Opinion

• Opinion

  When Principles and Interests Collide

  When principles and interests collide, it is often difficult to discern which is which. An apposite example, with a thoughtful conclusion, came to pass just days ago, when the Union for Reform Judaism and its public affairs arm, the Religious Action Center, were asked to support a global boycott of all Hyatt hotels and to…

  By Leonard Fein

  3 min read
• Opinion

  Babs Gets Out the Vote

  First, they bagged Ed Koch and Michael Bloomberg. Now Jewish Democrats are crowing over their biggest catch yet: Barbra Steisand. In a video produced by the National Jewish Democratic Council, Babs go through all the Jewish-voter outreach talking points: economy, women’s rights, LGBT equality, Medicare and of course, Israel and Iran. “Mitt Romney does not…

  By Nathan Guttman Nov 2, 2012 | < 1 min read
• 
  Opinion

  Sandy Sends Biblical Message About Climate

  Suppose we were applying biblical theology to the events of today: We might say that God listened to the two major candidates for president of the most powerful nation in the world refusing to say the words “climate change” or “global warming” in a single one of their major speeches and debates. And then God,…

  By Arthur Waskow Nov 2, 2012 | 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 ‘Israel is seen as violent’ — and Israeli chefs, once global culinary icons, are feeling the heat

  

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

  

• Dan Perry For Trump and Netanyahu, statecraft is now synonymous with stagecraft

  

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

  

The Latest

• Opinion

  Ed Koch Weighs In for Obama

  With the presidential election only days away, it is time for both campaigns to pull out their strongest arguments and best presenters in order to make that final push just a little bit more effective. For Jewish Democrats, this means getting out Ed Koch, former mayor of New York, for a warm endorsement of President…

  By Nathan Guttman Nov 2, 2012 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  Is Bibi Obsessed With Iran?

  Everyone said that here in Israel we’d see an election that is all a about Iran, and today the largest opposition party started to set that agenda. “Netanyahu is entangling us,” Kadima’s newly-revealed election slogan claims. The Hebrew word “entangling” has the strong connotation of endangerment. Kadima’s claim is that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, head…

  By Nathan Jeffay Nov 2, 2012 | 2 min read
• Opinion

  Call Your Zeyde

  It’s The Great Schlep redux. Taking a page from its 2008 video urging young people to do whatever it takes to get their grandparents to vote for President Barack Obama, the Jewish Council for Education and Research has put out “Call Your Zeyde” with a week to go before the election. This time, it’s not…

  By Renee Ghert-Zand Nov 1, 2012 | < 1 min read
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  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…

  Nov 1, 2012 | 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
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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