Opinion

• 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

  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

Columnists View All

• Jay Michaelson What can really be done to prevent antisemitic attacks like Bondi Beach?

  

• Rob Eshman Australia shooting terrifies Jews worldwide — and strengthens the case for Israel

  

• Nora Berman Did crypto-Jews invent the modern tarot deck?

  

• Dan Perry An Israeli media mainstay is crumbling. Will liberal democracy go with it?

  

• Emily Tamkin The fundamental miscalculation behind the GOP’s antisemitism crisis

  

The Latest

• Opinion

  Naomi Zeveloff Talks About Transgender Jews

  Forward editor Naomi Zeveloff talks about the groundbreaking series on transgender Jews in an interview with Sirius satellite radio. Click to listen.

  By Forward Staff Aug 1, 2013 | < 1 min read
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  Opinion

  Is Daniel Levy ‘Shylock’ of English Soccer?

  If you habitually discard the sports section, you might have missed news of European soccer’s biggest transfer story since Cristiano Ronaldo left Manchester United for Real Madrid four years ago. It involves Madrid again, in fact – Tottenham Hotspur’s star winger Gareth Bale is rumoured to be on the verge of moving there for a…

  By Liam Hoare Aug 1, 2013 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Do Palestinian Long Faces Signal Breakthrough or Stalemate?

  It’s dangerous to read too much into body language on the television screen. Still, it was hard not to notice the contrast in demeanor between Israeli Justice Minister Tzipi Livni and Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat as they addressed the press conference after their first round of peace talks June 30 at the State Department….

  By J.J. Goldberg Aug 1, 2013 | 4 min read
• Opinion

  News Quiz: Cannes Heist, Glenn Beck in Utah

  Please note that this week’s news quiz does not contain any Anthony Weiner references… except in one question. Come on, what did you really expect? Besides, he’s in good company, sharing this quiz with Sacha Baron Cohen and, inevitably, perhaps, Catherine Duchess of Cambridge, aka, Kate Middleton.

  By Lenore Skenazy Jul 31, 2013 | < 1 min read
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  Opinion

  Primo Levi Was No Saint — But We Already Knew That

  Prisoner 174517 had a recurrent nightmare at Auschwitz. He dreamed that he had survived, returned home and told his family about his experience —yet nobody listened. That same prisoner, Primo Levi, who died a little more than 25 years ago, probably by his own hand, has now been subjected to a different nightmare: someone who…

  By Robert Zaretsky Jul 31, 2013 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Watch Kerry, Erekat and Livni on the Road Ahead

  Here’s today’s press conference at the State Department. Note how firm and detailed Secretary of State John Kerry was in his 11-minute presentation, how poetic Israeli Justice Minister Tzipi Livni’s 4-minute remarks were (starting at 12:15) and how strikingly brief and downbeat Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat was in his one minute and 10 seconds…

  By J.J. Goldberg Jul 30, 2013 | < 1 min read
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  Opinion

  Transgender Camp Founder Talks Jewish Summer

  Nick Teich is the founder and director of Camp Aranu’tiq, the first summer camp in the United States that caters to transgender and gender-variant youth (that is, children whose gender expression does not conform to conventional ideas of masculinity and femininity). The camp takes its name from an indigenous Alaskan term for a person who…

  By Sarah Seltzer Jul 30, 2013 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Palestinians Want Vote on Peace Too — But How?

  Peace talks are due to properly restart today, but what lies at the end of the road if negotiators are successful? There has been much discussion of the Israeli cabinet’s decision on Sunday to advance legislation to ensure that any peace deal is subject to a referendum. If the legislation passes Knesset, a plebiscite won’t…

  By Nathan Jeffay Jul 30, 2013 | 2 min read