Opinion

• 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

  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

Columnists View All

• Alyssa Katz What I learned at a Holocaust survivors’ Purim party

  

• Rob Eshman Gavin Newsom isn’t waffling on Israel — he’s voicing sensible ideas in an era of outrage

  

• Dan Perry An abominable new Israeli law is a death warrant for democracy

  

• Emily Tamkin We must rewrite the rulebook for fighting antisemitism — or conspiracists like Joe Kent will win the narrative wars

  

• Jay Michaelson Passover’s 4 cups of meaning

  

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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
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  Opinion

  Israel Capt. Denies Anti-Semitism But Eyes U.S.

  Chelsea midfielder Yossi Benayoun says he is “trying everything to play in the MLS next season” ahead of the Israeli national team’s soccer friendly against Honduras in New York on Sunday, June 2. The game, Israel’s first in New York for over 35 years, will take place at Citi Field, after the annual Celebrate Israel…

  By Forward Staff May 31, 2013 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  How Do You Spell ‘Knaidel’?

  Had Jack Lebewohl of the legendary 2nd Ave Deli been competing yesterday in the final round of 86th Scripps National Spelling Bee, he would have lost to the winner, 13-year-old Arvind Mahankali. The Jewish food maven would have misspelled the winning word: ‘knaidel’. “The thing is, we spell it k-n-e-i-d-e-l,” the deli man said in…

  By Renee Ghert-Zand May 31, 2013 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  Real Winner of War on Terror: Osama Bin Laden

  President Obama’s big May 23 policy speech on terrorism was one for the history books, but not for the reason you think. It was one of those rare moments in the life of a nation when people rise to debate their future and we discover that everyone — but everyone — is full of baloney….

  By J.J. Goldberg May 31, 2013 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Here’s the Thing About Inequality: It Kills

  The invaluable Thomas Edsall reports in his New York Times blog on a paper by an MIT economist, co-written with a Harvard political scientist and a French economist, that claims America can’t adopt more egalitarian social policies because it’s our “cut-throat capitalism” that allows countries like Sweden to have their “cuddly capitalism.” The idea is…

  By J.J. Goldberg May 31, 2013 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Weiner Dodges Question on Circumcision Rite

  Newly minted New York City mayoral candidate Anthony Weiner dodged a question at a mayoral debate last night on the controversial Jewish circumcision practice known as metzitzah b’peh. The practice, which entails direct oral suction on an infant’s circumcised penis, has been blamed in a handful of cases of herpes. The city’s health department, under…

  By Josh Nathan-Kazis May 30, 2013 | < 1 min read
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  Opinion

  Horace Mann Says Sorry — and Stumbles

  Horace Mann alumni like me got emails in our in-boxes a few days ago and soon thereafter, the news was splashed everywhere: our alma mater had officially apologized. The school apologized for the many instances of child abuse, sexual assault and worse that journalists have revealed as occurring in its classrooms, hallways and teacher’s homes….

  By Sarah Seltzer May 30, 2013 | 2 min read