Opinion

• 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

  2 min read
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  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
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  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

Columnists View All

• Jay Michaelson What can really be done to prevent antisemitic attacks like Bondi Beach?

  

• Rob Eshman Australia shooting terrifies Jews worldwide — and strengthens the case for Israel

  

• Nora Berman Did crypto-Jews invent the modern tarot deck?

  

• Dan Perry An Israeli media mainstay is crumbling. Will liberal democracy go with it?

  

• Emily Tamkin The Holocaust survivor writer who can help us through this ominous era

  

The Latest

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  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
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  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
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  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
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  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
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  Opinion

  Tzipi Livni Walks Into a Trap

  It is not at all uncommon for appetite to displace sound judgment. Think about over-eating: Your diet will keep until tomorrow. Or think about the questions you might have asked if you hadn’t been quite so hungry — and flattered — by the job you were just offered. Last week’s case in point: Tzipi Livni,…

  By Leonard Fein Mar 2, 2013 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  ‘The Jewish Lobby’ Pops Up Again

  Once more, it’s the “Jewish lobby,” that troubling term that has Jewish leaders crying anti-Semitism while politicians from both sides use it to discredit their rivals. For opponents of the administration, remarks by Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel about the “Jewish lobby” that “intimidates” lawmakers in Washington, were seen as a hint — or worse —…

  By Nathan Guttman Mar 1, 2013 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  Time’s Up for Hezbollah

  For many years now, the terrorist organization Hezbollah has been tolerated, if not accepted, in most of Europe. Many European countries looked the other way as Hezbollah raised huge sums of money on the continent and, perhaps in return, Hezbollah largely refrained from doing any of its nasty violent business on European soil. Two recent…

  Mar 1, 2013 | 2 min read