Opinion

• Opinion

  Sandy’s Lessons

  The city that never sleeps was uncharacteristically quiet as Hurricane Sandy swept through on Monday, October 29: Mass transit shut down, residents scattered to their homes, commerce halted, the usual frenetic energy on streets and byways dialed back to zero. It was as if the entire metropolitan area were taking one big Shabbat nap. But…

  4 min read
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  Opinion

  A Message to Forward Readers

  Dear Reader: Everyone on the East Coast has a story about experiencing Hurricane Sandy. You’ve already seen some of these stories on our website, forward.com, describing the storm’s impact on hard-hit Jewish communities and individuals. All this has been reported, edited and published despite devastation across the region and unprecedented flooding that has made our…

  By Samuel Norich Nov 1, 2012 | < 1 min read
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  Opinion

  Norm Coleman Says Mitt Won’t Reverse ‘Roe’

  Former Minnesota Sen. Norm Coleman has been making the rounds for the Republican Jewish Committee, joining former Bush White House spokesman Ari Flesicher and RJC director Matt Brooks in shuttling through swing states speaking to Jewish voters. The trio has visited Ohio, Florida, Nevada and, well, Florida once again, speaking mainly on issues relating to…

  By Nathan Guttman Oct 31, 2012 | 2 min read

Columnists View All

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

  

• Jay Michaelson I supported Israel’s actions in Gaza in October 2023 — not anymore

  

• Rob Eshman The staggering hypocrisy behind Trump’s deal to free the last living American hostage

  

• Nora Berman How the Oct. 7 aftermath splintered the New York Dyke March

  

• Dan Perry It looks like Israel totally underestimated Trump

  

• Emily Tamkin This week proved it: Trump’s approach to antisemitism at Columbia is horribly ineffective

  

The Latest

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  Opinion

  Memo to GOP: It’s the Economy

  One of the fatal mistakes of the Republican Party and its supporters is their relentless effort to get Jews to vote for the GOP by hammering the issue of Israel. The mistake here is that Israel is the most important election issue to only 6% to 7% of Jewish voters, according to multiple polls. So…

  By Yossi Gestetner Oct 30, 2012 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Sandy’s Biblical Threat

  Hurricane Sandy won’t last 40 days and 40 nights, but it still seems pretty Biblical to some. Flooding has already been reported in parts of Manhattan and Mayor Michael Bloomberg called for the evacuation of residents in low-lying Zone A. Despite power and heat set to be shut off in public housing complexes in the…

  By Ari Paul Oct 29, 2012 | < 1 min read
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  Opinion

  Sympathy for the Undecided

  We are days away from the end of this election cycle, which also means it’s open season on that much ridiculed, mystifying yet rare species: the undecided voter. A mock commercial on “Saturday Night Live” captured the general disdain toward the folks we are repeatedly told will tip this election. In it, a series of…

  By Gal Beckerman Oct 29, 2012 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  31 Jews in Congress

  As the election enters its final stretch, the Forward is making some final projections for our congressional scorecard based on the latest polling results. We now predict at least 31 Jews — 10 in the Senate and 21 in the House of Representatives — will serve in the next Congress, a slight rise from the…

  By Nathan Guttman Oct 29, 2012 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  Sandy: Climate Change You Can Believe In

  Climate change didn’t come up in any of the three debates, though Candy Crowley did mention it in passing, if only to note that it wasn’t going to be discussed. In fact, it’s hardly been mentioned in the entire campaign, even though, as I wrote last week, it is one of the most important issues…

  By J.J. Goldberg Oct 29, 2012 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Mitt’s Big Lead in Israel

  Luckily for President Barack Obama, Israel is no swing state. A sneak preview of a poll which will be released tomorrow indicates that Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has won the hearts and minds of Israelis. Asked which hopeful they preferred, some 57% of Jewish Israelis said Romney, while just 22% said President Barack Obama….

  By Nathan Jeffay Oct 28, 2012 | < 1 min read
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  Opinion

  Children of Russian Immigrants Move Left

  Lately I’ve caught my parents exchanging a certain look — some kind of amused smile, a mixture of surprise and disbelief. Whenever I let slip a reference to an anecdote about Odessan Jews or to a Soviet comedy film or to a Pushkin fairy tale — whatever they fed me throughout my childhood — they…

  By Avital Chizhik-Goldschmidt Oct 28, 2012 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Kiwi Concern Over Anti-Semitic Vandalism

  Anywhere else, the desecration of 20 Jewish graves might have registered as a blip, another anti-Semitic act in an otherwise tranquil place with a miniscule Jewish population. But here in New Zealand, the incident has shaken up a nation that prides itself on openness —and sparked an intensive round of national soul-searching. The vandalism itself…

  By Michael Kaminer Oct 28, 2012 | 2 min read