Opinion

• Opinion

  Pope Benedict Leaves Behind Mixed Record of Relations With Jews

  With his resignation announced this week, Pope Benedict XVI opened the door both to reflection on his contributions to Catholic-Jewish relations and to concerns about where his unknown successor will lead the church. Benedict brought to his position a formidable intellect — one, however, most inclined to focus on complex theological ideas. This has shaped…

  By Ruth Langer

  3 min read
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  Opinion

  How Not To Close Digital Divide

  A powerfully reported story published in last week’s edition of the Forward by our Josh Nathan-Kazis detailed how ultra-Orthodox groups in New York City were exploiting a federal program meant to help poor schools and libraries. The article has prompted two glaring questions. Why is a program that dispenses $2.5 billion a year of our…

  Feb 11, 2013 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  Two Ways To Die

  The stories of Ariel Sharon and Happy Fernandez are a study in contrasts. Sharon, as we all know, is being kept alive in an Israeli hospital seven years after suffering a massive stroke. He was prime minister at the time, had just dramatically pulled Israel out of Gaza and founded a new centrist political party,…

  By Jane Eisner Feb 11, 2013 | 3 min read

Columnists View All

• Jodi Rudoren This is my last column as editor of the Forward

  

• Jay Michaelson Mamdani’s victory is an opportunity for Jews to relearn the art of disagreement

  

• Rob Eshman Want to understand what’s wrong with the ‘pro-Palestine’ movement? This Palestinian can help

  

• Nora Berman Did Netanyahu coerce Trump into attacking Iran? No — but he tried with Obama

  

• Dan Perry Trump wants to control the Israeli judiciary. Uh, good luck

  

• Emily Tamkin Zohran Mamdani’s victory proves it: The ‘gotcha’ mode of fighting antisemitism has to go

  

The Latest

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  Opinion

  Institution of Chief Rabbi Has Outlived Its Usefulness

  Finally, after more than a year of deliberation, the United Kingdom has chosen Ephraim Mirvis to be its new chief rabbi, replacing Lord Jonathan Sacks. Actually, much of that sentence isn’t correct. It isn’t “the United Kingdom” that chooses the chief rabbi. For all its pretensions to established status, the chief rabbinate has only a…

  By Keith Kahn-Harris Feb 10, 2013 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  The Gun Lobby’s Jewish Enemies List

  The National Rifle Association compiled a list of its enemies and it reads like a Jewish who’s who list. The list, prepared by the NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action includes 506 individuals, organizations, media outlets and corporations that “have lent monetary, grassroots or some other type of direct support to anti-gun organizations.” The groups listed…

  By Nathan Guttman Feb 8, 2013 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  Are Secular Jews Really Self-Deluded?

  Not quite suddenly — it’s been unfolding intermittently for a while, and has venerable roots in earlier generations — the debate over what is meant by “secular Judaism” has been heating up. In God-centered understandings of Judaism (or “Jewishness,” if you prefer), the commitment of large numbers of Jews to social justice derives directly from…

  By Leonard Fein Feb 8, 2013 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Jewish Day Schools’ Dirty Little Secret

  Two annual events in the Jewish community took place this week — the North American Jewish Day School Conference and the start of Jewish Disabilities Awareness Month. Perhaps not coincidentally, despite the fact that the Day School conference is the largest in history with more than 1,000 educators and supporters gathering in Washington, it does…

  By Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi Feb 8, 2013 | 4 min read
• Opinion

  Shaul Mofaz, Israel’s Unlikely Kingmaker

  Could a politician who almost disappeared in to obscurity be poised to take up one of the most powerful positions in Israel? It is safe to say that as chairman of the Kadima party Shaul Mofaz hasn’t been the greatest of successes. It’s hard to believe but Kadima was actually the biggest party in Knesset…

  By Nathan Jeffay Feb 7, 2013 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  Who Did the Jewish Settlers Vote For?

  How did Benjamin Netanyahu do in West Bank settlements? Considering his party’s pro-settlement policies and the staunch pro-settlement positions of its leading Knesset members, you’d expect Netanyahu’s Likud-Beiteinu list to perform better among West Bank settlers than it did in Israel proper. It didn’t. Surprising as it may be, overall, only 19 percent of the…

  By Ori Nir Feb 7, 2013 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Will Obama Israel Trip Be Lapid Love-In?

  Is Barack Obama’s upcoming visit to Israel going to turn into a Yair Lapid love-in? The Israeli daily Yedioth Araronoth, suggested in its editorial yesterday that Obama decided to come because Netanyahu is currently weak — because of the staggering success of Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid party. The administration is working on the premise that…

  By Nathan Jeffay Feb 7, 2013 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  The 21st-Century Rabbi

  In Israel, there’s a fierce campaign being waged over control of the Chief Rabbinate, a powerful institution that regulates the lives of Israeli Jews from birth to death and a great deal in between. In Great Britain, the newly appointed chief rabbi is faced with proving to a skeptical Jewish community that his role is…

  Feb 7, 2013 | 3 min read