Opinion

• Opinion

  Israel’s Shooting Star Yair Lapid May Quickly Crash Back to Earth

  Is there a future for Yesh Atid (There Is A Future), the party that was the surprise star of the recent Israeli elections? If past is precedent, the future of the new party is not promising. The history of parties that emerge suddenly out of nowhere strongly suggests that they return, in short order, to…

  By Leonard Fein

  3 min read
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  Opinion

  5 Jewish Things About Grand Central Terminal

  Grand Central Terminal turns 100 this year, and the party kicks off February 1 with celebrity appearances, musical entertainment and vendor promotions, including vintage 1913 prices at selected shops in the terminal. But six-cent loaves of rye bread at Zaro’s aren’t the only Jewish connection to the famed station. Here are five Jewish things to…

  By Susan Armitage Jan 29, 2013 | < 1 min read
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  Opinion

  Did Israel Want Ethiopians on Birth Control?

  More questions are raised than answered with an Israeli government official’s letter on the birth control scandal in the country’s Ethiopian community. Health Ministry Director General Ron Gamzu has instructed HMOs to stop injecting women of Ethiopian-born women with the long-acting contraceptive Depo-Provera. The background is that last month an Israeli television report alleged that…

  By Nathan Jeffay Jan 28, 2013 | 2 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

  The Oscar Goes to — Israel’s Dirty Laundry

  This is a big year for Israel at the Oscars. After a half-century of snubs and near-misses, Israel’s film industry stands its best chance ever of taking home the statuette. Of the five best documentary nominees, two are Israeli. Unfortunately, many Israelis aren’t celebrating. Both nominees are about Israeli-Palestinian relations, and both make Israel look…

  By J.J. Goldberg Jan 28, 2013 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  The Jewish Translation That Rewrote the Bible

  “The Catholics have done it; the Protestants have done it; AND NOW THE JEWS ARE GOING TO DO IT!” So began a 1956 solicitation letter for, of all things, a new Jewish translation of the Bible. Fifty years have now passed since the first part of that translation, “The Torah: The Five Books of Moses,”…

  By Jonathan Sarna Jan 27, 2013 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  The Jewish Earth Day

  Social justice again? No, social justice still, this time with a twist. Soon it will be Tu B’Shvat, familiarly known as “the Birthday of the Trees,” and often understood as a kind of Jewish Arbor Day. Let’s all go out and plant trees. Planting trees is a good thing to do, but it seems quite…

  By Leonard Fein Jan 26, 2013 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Israel’s Supposed Lurch to Right Was Just a Myth

  For a few years now I’ve been carping at the widening gap between perception and reality among both critics and supporters of Israel in the United States. Now that I’ve arrived in Washington for a prolonged stay (a new job, but please don’t call it yerida), I’m just starting to see how deep the rabbit…

  By David Hazony Jan 25, 2013 | 4 min read
• Opinion

  Yiddish Forverts Seeks New Audience Online

  Dear Readers, Do you speak or understand some Yiddish? Would you like to comprehend more of the mameloshn? We invite you visit the new website at yiddish.forward.com to sample podcasts, English-subtitled videos and articles with pop-up translations from the new Comprehensive Yiddish-English Dictionary, all to make the vibrant and diverse world of Yiddish culture and…

  By Boris Sandler and Sam Norich Jan 25, 2013 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  Nechemya Weberman’s 103-Year Sentence Is Clumsy Slap at Ultra-Orthodox Jews

  When is a long prison sentence too long? That’s the question many inside and outside the ultra-Orthodox community are asking this week after a judge dealt Nechemya Weberman a 103-year term behind bars for abusing a young girl. “The abuse of a child cannot be swept under the rug or dealt with by insular groups…

  By Batya Ungar-Sargon Jan 24, 2013 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Yuri Foreman Wins! I Pull Up the Blankets.

  Sitting in my living room wearing pajamas on an especially frigid night watching a live stream of the Yuri Foreman fight, I could not help but marvel at the ability to watch a non-title boxing match in such a small arena (a Times Square blues club!) live over the Internet. Truly, we are in the…

  By Ari Jankelowitz Jan 24, 2013 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  Yair Lapid, Telegenic Kingmaker, Has Rough Road Ahead

  Moments after exit polls confirmed his surprise second-place showing in Israel’s January 22 parliamentary elections, political neophyte Yair Lapid faced his giddy supporters and declared: “A serious responsibility has been placed on our shoulders tonight.” That’s for sure. With left and right exactly tied at 60 seats each in the 120-seat parliament (with 99.8% of…

  By J.J. Goldberg Jan 24, 2013 | 4 min read