Opinion

• Opinion

  Israel Bonds Are Glue That Bind Jewish State and Diaspora

  In 1949, Arthur Hertzberg, a young Zionist who later became a renowned historian and an important communal leader, decided to witness with his own eyes the wonders that were taking place in Israel. He traveled to Israel, but to his surprise, instead of a warm welcome his hosts nagged him with a barrage of demanding…

  By Dan Lainer-Vos

  4 min read
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  Opinion

  Defending My Stephen Hawking Cartoon

  I appreciate Hillel Halkin’s passionate response to a cartoon that supports the boycott of Israel, promotes anti-Semitism, and advocates a viewpoint that he insists must not be permitted in a Jewish newspaper. Unfortunately, that is not the cartoon I drew. My cartoon pilloried the absurdity and intellectual vacuity of hasbara, the public relations effort by…

  By Eli Valley Jun 3, 2013 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  What’s a Pro-Boycott Cartoon of Stephen Hawking Doing in a Jewish Paper?

  Would America’s best Jewish newspaper publish a cartoon in support of renowned British physicist Stephen Hawking’s joining the academic boycott of Israel? It would — and it did. I can think of no other accurate way of describing the prominently featured appearance in a recent issue of the Forward of Eli Valley’s “A Brief History…

  By Hillel Halkin Jun 3, 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

  More Than Memory of Jews in Macedonia

  Contemporary Skopje is a slightly strange place. The nationalistic Macedonian government has been throwing money at the capital city in an attempt at beautification, since 80% of Skopje was destroyed by an earthquake in 1963 and had been refashioned in the communistic style with wide avenues and high-rise concrete apartment blocks. The new chosen style,…

  By Liam Hoare Jun 3, 2013 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  London Meat Cleaver Attack Echoes Lessons of Boston Marathon Bombing

  Let’s assume that everything we think we know about the recent terror attacks in London and Boston turns out to be true. That the people who carried them out were not actually part of a formal, organized international effort to kill Westerners — that they were not paid a salary by a terror group, or…

  By David Hazony Jun 3, 2013 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Shin Bet Film Airs on TV Amid Right-vs.-IDF Tiff

  Israel’s state-owned Channel 1 Television aired the first part of a five-part miniseries version of “The Gatekeepers” on Sunday night. That’s the Oscar-nominated Israeli documentary in which all six living ex-directors of the Shin Bet security service criticize the government’s West Bank policies. According to Walla! News, the miniseries will include previously unseen material from…

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

  Freud Speaks! Who Does He Remind You Of?

  As Father’s Day approaches, I thought it would be fun to visit with three modern Jewish patriarchs. Here are some remarkable bits of tape with voices (one is sound-and-video) from the past that sort of embody the arc of contemporary Jewish thought. Hat tip to Seton Hall theologian and ethicist Rabbi Alan Brill, who got…

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

  Let’s Talk About Not Having Sex

  I believe in abstinence, at least personally, and I believe in Jewish law. So it makes sense to me that a Jewish organization that promotes both Jewish law and abstinence would create a website dedicated to teenagers and sex. That organization, the National Conference of Synagogue Youth, is the Orthodox Union’s youth movement, and the…

  By Simi Lichtman Jun 2, 2013 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Knesset Kerfuffle: Spare the VAT, Spoil the Sabbath

  Israel’s Jewish Home party, for those still trying to follow these things, is a new body that reunites the main elements of the old National Religious Party (NRP, Hebrew Mafdal), which represented the Modern Orthodox / Religious Zionist constituency in the Knesset for a half-century. The NRP was a supremely pragmatic, almost Chicago-style organization that…

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

  Why We Should Bring Back Evil

  One of the loveliest songs we have — to my way of thinking, a worthy competitor of “Amazing Grace” — is from Psalm 34, verses 14 and 15. Especially as sung and recorded by Chava Alberstein, who invites audience participation and on a good night will harmonize with the audience — check it out on…

  By Leonard Fein Jun 1, 2013 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  How the Forward Got it Right

  Julius Berman, chairman of the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, has responded to criticism of his leadership in an 11-page letter sent May 30 to members of his board. In the letter, he lashes out at media coverage and communal leaders who have questioned his handling of a 2001 letter that could have…

  May 31, 2013 | 2 min read