Opinion

• Opinion

  A Wide Tent on Israel, of Respectful Tension

  At Kolot Chayeinu , our congregation’s stance on Israel has been the result of a series of conversations, meetings, dialogues and decisions. Our Statement of Values says: “We believe that Jews have an obligation to grapple with the many issues and emotions connected to our historic attachment to Israel and the current political situation in…

  By Ellen Lippmann

  2 min read
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  Opinion

  Rabbis Must Speak About Israel, Warts and All

  For most of my congregants, Israel is an accepted and welcome fact of life at the top of our communal agenda, not a point of contention. People care about Israel and identify with it. They love it in the unconditional way in which parents love their children. They are at peace with it. Every Sabbath,…

  By Sam Fraint May 15, 2013 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  Use Israel To Build Bridges Not Walls

  “They should be ashamed,” a friend wrote me recently. He was referring to the resistance of some Orthodox Jews to joining the Israel Defense Forces. His communication joined the lists of emails and conversations I have had recently with many a friend on the rising tension between the so-called “Orthodox” and “secular” Jews in Israel….

  By Pinchas Allouche May 15, 2013 | 2 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

  Shavuot Reading: Hunger, Gleaning & Marx (Zeppo)

  The festival of Shavuot has begun, which means it’s time to read the biblical Book of Ruth. It tells the story a non-Jewish woman who marries a Jewish man (no mention of rabbinic conversion, by the way), becomes a widow and ends up on welfare — or, as it was known in those days, gleaning…

  By J.J. Goldberg May 14, 2013 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  Brief History of Stephen Hawking’s Hypocrisy

  Got wheels, Mr. Hawking?

  By Eli Valley May 14, 2013 | < 1 min read
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  Opinion

  Funny: Jon Stewart on the IRS Tea Party Witch Hunt

  In case you missed it, last night Jon Stewart took on the IRS-Tea Party and Justice Department-spying-on-reporters scandals and, as they say, nailed it. In an inspired burst of hilarious, impassioned (and profanity-laden) outrage, he summed up exactly why the reports of a Nixonian-sounding IRS witch-hunt against right-wing and Tea Party groups are, beyond their…

  By J.J. Goldberg May 14, 2013 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  Shavuot Is Tough Sell in Age of 140 Characters

  The festival of Shavuot marks God’s announcement of his commandments on Mount Sinai. Occurring seven weeks after Passover, the holiday involves no prescribed rituals and can pass virtuously with little ceremony. Those who observe Shavuot often honor the occasion with all-night Torah classes. Because of its boundless significance, the Sinaitic revelation is commemorated by engaging…

  By Mendel Horowitz May 13, 2013 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  A Bronx Fire, Rekindled

  It was just another fire story. Cities are riddled with them: images of flames gushing from an aging building, firefighters scrambling to contain the blaze, neighbors agape, traffic rerouted, burnt holes created in the crowded urban landscape. This story appeared in the New York papers May 2. A five-alarm fire devastated a block of small…

  By Jane Eisner May 13, 2013 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Bangladesh Factory Collapse, Like Triangle Fire, Should Bring About Change

  On April 24, just outside of Bangladesh’s capital city, one of the worst industrial disasters in history killed over one thousand workers and injured scores more in the dubious service of making cheap clothing for consumers like you and me. Around the same time, about 8,000 miles away in Brooklyn, my wife and I were…

  By Kevin Kolben May 13, 2013 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Taxed to Death in Israel

  Israelis are about to be taxed to death — literally. Israelis are furious at the austerity budget, and thousands took to the streets last night to demonstrate. You may have read about the planned spending cuts or the planned tax increases, but you probably haven’t heard about the cemeteries plan. The government wants to impose…

  By Nathan Jeffay May 12, 2013 | < 1 min read
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  Opinion

  Agriprocessors Raid Made Us, Briefly, Rethink Kashrut

  Sunday, May 12, marks the fifth anniversary of the massive immigration raid that shook Postville, Iowa, in 2008. Some 1,000 federal, state and local agents descended on the tiny town, population 2,200, and arrested 389 undocumented immigrants working at the town’s largest employer, Agriprocessors, then the nation’s largest kosher slaughterhouse. To mark the anniversary, immigration…

  By J.J. Goldberg May 12, 2013 | 4 min read