Opinion

• Opinion

  Jewish Values Order Us To Protect Gay Marriage

  In the early 1970s, while I was CEO of the Seagram Company, public dialogue about gay rights was largely nonexistent in corporate America. Social discourse had not yet even evolved into the “don’t ask, don’t tell” ethos that dominated the following decades. Homosexuality was simply not discussed and therefore, by implication, was shameful. During that…

  By Edgar M. Bronfman

  3 min read
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  Opinion

  Echoes of Justice in Corners of American Life

  The shouting for joy over this morning’s Supreme Court decisions had barely subsided when a long ago memory flashed into my mind. Twenty-two years ago, my partner and I were on vacation in Pennsylvania with our daughter. My partner became ill and I took her to a nearby emergency room. In this smalltown hospital. they…

  By Ellen Lippmann Jun 26, 2013 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  Jewish Blessings Greet Gay Marriage Ruling

  News of the Supreme Court’s landmark decision to pave the way to gay marriage found gay Jewish leaders at the end of a meeting with two dozen Democratic senators on Capitol Hill. A staffer passed a note to Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) reading: “DOMA is struck down” and the senator shared the news with the…

  By Nathan Guttman Jun 26, 2013 | 2 min read

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• 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

• Opinion

  News Quiz: Alice Walker’s Book, Chief Rabbi’s Arrest

  What do Alice Walker, the Turkish prime minister and Hooters have in common? Aside from the fact they are all in this week’s news quiz? That is a good question. Feel free to tell us if you figure it out. Meantime, here goes after the jump!

  By Lenore Skenazy Jun 26, 2013 | < 1 min read
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  Opinion

  Obama Tweets ‘Love Is Love’ on Gay Marriage

  President Barack Obama wasted no time hailing the Supreme Court’s decision on gay marriage. Within moments of the ruling striking down the Defense of Marriage Act, the president Tweeted: Today’s DOMA ruling is a historic step forward for #MarriageEquality. #LoveIsLove. Obama later applauded the decision that makes married gay men and women eligible for federal…

  By Forward Staff Jun 26, 2013 | < 1 min read
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  Opinion

  Poll: Israelis Ask US Jews’ Views. Headline: Not!

  Here’s a kind of wonderfully dopey news item that appeared in the Jerusalem Post last week and then was reposted at The Tablet. That is, the news itself was perfectly legitimate, but the reporting and headlines—that is, the part that will stick in the mind of your average reader—was something else. The news: Israelis were…

  By J.J. Goldberg Jun 25, 2013 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  Jonathan Sacks and the Twin Danger Facing Jews

  Jonathan Sacks, the outgoing British chief rabbi, is warning of a twin threat to Judaism from assimilation on the one hand and ultra-Orthodoxy on the other. At his retirement dinner, he said that “those who embrace the world and reject Judaism, and those who embrace Judaism and reject the world” represent a “global danger” to…

  By Liam Hoare Jun 25, 2013 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Hassan Rowhani’s Election Is Game-Changer for Iran, the West — and Israel

  Israel’s government is trying to downplay the results of Iran’s presidential election, but the fact is that Hassan Rowhani is immensely different from the departing Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Immediately after the elections results were announced in Tehran, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the international community must not be tempted to relax the pressure on Iran…

  By Yossi Melman Jun 25, 2013 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Not Too Late for Justice

  Many Americans were shocked when the Associated Press reported on June 14 that a 94-year-old ex-commander of a Ukrainian Nazi SS unit, Michael Karcoc, had been living quietly in suburban Minneapolis for the past six decades. Karcoc’s former unit, the Ukrainian Self-Defense Legion, was involved in numerous documented atrocities during World War II, including the…

  Jun 25, 2013 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Is Mahmoud Abbas Ready to Resume Peace Talks?

  Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is said to be willing to return to direct peace negotiations with Israel, reports Arab affairs correspondent Ehud Yaari of Israel’s Channel 2 TV News, who is probably Israel’s best informed and most respected reporter on the topic. Yaari claims that’s “what he [Abbas] is explaining in the corridors in…

  By J.J. Goldberg Jun 24, 2013 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  Time for Israel To Change Stance Toward Jewish Women

  Is Judaism the problem or the solution to women’s equality? Try telling agunot, women who are chained to their husbands unable to obtain a get, a religious divorce, that they are equal to men. Overarching Jewish values like b’tzelem Elohim — that all people are created in the image of God — may teach equality,…

  By Rick Jacobs Jun 24, 2013 | 4 min read