Opinion

• Opinion

  Why Obama Won’t Go to Rabin Square

  One of Barack Obama’s hopes for his Israel visit is to address the Israeli public. Some commentators, such as Yoram Meital interviewed for a Forward article, have expressed the view that this lies at the crux of his trip, with him hoping to talk to Israelis about Iran over their Prime Minister’s head. But anybody…

  By Nathan Jeffay

  2 min read
• 
  Opinion

  Israel’s Left Is Missing Boat on Anti-Haredi Coalition Alliance

  Although there has never been much sympathy for Israel’s ultra-Orthodox community in any part of the country’s secular society, suddenly this has changed. As the prospects improve for a Netanyahu-Lapid-Bennett (or Likud-Yesh Atid-Habayit Hayehudi) coalition whose first project will making military service compulsory for the Haredi youth that has until now been exempt from it,…

  By Hillel Halkin Mar 6, 2013 | 3 min read
• 
  Opinion

  Leaning In With Sheryl Sandberg

  It’s so tempting to deride Sheryl Sandberg for her new, self-appointed role as the leader of a social movement to bring more gender equality to the workplace. She must be one of the richest, most successful working mothers on the planet, and in her new book “Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead”…

  By Jane Eisner Mar 6, 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 is not deliberately killing journalists in Gaza. But it does bear responsibility for their deaths

  

• Emily Tamkin Trump’s attack on George Soros is ludicrous. It also endangers Jews (and everyone else)

  

The Latest

• 
  Opinion

  Hugo Chavez’s Long Shadow

  Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez’s death in Caracas today will likely amplify turbulence that’s characterized life in the South American nation since his ascension to power in 1999. Friends I met during a visit to Caracas last month tell me everything – the economy, social stability, livelihoods, diplomatic relations – could be ripe for upheaval. I’m…

  By Michael Kaminer Mar 6, 2013 | 2 min read
• 
  Opinion

  Oberlin’s Teachable Moment

  Oberlin College is not the first place that comes to mind as a hotbed of racism and anti-Semitism. Yet as an unsettling wave of hate has thrust the Ohio liberal arts school into the national spotlight, its Jewish community has spoken out and sought to use the incidents to build bridges across the campus. Jews,…

  By Corinne Ramey Mar 5, 2013 | 3 min read
• 
  Opinion

  March Madness, the Obama Visit Edition

  With barely two weeks to go before President Obama’s scheduled visit to Jerusalem, the Israeli right seems to be gearing up to prepare as hostile a welcome as possible. Round one is a dubious claim that received considerable coverage Monday in the Israeli media, according to which Obama is demanding that Prime Minister Netanyahu give…

  By J.J. Goldberg Mar 5, 2013 | 3 min read
• 
  Opinion

  Meet Aaron Zelman, the Jew Who Loved Guns

  I always thought Jews avoided guns. As a kid, I didn’t know of any gun ranges near my New Jersey suburb, because taking me to one would have been the last thing my gentle, mercantile father would have dreamed of. Neither my parents nor anybody in their circle of suburban Reform Jewish Democrats ever hunted…

  By Dan Baum Mar 5, 2013 | 4 min read
• 
  Opinion

  Secrets of the Schneerson Library

  Why does Chabad want the Schneerson Library back so badly? While researching this week’s story recounting the latest twists in Chabad’s decades-long struggle for the library, several people offered various explanations. Somehow, they seemed too speculative to include in the story — but interesting enough to raise here. Rabbi Berel Levin, the chief librarian of…

  By Paul Berger Mar 4, 2013 | 2 min read
• 
  Opinion

  No Limitations on Pain

  Ever since the Forward began publishing stories in December detailing allegations by former students that they were abused by rabbis at Yeshiva University High School for Boys, a certain trope has been voiced by Y.U.’s defenders. It goes something like this: The alleged incidents occurred as long as three decades ago. They are, if not…

  Mar 4, 2013 | 3 min read
• Opinion

  ‘Tis the Season: Revisiting Jon Stewart’s Passover

  With the Festival of Freedom fast approaching, it’s time to take another look at Jon Stewart’s Passover midrash from Nisan 5772 (April 2012). Think of this a followup to last month’s “War on Purim” segment. This time, though, I’d argue that there’s a serious argument behind the humor. To quote him: “Mishpoche, we gotta take…

  By J.J. Goldberg Mar 3, 2013 | < 1 min read
• 
  Opinion

  Come to Israel, Not Africa — and Stay Awhile

  In our community’s search for a way to secure Jewish continuity, there’s one type of program that has gotten short changed. In January, Repair the World and The Jewish Agency for Israel released a report about service-learning. Don’t know what this is? You’re probably not alone. But everyone soon will need to know because its…

  By Misha Galperin Mar 3, 2013 | 3 min read