Opinion

• Opinion

  The Issues the Peace Process Should Avoid

  Let’s set aside for a moment all the familiar reasons why renewed peace talks won’t work. We know that Palestinian negotiators can’t “deliver” the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. And we know that Benjamin Netanyahu can’t “deliver” his own coalition or even his own party, both of which are dominated by politicians who oppose a two-state solution….

  By Yossi Alpher

  3 min read
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  Opinion

  Kerry’s Bond With Top Aide and a Legendary Dad

  Two intriguing backgrounders from the Hebrew press about Secretary of State John Kerry and his Israeli-Palestinian peace mission. One, by Yediot Ahronot veteran Washington correspondent Orly Azoulai in the Friday supplement (print, Hebrew only) contrasts Kerry’s intense commitment to the peace effort with President Obama’s utter skepticism. Obama lets Kerry have his way, she writes,…

  By J.J. Goldberg Jul 28, 2013 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Jewish Roots of Canada Store Merger

  The $12.4 billion merger of Canada’s biggest grocery chain and the country’s largest pharmacy has Jewish roots. The purchase of Shoppers Drug Mart by Loblaw’s will create “a homegrown juggernaut in the face of stiffer competition from the consolidation of existing players and the entry of a major U.S. retailer,” the Globe and Mail said….

  By Michael Kaminer Jul 28, 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 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

  Who Says You Need Day School?

  Recently I’ve read several pieces in which Jewish parents expressed their belief that day school is critically necessary to raising their children as Jews — and that without it, there would be no certainty that their children would maintain a firm footing in the Jewish world. One mother even wrote that she had decided to…

  By Jordana Horn Jul 28, 2013 | 5 min read
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  Opinion

  Could Kerry Be the One?

  In certain circles, it is fashionable to dismiss John Kerry, typically by casting him as naïve, Pollyannaish. That is a major mischaracterization. Whether his current apparent success in getting the Israelis and the Palestinians to meet together bears fruit or not, Kerry is an immensely capable man with a distinguished public record that stretches back…

  By Leonard Fein Jul 27, 2013 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Princes, Rabbis and the Danger of Dynasties

  A new prince was born this week, and two new chief rabbis were elected. One of them was my cousin. The common denominator for all three? Dynasty. Born into elite clubs, these very different individuals will serve according to some ancient human code of pedigree and privilege in which some people are worth more than…

  By Amichai Lau-Lavie Jul 26, 2013 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Letting Syria Go

  The rebels in Syria are losing. Over the past two years of revolt — a conflict that has now taken 93,000 lives — there have been moments when Bashar al-Assad looked like he was on the ropes. But that is not the case anymore. And our own government officials know it. Jay Carney, the president’s…

  Jul 26, 2013 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Will Prince George Face Circumcision?

  We know his gender. We know his name. Now it’s time to move on to the next critical news item from London. I speak, of course, of the newborn HRH Prince George of Cambridge, and whether or not the little royal foreskin will be snipped. Notwithstanding that the debate about the possibility that the new…

  By Renee Ghert-Zand Jul 25, 2013 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  Benjamin Netanyahu Faces Political Obstacle Course on Road to Peace Talks

  It was on a Friday evening, July 19, that Secretary of State John Kerry announced the upcoming resumption of Israel-Palestinian peace talks after a three-year freeze. There were no preconditions announced. Kerry had met Palestinian demands by giving his own promise — in writing, Palestinian officials said — that negotiations would be based on Israel’s…

  By J.J. Goldberg Jul 25, 2013 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Top U.S. General: We Pay a Price for Backing Israel

  Marine Corps General James Mattis, who retired May 22 as chief of the U.S. Central Command, in charge of U.S. forces in the Middle East, said in a speech at the prestigious Aspen Security Forum in Colorado last Saturday (July 20) that America needs to work “with a sense of urgency” to achieve a two-state…

  By J.J. Goldberg Jul 25, 2013 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Why Ryan Braun Sparked Anti-Semitic Twitter Flood

  The recent suspension of Ryan Braun, the star Milwaukee Brewers outfielder known affectionately as “the Hebrew Hammer,” has brought in its wake a host of anti-Semitic tweets directed at Braun — and pretty much everyone else of Jewish heritage. The Huffington Post reported on the Tweets in the best way they could, by compiling a…

  By Doni Bloomfield Jul 24, 2013 | 2 min read