Opinion

• Opinion

  Saying ‘Shabbat Shalom’ in Sarajevo

  (JTA) — Sarajevo is a city with a rich multicultural past, but it also bears the scars of war. Take a short walk through the capital of Bosnia-Herzegovina and you will see the many cemeteries and bullet-riddled walls, which are undergoing restoration. These lay side by side with magnificent churches, mosques and synagogues. For this…

  By Itai Reuveni

  3 min read
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  Opinion

  Vigorous Debate Over Day Schools

  A piece by our columnist, Jordana Horn, elicited a lot of response from readers last week. She argued that Jewish day school was not essential to instilling a sense of Jewish identity in children. Instead, what we need is a kind of Jewish homeschooling, Jordana said, creating a real and vibrant Jewish family life for…

  By Gal Beckerman Aug 5, 2013 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Jewish Day Schools? Our Future Depends on Them

  Jordana Horn’s recent article asks the singular question, Who Says You Need Day School? The question is simple and so is the answer. Nothing less than the future of the Jewish people rests on the existence of vibrant Jewish day schools. If we are to have a future as a people — we need day…

  By Helene Wingens Aug 5, 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 There’s a shocking new report on civilian deaths in Gaza. If only it were accurate.

  

• Nora Berman Is Netflix’s new show the most Jewish cartoon ever?

  

• Dan Perry Israel’s new gift to the far right could help end the Gaza war

  

• Emily Tamkin Entering motherhood — and an obsession with the works of an Italian Jewish literary hero

  

The Latest

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  Opinion

  Why Intermarriage Poses Threat to Jewish Life — But Gay Marriage Doesn’t

  Nothing creates controversy and polarization in the United States more than discussing same-sex marriage, and nothing brings the anxieties of American Jewry to the surface more than discussions of intermarriage. Both of these issues have gotten some attention in the American Jewish world over the past few weeks. And in the process, they have raised…

  By Yoel Finkelman Aug 5, 2013 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Weiner-Spitzer Waltz: Covering Jewish Scandals

  America loves a juicy sex scandal, heaven knows, so it’s natural for the sudden explosion of three at once, all involving prominent politicians, to attract an avalanche of national attention in all the major media—print, broadcast, Internet and late-night comedy. But the fact that all three of the principals are Jewish creates a ticklish situation…

  By J.J. Goldberg Aug 5, 2013 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Forgetting the Mideast Conflict Is Easy in Israel — and That’s a Big Problem

  The best place to forget the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is Israel. In American Jewish circles, we talk about it all the time. But enjoying a café hafuch in southern Jerusalem’s Anglo-populated neighborhoods such as the German Colony or Katamon, it feels a world away. Ironic, isn’t it — since from those cafes, the conflict is actually…

  By Jay Michaelson Aug 4, 2013 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  ‘Who Am I To Judge?’

  He’s not our spiritual leader, of course, but the brief remarks by Pope Francis suggesting that he would not judge priests for their sexual orientation could serve as a humble lesson for the Jewish community, as well. “If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to…

  Aug 3, 2013 | < 1 min read
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  Opinion

  For True Peace, All Issues Must Be Resolved

  The brambled path that winds through all the efforts to resolve Israel’s conflict with the Palestinians is littered with failure. Here, some prisoners released; there, some interventions by Israel’s High Court of Justice to limit Israel’s encroachment on Palestinian lands. Here, a pledge to avoid incitement; there, cooperation on security issues. Add all the leaky…

  By Leonard Fein Aug 3, 2013 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  New Climate Woes: Fires, Road Rage … and Wars

  New scientific and academic studies of climate change—its causes, pace, cost, impact—continue to pour out almost daily from institutions around the world. They come at us so fast that it’s hard to keep track—and yet many of them are essential to understanding what’s coming down the pike and what, if anything, can be done about…

  By J.J. Goldberg Aug 2, 2013 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Egypt at the Crossroads

  For Americans, the complicated, mercurial situation in Egypt defies easy description and obvious solutions. Hardest of all, it pits American values and ideals against American pragmatic, strategic interests, making the right thing to do not necessarily the wise thing to do. Beware those who offer simplistic directives; after the Arab Spring, simplistic policies won’t work…

  Aug 2, 2013 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Blurring Out Satmar History

  When I first saw that the faces were blurred out in a photo of two little girls in the Williamsburg Bulletin, a weekly newsletter aimed at the Satmar Hasidic community, I was not surprised. It’s not that I believe that a little girl young enough to throw a tantrum could be sexually suggestive, and therefore…

  By Frimet Goldberger Aug 2, 2013 | 5 min read