Opinion

• Opinion

  Abu Mazen’s Son Says No to 2-State Solution

  Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority who is known as Abu Mazen, met Sept. 23 with American Jewish leaders, at a dinner hosted by the S. Daniel Abraham Center for Middle East Peace. There were plenty of former ambassadors, members of Congress, diplomats and dignitaries — former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright identified…

  By Jane Eisner

  2 min read
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  Opinion

  To Reach Diaspora, Make Israel Welcoming to All Jews

  I am always delighted by the Sukkot tradition of ushpizin. We invite guests, ceremonially and literally, into our homes to celebrate the spirit of Jewish hospitality — a central theme of this festival. This year, I challenge Israel and world Jewry to ask themselves a question: How big is our people’s sukkah? This question came…

  By Uri Regev Sep 23, 2013 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  You Can’t Rebrand the Occupation

  No sum of money can rebrand Israel’s occupation The Jewish Agency has teamed up with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and American Jewish philanthropists to launch the most exorbitant “pro-Israel” campaign ever — expected to reach an annual budget of $300 million by 2015. The stated aim of the lavish endeavor — which will only…

  By Mairav Zonszein Sep 23, 2013 | 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 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 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

  News Quiz: What Sarah Silverman Wore

  Sarah Silverman can always figure out how to yank our chains — so what did she do on a recent talk show? For that matter, what did Bob Dylan just do (but not on a talk show)? And what does the new kosher cell phone do? Take the quiz to find out!

  By Lenore Skenazy Sep 23, 2013 | < 1 min read
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  Opinion

  Why Was Denmark Different for Nazis?

  Why did the Holocaust fail so spectacularly in Denmark while it succeeded in so many European countries? The peculiarities of the German occupation of Denmark may provide a clue. Denmark surrendered almost immediately after being invaded in April 1940, and agreed to cooperate with Germany. In return, the Nazis installed a plenipotentiary as supreme commander…

  By Paul Berger Sep 23, 2013 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Witnessing the Nairobi Mall Massacre

  Running towards the sound of gunfire with my friend Goran Tomasevic felt familiar; we had worked together in Jerusalem during the start of the Intifada so gunfire and explosions were nothing new; what was different yesterday was that this was Nairobi, my home for the past six years and a place that has grown increasingly…

  By Haaretz/Tom Kirkwood Sep 22, 2013 | < 1 min read
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  Opinion

  My Journey to Borscht Belt Ruins

  When I set out to write a story on the Catskills — its famed legacy, its tremendous decline and what the future holds — I knew I wanted to spend a couple of days upstate, talking with locals who witnessed the area in its heyday and seeing what’s left of it for myself. Photographer Marisa…

  By Abigail Jones Sep 22, 2013 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  A Place for Jewish Culture

  Last year, Elise Bernhardt, president and CEO of the Foundation for Jewish Culture, gave a talk at the annual meeting of the Jewish Federations of North America about her favorite biblical character, Bezalel, “the original multi-media artist.” Without Bezalel, she argued, there would be no mishkan, no portable dwelling place for the divine. And without…

  Sep 22, 2013 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  Syria U-Turn Sends Troubling Message of American Weakness

  Now that Act I of the Syrian poison gas drama is over, and America has, as in a slapstick comedy, managed to stumble, skid, slip, slide, and finally somersault into a co-director’s chair for an Act II that no one dreamed of when the curtain first rose, Israelis can take stock of what has happened…

  By Hillel Halkin Sep 22, 2013 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  How Will Benjamin Netanyahu Confront Iran’s Charm Offensive?

  A nasty altercation looms. No issue has been more central to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s policy and his rhetoric than the threat of Iran. For years now, Iran has been the touchstone against which all else has been measured, as also the heart of Netanyahu’s representation to the nations of the world. Now comes President…

  By Leonard Fein Sep 20, 2013 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Oslo’s Successes and Failures, 20 Years Later

  We’re all on anniversary overload lately: 40 years since the Yom Kippur War, 12 years since 9/11, five years since Lehman Brothers collapsed. But there’s another event that requires urgent attention: the Rabin-Arafat handshake on the White House lawn, September 13, 1993, the moment known in Middle East diplo-speak as Oslo. It’s called Oslo because…

  By J.J. Goldberg Sep 20, 2013 | 4 min read