Opinion

• Opinion

  Rachel Maddow on the ‘Hanukkah Shutdown’

  Rachel Maddow commenting Wednesday night on MSNBC on the new Gallup Poll that showed the Republican Party’s approval rating plummeting to 28%, the lowest for either party since pollsters first began asking the question: “That apparently is the reward that you get if you can stretch your government shutdown to be longer than Hanukkah. It…

  By J.J. Goldberg

  3 min read
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  Opinion

  Asher Lopatin Set as Modern Orthodox ‘Bridge’

  When I was a kid, my mom told me, “Dress British, think Yiddish.” The credo for Yeshivat Chovevei Torah (YCT) now is “Learn ‘Litv-ish,’ daven ‘Hasid-ish,’ act ‘normal-ish.’”, according to Rabbi Daniel Landes, who on Sunday formally installed Rabbi Asher Lopatin as the second president of Yeshivat Chovevei Torah. The installation ceremony, held at the…

  By Jerome Chanes Oct 9, 2013 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Dude, Don’t ‘Boycott Israel’

  There’s a new weapon in the anti-BDS (Boycott, Divest, Sanction) arsenal. It’s a viral video by Cleveland-based Orthodox hip-hop artist Ari Lesser, and, based on the more than 18,000 hits it’s gotten since Monday, it’s proving to be pretty powerful. Lesser raps “Boycott Israel,” a catchy reggae number pointing out the hypocrisy of boycotting Israel…

  By Renee Ghert-Zand Oct 9, 2013 | < 1 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

  

The Latest

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  Opinion

  Janet Yellen Brings Jewish Side to Fed — Again

  President Obama’s nomination of Janet Yellen to be the next chair of the Federal Reserve will, if confirmed by the Senate, make her the first woman to lead the bank since its creation nearly a century ago. But she’ll be far from the first Jew. Yellen, whose nomination to head America’s central bank was reported…

  By Nathan Guttman Oct 9, 2013 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  We Are the 94%!

  Ever since Pew published its new study of American Jews last week, we’ve been hearing a lot about what Jews aren’t. Jews aren’t as religious as they used to be. They don’t go to synagogue as often. Jews aren’t marrying other Jews or raising their kids Jewish or affiliating with the Conservative movement. Here at…

  By Forward Staff Oct 9, 2013 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  Rav Ovadia Yosef Was Provocative Bigot

  News of the death of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, a towering religious and political figure in Israel, plunged millions into mourning. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Yosef “was imbued with love for Torah and his people.” President Shimon Peres cut short a meeting with Czech Prime Minister upon hearing of Rav Ovadia’s death. Ordinary people fainted…

  By Aaron Magid Oct 8, 2013 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  No Need for Directions to Rav Ovadia’s Funeral

  (JTA) — I didn’t need to ask directions. Stepping out of the Central Bus Station, I saw them, men in hats and coats walking together slowly, a steady stream moving east along one of Jerusalem’s central thoroughfares to the funeral of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef. At 5 p.m., an hour before the funeral, the streets were already…

  By Ben Sales Oct 8, 2013 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Alan Grayson Blames the GOP ‘Jesus Freaks’

  Florida Democratic Rep. Alan Grayson has never been known for holding his tongue in political debates and so his remarks about the government shutdown shouldn’t come as a great surprise. Still, the Jewish lawmaker who won back his central Florida seat in 2012 and who’s considered to be one of the main speakers of the…

  By Nathan Guttman Oct 7, 2013 | < 1 min read
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  Opinion

  American Jewry Loses Middle as Orthodox and Unaffiliated Grow

  The past few decades have witnessed the “polarization” of American Christianity. Evangelicals have grown, but so have the religiously unaffiliated. Meanwhile, mainstream Protestant Church members have declined sharply, along with non-Hispanic Catholics. We now find parallel trends among American Jews. From a demographic perspective, the Orthodox are incredibly healthy. Their birthrates are far more than…

  By Steven M. Cohen Oct 7, 2013 | < 1 min read
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  Opinion

  Pew Findings Reject Bleak Narrative of Jewish Decline

  The results of the Pew survey are not at all surprising, and the basic findings align near-perfectly with estimates that my colleagues and I at the Steinhardt Social Research Institute have reported. Pew’s estimate that there are 6.7 million American Jews — including more than 4 million adults who consider Judaism their religion — confirms…

  By Leonard Saxe Oct 7, 2013 | < 1 min read
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  Opinion

  Bob Dylan, M.C. Hammer and the Joy of a Mitzvah

  As we wove through the backroads of an 18th-century Italian estate in our rented Volvo, I questioned myself once more: What exactly was I doing there? It was the summer of 2004, my first time in Europe. And in truth, the Baroque home commissioned by one of the Doges of Venice and the site of…

  By Mordechai Lightstone Oct 7, 2013 | 4 min read