Opinion

• Opinion

  How the Trinity Impacted Judaism — via Kabbalah

  If you don’t follow Philologos, the Forward’s inimitable language columnist, you’re missing one of the outstanding intellectual joys in contemporary Jewish life. I don’t say that idly. Week after week for 20-plus years, with an astonishing combination of erudition, curiosity and wit, he’s used readers’ inquiries into the origins of words and phrases to explore…

  By J.J. Goldberg

  3 min read
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  Opinion

  Who’s Touting a 1-State Plan? Fatah? Guess Again!

  Fresh from her controversial April 3 paean to Palestinian stone-throwing, Haaretz’s Ramallah-based bad girl Amira Hass is making new waves with her Friday May 17 report about a group of “senior Fatah members” (the headline called them “senior officials”) who are calling for “the establishment of one democratic country in the area between the Mediterranean…

  By J.J. Goldberg May 19, 2013 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  Why Can’t Israelis and Palestinians Both Be Right?

  A new study published by The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and reported in The New York Times on May 14, informs us that (1) “For years, scientists and engineers have noticed an increase in river flows when the trees along the streams are removed. The water in the soil, which would otherwise…

  By Leonard Fein May 18, 2013 | 4 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

  Reform Rabbi Urges Hebrew Union College To Reconsider Decision on Intermarriage

  An open letter to the board of governors of Hebrew Union College — Jewish Institute of Religion: I am writing to urge you to reconsider the HUC-JIR requirement that all prospective rabbinical students sign an agreement that “any student engaged, married, or partnered/committed to a person who is not Jewish by birth or conversion will…

  By Ellen Lippmann May 17, 2013 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Alas, Poor GOP: 3 D.C. Scandals That Weren’t

  Besides throwing the Obama administration off its stride, the three scandals roiling Washington and the 24-hour cable news channels have one thing in common: They’re shrinking steadily as more information becomes available. The Washington Post’s Ezra Klein ably deconstructs them in his Wonkblog: the IRS-Tea Party scandal involves a group of employees in the IRS…

  By J.J. Goldberg May 17, 2013 | 5 min read
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  Opinion

  Israel’s Doing Poor-ly

  Israel has the highest poverty rate in the developed world. Some 21% of Israelis were poor as of 2010, more than in any of the other 33 members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, its new report reveals. Compare this figure with where Israel stood in 2000 and the picture is stark —…

  By Nathan Jeffay May 16, 2013 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  Israel’s Shas, Right-Wing Kingmaker Party, Takes Sharp Turn to Left

  Barely four months after the political earthquake of the January 22 Knesset elections, Israeli politics are about to undergo another seismic shift. This one will bring less drama, but it just might have a deeper impact on the system. The catalyst is Arye Deri, the onetime Haredi wunderkind and convicted felon, who returned on May…

  By J.J. Goldberg May 16, 2013 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Congregation Needs To Be Involved in Israel To Make a Difference

  Thirty members of our synagogue community are in Jerusalem, standing by the side of the road in Gilo, looking at the security barrier, Bethlehem and a new settlement in the distance. An educator from Ir Amim, which advocates for “a more viable and equitable city,” explains the horizon before us. We knock our heads against…

  By Andy Bachman May 15, 2013 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  In Kansas City, Backyard Issues Higher on Agenda Than Israel

  For my congregation, Israel is not the most important matter on the agenda. Oh, members care about Israel, want it to succeed, pray for it, support it and sometimes visit it. But it’s not our central focus. So when people ask me how I handle the many divisive feelings around Israel and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,…

  By Jacques Cukierkorn May 15, 2013 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  Don’t Allow Views on Israel To Overwhelm Congregation

  A few years ago, I sat on a panel about Israel/Palestine with two of my friends at a local liberal arts college: a Methodist minister and a Palestinian Muslim. The moderator did not control the panel or the crowd, and the evening got hijacked by anger and emotion. In Mississippi we are passionate about Israel….

  By Valerie Cohen May 15, 2013 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  Make Israel a Personal Issue for Congregation

  Thank God the world is obsessed with Israel! I’m even more grateful that the younger generation of Jews — millennials, for instance — are also passionate about Israel. But you wouldn’t always know it from events that are planned around the Jewish state. We’ve had numerous Israel Friday night dinners at our synagogue over the…

  By Asher Lopatin May 15, 2013 | 2 min read