Opinion

• Opinion

  The ‘Portuguese Schindler’ and Me

  Aristides Sousa Mendes is a national hero today in Portugal for bravely saving Jews fleeing the Nazis. It wasn’t always that way. When Aristides Sousa Mendes was a child, his name forced his family to leave Portugal for Africa. Today, his name is famous, and his grandfather and namesake, Aristides de Sousa Mendes, is a…

  By Josh Nathan-Kazis

  3 min read
• 
  Opinion

  My Search for the Perfect Biblical Blue

  A few of the author’s many blue inks on paper. / Jeffrey K. Salkin It’s time for me to confess my hobby. I collect and use fountain pens. I have no memory of how I first got into this particular way of writing. No, it has nothing to do with the fabled “Today I am…

  By Jeffrey K. Salkin Jan 31, 2014 | 3 min read
• 
  Opinion

  Does Rick Jacobs Think Intermarriage Is Good?

  (JTA) — For an article I wrote on a recent flare-up in the intermarriage debate, I did two interviews with Rabbi Rick Jacobs, the president of the Union for Reform Judaism. Twice I asked him whether there was any value in articulating a communal preference for in-marriage over intermarriage, and the second time I followed…

  By Julie Wiener Jan 31, 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 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

• 
  Opinion

  Bursting Bubbles of SodaStream’s Haters

  Is it wrong for Scarlett Johansson to perform as the celebrity global ambassador for the Israeli company SodaStream? Is it wrong for the rest of us to drink the fizzy, made-at-home water in the environmentally-friendly reusable bottles that are manufactured in Palestinian land occupied by Israel since the 1967 war? Thanks to the high-wattage Super…

  Jan 31, 2014 | 2 min read
• 
  Opinion

  The Bibi-Bennett Feud Isn’t Over

  The Israeli government has just emerged from a three-day coalition crisis, after public displays of antagonism between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Economy Minister Naftali Bennett reached new highs. A letter firing Bennett had reportedly already been prepared when he cleared the air last night. Netanyahu was furious that Bennett questioned his integrity because he…

  By Nathan Jeffay Jan 31, 2014 | 2 min read
• 
  Opinion

  Are Gas Chambers Making a Comeback in U.S.?

  The ruins of a gas chamber at the former Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp / Getty Images Lying at the heart of every political position I hold is an undying faith in human fallibility. Not only might we get things wrong, we will get things wrong – just as we got things wrong last week and last…

  By Emily L. Hauser Jan 30, 2014 | 3 min read
• 
  Opinion

  Yair Netanyahu Girlfriend Drama Sparks Echoes of British Royal Romance Scandal

  (Haaretz) — “Israel is freaking out.” “Yair Netanyahu spits on his grandfather’s grave.” “Bibi’s son is dating a Gentile!” It’s been quite the week for the Netanyahu family, judging by the flurry of hysterical headlines reacting to reports that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyu’s son is dating – gasp! – a “shiksa.” The reported love affair…

  By Asher Schechter Jan 30, 2014 | 4 min read
• 
  Opinion

  Did Genesis Founder Carry Gun to Meetings?

  Mayor Bloomberg, the recipient of the first Genesis Prize / Getty Images You know that Jewish charity that gave a $1 million prize to Michael Bloomberg, who can hardly count his billions? A feature in last week’s New Yorker sheds some light on the Russian oligarchs behind the award. For instance: In the early 2000s,…

  By Josh Nathan-Kazis Jan 30, 2014 | 3 min read
• 
  Opinion

  What Yair Netanyahu’s Norwegian Dating Game Tells Us

  It’s easy for liberal Jews to write off the hullabaloo regarding the dating habits of one of Israel’s better known sons as just that: Hullabaloo. Sound and fury signifying nothing, or maybe signifying a prurient interest in famous lives, or possibly signifying a helplessly stultified and hidebound worldview that has nothing to do with us….

  By Emily L. Hauser Jan 29, 2014 | 4 min read
• 
  Opinion

  What Defines Us as Jews? Actions — Not Ancestry.

  One of my daughters recently suggested that I investigate whether I’m eligible for British citizenship. It’s not a far-fetched notion. My mother was born in England, and so were her mother, and her mother, and her mother, and probably her mother. There’s a cemetery in Leeds where many of these women are buried; my mother…

  By Jane Eisner Jan 29, 2014 | 2 min read
• 
  Opinion

  Pete Seeger’s Hometown Rabbi Remembers When

  Pete Seeger never stopped singing — or fighting for justice. Just last month, he turned up at the Beacon Hebrew Alliance to explain why it was important to join the town’s Martin Luther King Day celebrations. If you move to Beacon, or even think about moving to Beacon, someone will tell you that this is…

  By Brent Spodek Jan 29, 2014 | 3 min read