Opinion

• Opinion

  Camp Tawonga and the Truth

  Camp Tawonga’s leadership faced a difficult decision last week when 21-year-old art counselor Annaïs Rittenberg, was killed by a falling tree. They needed to decide what to tell the campers. The camp decided not to tell the children that Rittenberg had died — a decision that angers Rittenberg’s father. “It’s a tragedy,” Mark Rittenberg wrote…

  By Renee Ghert-Zand

  4 min read
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  Opinion

  The Crossword Clue That Raised an Age-Old ‘Shylock’ Anti-Semitic Trope

  For me, it started with a thrown penny. It clattered to the parking lot asphalt of the swim club I frequented as a child, and in my innocence I bent to pick it up, looking around to see who had lost it. Two teenage girls stared at me, giggling, and refused to take back the…

  By Deb Amlen Jul 7, 2013 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  If I Were Israel — I’d Move

  If I were Israel, I’d move. The entire neighborhood, once more or less bearable even though always problematic, has gone to hell. Egypt: In 1978, Anwar Sadat and Menachem Begin shared the Nobel Peace Prize. (Jimmy Carter, who brokered the Egypt/Israel peace treaty, remained a bridesmaid rather then being recognized as the officiant.) Since that…

  By Leonard Fein Jul 6, 2013 | 3 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

  Accused Racists Leading Field in Chief Rabbi Race

  The race has been getting ugly

  By J.J. Goldberg Jul 5, 2013 | 6 min read
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  Opinion

  Texas-Sized Hypocrisy

  Let’s focus now on two bits of news that made headlines as July opened. The first came from the Texas Capitol in Austin, where the newly famous Wendy Davis joined fellow lawmakers in a rally against legislation that would effectively restrict most abortions in the state. Davis, you remember, spent more than 10 hours on…

  Jul 4, 2013 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  Egypt: U.S. Strategists’ Fail, Turkey’s Nightmare

  Looking at Egypt’s latest earthquake from the sober distance of a few solid hours, two important takeaways, each nicely captured in an eye-catching headline. One frames a fresh column by Bloomberg Businessweek deputy editor Romesh Ratnesar: “Revolt in Egypt Marks the End of America’s Illusions About Arab Democracy.” The other sits atop a column by…

  By J.J. Goldberg Jul 4, 2013 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Can Orthodox Jews Watch Fireworks On The Fourth Of July?

  When, in the course of Jewish events, it becomes necessary for one people to both be Orthodox Jews and patriotic Americans on the Fourth of July, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires a bit of explanation. About every three years, American Orthodox Jews are faced with a painful dilemma. The Fourth of…

  By Doni Bloomfield Jul 3, 2013 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Fighting Anti-Refugee Tide in Canada

  Progressive laws and generous benefits have long made Canada a haven for refugees. But the Conservative government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper has been raising the drawbridge with laws that strip new immigrants of health-care benefits – and restrict immigration from countries that are supposedly “safe” to stay in. Jewish leaders have formed an advocacy…

  By Michael Kaminer Jul 3, 2013 | 2 min read
• Opinion

  News Quiz: Satmars Out West, Jon Stewart in Egypt

  Burgers, Bibles, Bernie Madoff: There is little news that this week’s quiz doesn’t touch on, except, perhaps, for brisket. Oh wait! That’s here, too, courtesy of Rick Moranis. Go forth!

  By Lenore Skenazy Jul 3, 2013 | < 1 min read
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  Opinion

  Minority Inequality Falls, Income Inequality Rises

  Some interesting new ideas today about inequality in America. First, Washington Post columnist Harold Meyerson offers an important insight into the different kinds of inequality that exist and the differing responses. Over the past half-century, he writes, public pressure for black, women’s and gay rights has brought down barriers confronting those excluded because of their…

  By J.J. Goldberg Jul 3, 2013 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  Norman Lamm, the Truth — and Me

  Norman Lamm has retired as chancellor of Yeshiva University. The exit of one of the most revered figures in Modern Orthodoxy has been tarnished, perhaps indelibly, by Lamm’s admission to me last year that he covered up sexual abuse of students during his tenure as president of Y.U. between 1976 and 2003. Since I first…

  By Paul Berger Jul 2, 2013 | 2 min read