviewed Greg Liberman who has been president and CEO of Spark Networks since 2004. The company started with JDate, but now runs 20 other niche dating sites, including the popular Christian Mingle. Forward: Why do you think JDate has been so successful at doing something that the Jewish community has had such a…

  By Doni Bloomfield Feb 10, 2014 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  JDate Works for Profit — and the Continuity of the Jewish People

  As a businessperson who manages for-profit companies, I spend much of my time evaluating the merits of future projects based on their capacity to generate return on investment. A year ago I was invited — unrelated to my day job — to give a Jewish TED-style talk analyzing a company with which I have no…

  By Sam Z. Glassenberg Feb 10, 2014 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  News Quiz: Sochi Food, Hummus and Chuck Schumer

  This week’s Jewish News Quiz heads to Sochi, high fives skater Jason Brown, then comes back home to Hasidim, hummus and Chuck Schumer. Somehow, there’s always Schumer.

  By Lenore Skenazy Feb 10, 2014 | < 1 min read
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  Opinion

  The Jewish Bloodbath We Caused — and Forgot

  “Do you kids have a permit to hang up all of these posters around the city?” the policeman asked. “Permit?” my friend and I questioned in response. “We are trying to raise public awareness about baseless hatred, and destructive conflict, and you’re asking us for a permit?” Yet, after several hours in the sweltering heat…

  By Daniel Roth Feb 10, 2014 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Why Woody Allen’s Thing for Younger Women Doesn’t Make Him a Pedophile

  Hopefully, Woody Allen Fatigue has now settled in. Every major newspaper in the country has run op-eds on this horrible situation, some by family members themselves. This publication has published four: one demanding that we “stand up for Dylan Farrow,” one likening the pursuit of Allen to a “lynch mob,” and two professing ambivalence about…

  By Jay Michaelson Feb 10, 2014 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Who Are the Rabbis That Changed Your Life?

  Rabbi Joseph Potasnik provided counseling to those mourning at Ground Zero shortly after 9/11. Illustration: Kurt Hoffman Last winter when we asked readers to tell us about the rabbis who inspire them, we were overwhelmed by stories of individuals like Rabbi Joseph Potasnik who provided counseling at Ground Zero shortly after the twin towers came…

  By Devra Ferst Feb 10, 2014 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  Birthright’s Second-Time Shift

  Here’s the current mission statement: “The gift of a trip to Israel from Taglit-Birthright Israel is designed to offer a first-time educational peer experience.” Not any more. The international leadership group in charge of Birthright has decided that the free, 10-day program can be a second-time educational experience, too. This is a technical change with…

  Feb 10, 2014 | < 1 min read
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  Opinion

  Seinfeld Takes Heat: ‘Just’ Funny? That’s Racist!

  Jerry Seinfeld is in trouble. He’s been under attack on the web for the last week or so, accused of racism. The complaints focus on the lack of gender and racial diversity among the guests on his web series, “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee.” More specifically, critics are steamed over a televised interview with Peter…

  By J.J. Goldberg Feb 9, 2014 | 3 min read