Opinion

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  Don’t Believe in God? Come Aboard!

  In the latest iteration of communal thinkers puzzling over the state of American Jewry and how to counter the dwindling number of non-Orthodox Jews, the sociologist Steven M. Cohen and Rabbi Kerry Olitzky have proposed a new path to affiliation with the Jewish people. Specifically, they want to try and capture the ever elusive demographic…

  By Andy Bachman

  4 min read
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  Opinion

  Searching for Religious Ritual in a $10 Bottle of Juice

  The East Village of New York City has long been a site of cultural defiance. It was home to massive communist rallies in the late 19th century, Boris Thomashefsky’s Yiddishe “Hamlet” in the early 20th century and then, eventually, the Beats and the punks. Walk around the neighborhood today and you will encounter, more than…

  By Elissa Strauss Dec 8, 2013 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  On Iran, Israeli Intel and Politicos Part Ways

  Tensions between Israel’s political leadership and intelligence professionals appear to have returned to the state of open warfare that prevailed before 2011, judging by the noises coming out of the two camps. The issue, once again, is Iran. Tensions have been simmering under the surface since shortly after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took office in…

  By J.J. Goldberg Dec 8, 2013 | 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 A new humanitarian outrage is unfolding in the Middle East. It’s not in Gaza

  

• Nora Berman The left is turning on AOC over Israel — and imperiling its own agenda

  

• Dan Perry Actually, Trump made things between Israel and Iran way worse

  

• Emily Tamkin Zohran Mamdani’s victory proves it: The ‘gotcha’ mode of fighting antisemitism has to go

  

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  Opinion

  The Fracturing of American Jewry

  The interim deal recently signed with Iran that would freeze its nuclear program in exchange for limited sanctions relief is not only a blow to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. It also exposes the weakness of prominent American Jewish leaders and their organizations, which lobbied the U.S. Senate to act on new sanctions against Iran…

  By Theodore Sasson Dec 7, 2013 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  ‘Bethlehem’ a Film About Israeli Agents and Their Assets

  “Bethlehem” is this year’s Israeli entry in the foreign film Oscars. Having won the Ophir award for best Israeli feature film at the Haifa International Film Festival, it went on to win the best director, best actor, best supporting actor, best editing and best casting awards as well. “Bethlehem” will not be generally available for…

  By Leonard Fein Dec 7, 2013 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Memories of Nelson Mandela from Zionist Childhood

  Nelson Mandela with wife Winnie Mandela and Jewish comrade-in-arms Joe Slovo, May 1990 / Getty Images When I heard on Thursday afternoon about the death of Nelson Mandela at age 95, my mind was a jumble of complicated thoughts. I thought about the day I first learned about the South African freedom struggle, in the…

  By J.J. Goldberg Dec 6, 2013 | 6 min read
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  Opinion

  What Nelson Mandela Taught the Jewish World

  Few people have had the impact on their community that Nelson Mandela had on the history of a continent. Often compared to Mohandas Gandhi or to Reverend Martin Luther King Jr., the South African leader demonstrated throughout his lifetime how compassion and forgiveness could go a long way in divided societies. Mandela’s legacy of peace…

  By Yermi Brenner Dec 6, 2013 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  A Newtown Clarification

  Last week, the Connecticut State Attorney issued a long-awaited report on the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown. The report painted a clearer picture of the events of last December 14, and also provided details of shooter Adam Lanza’s life — his untreated “Asperger’s characteristics,” his love of Dance Dance Revolution and his…

  By Naomi Zeveloff Dec 5, 2013 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Academic Hypocrisy

  The decision by the National Council of the American Studies Association to support a boycott of Israeli academic institutions is hypocritical and short-sighted. We’re not of the belief that college campuses are as rife with anti-Israel sentiment as some activists contend, but this unanimous vote by the leadership of a sizable cohort of scholars is…

  Dec 5, 2013 | < 1 min read
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  Opinion

  Words Are Battleground in Holy Land

  I recently interviewed Yehudah Glick for the Forward. He’s, an Israeli Jewish activist who went on a hunger strike after being banned from the Temple Mount. While writing the introduction for the Q&A, I tried to dot all my i’s and cross my t’s, making sure to mention that the Haram al-Sharif (as the Temple…

  By Renee Ghert-Zand Dec 5, 2013 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  DIY Bris

  (JTA) — Natan Zaidenweber thought the mohel was kidding. His wife, Linda Raab, thought it was some kind of religious formality and didn’t give it a second thought. But the mohel, Cantor Philip Sherman, was serious. Though most fathers demur when he invites them to perform the bris on their sons by clipping their foreskin, preferring…

  By Debra Rubin Dec 4, 2013 | 2 min read