Opinion

• Opinion

  When It Comes to Peace, Benjamin Netanyahu Torn Between Head and Heart

  Secretary of State John Kerry was supposed to make his fifth Middle East trip in five months in pursuit of two states for two peoples during the second week of June, but he delayed for one week for emergency talks about the Syria crisis, which the White House was leaning toward doing something about, unlike…

  By J.J. Goldberg

  4 min read
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  Opinion

  Yair Lapid Feuds With Allies on Arab Peace Bid

  Three weeks after Israeli finance minister Yair Lapid stunned his liberal base by staking out a hardline stance on peace issues, his disappointed lieutenants are coming out in open rebellion. Lapid, the journalist-turned-politician who scored big in January elections as the champion of the center-left, told New York Times correspondent Jodi Rudoren in an interview…

  By J.J. Goldberg Jun 16, 2013 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  There Is No Death

  Consolation is on my mind, doubtless because just the other day I addressed a convention of a truly extraordinary organization called Kavod v’Nichum, Honor and Comfort. They’d gathered in Philadelphia, and because I once wrote some words expressing my awe at their devotion and their decency, they invited me to be with them. They are…

  By Leonard Fein Jun 15, 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

  Kerry’s Call Ignored

  Imagine this scenario: The United States and one of its closest allies heartily agree on a certain policy goal important to both countries. The secretary of state addresses American supporters of that ally and urges them to prod their leaders to move along the process. The Americans applaud the speech. And then, near silence. Ever…

  Jun 15, 2013 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  Raging Fire Rousts Jewish Western Sleepaway Camp

  The raging forest fire outside of Colorado Springs has displaced tens of thousands of people, including 143 children from the JCC Ranch Camp in Elbert, Colorado, where I used to spend my summers as a kid. A Jewish sleepaway camp with the feel of a Western dude ranch, the JCC Ranch Camp taught me to…

  By Naomi Zeveloff Jun 15, 2013 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  As Iran Prepares Another Sham Vote, Action Is More Important Than Ever

  As Iran approaches another fraudulent presidential election on June 14, it is important to remember the 2009 protests in Iran over the results of the rigged election. The heart-wrenching picture of Neda Agha-Soltan, the young woman who was shot dead by regime thugs, was not an isolated event. Neda’s tragic death should serve as a…

  By Bob Feferman Jun 14, 2013 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  In Syria, 2 Clashing Goals: End Killing or Stop Iran

  Now that the White House has officially acknowledged the Syrian regime’s use of chemical weapons, the question is no longer whether we get involved in the Syrian civil war, but how. This represents a victory for the smallish, outspoken group of liberal interventionists who have been arguing for an American military role, while trying to…

  By J.J. Goldberg Jun 14, 2013 | 5 min read
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  Opinion

  Anti-Orthodox Profiling Let Women Pray at Kotel

  At Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport, the use of racial profiling is so controversial that it is the subject of a legal challenge by human rights advocates. But what about a different type of profiling — religious profiling — and of all places at the Western Wall? As we reported, the tables were turned at the…

  By Nathan Jeffay Jun 13, 2013 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  The Maharat Movement

  A telling sign that the first-ever graduation ceremony for Yeshivat Maharat was going to be different from other rabbinical ordinations came in an email message sent several weeks before the June 16 event. “We will be offering child care during the ceremony!” it read. This was clearly a ceremony created by women for women, reflecting…

  Jun 13, 2013 | 3 min read
• Opinion

  News Quiz: Coke’s Creation and Google’s Big Buy

  Pot, pork, pastrami: You can choose your vice in this week’s quiz, which also happens to include questions about Coke, wine and “Mad Men.” We’re going all Don Draper on you. Or at least Michael Ginsberg. Take the quiz after the jump.

  By Lenore Skenazy Jun 12, 2013 | < 1 min read
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  Opinion

  Everyday ‘Apartheid’ and the Liberal Dream

  The following items appeared in the Israeli media this month: Superland, an amusement park outside Tel Aviv, makes a policy of reserving separate days for Israeli Arab high school classes and separate ones for Israeli Jewish classes. A Jewish community pool in the Negev refused to admit a group of Bedouin children with cancer because,…

  By Larry Derfner Jun 12, 2013 | 2 min read