Opinion

• Opinion

  Joe Mentioned Malarkey. Drink Up!

  All but four of the people at Professor Thom’s bar in the East Village on Thursday night were watching the vice presidential debate between Joe Biden and Paul Ryan. The other four were watching the Yankees lose to the Orioles in extra innings in their playoff series. In a bar that leaned heavily Democratic, the…

  By Josh Nathan-Kazis

  2 min read
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  Opinion

  Mitt Romney Has Plenty of GOP Baggage

  It’s a wise old rule of the heart, too often forgotten: When you choose a spouse, remember that you’re not just marrying a mate — you’re also marrying into a family. There’s a corollary that’s worth remembering when you enter the voting booth in November: You’re not just electing a president. You’re electing an administration…

  By J.J. Goldberg Oct 12, 2012 | 5 min read
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  Opinion

  Hail to the Veep

  Wiping the sweat from my forehead after a much, much more engaging debate, and just have a few thoughts to share. 1) It was not boring. Between Joe Biden’s fulminating about Paul Ryan’s “malarkey” and the appearance of actual, warm blooded conversation between two men with opposite worldviews, it was impossible to tear your eyes…

  By Gal Beckerman Oct 12, 2012 | 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 Pro-Palestinian protesters are suddenly supporting Iran. They might want to talk to some Palestinians

  

• 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

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  Opinion

  Sheldon Says Obama Can’t Be Trusted

  Republican Jewish mega-donor Sheldon Adelson writes that Barack Obama can’t be trusted on Israel in a opinion piece posted today. The gambling billionaire has committed tens of millions of dollars to backing Republicans this election cycle, giving millions to a pro-Romney super PAC. In his op-ed, Adelson hit a litany of Republican talking points new…

  By Josh Nathan-Kaziss Oct 11, 2012 | < 1 min read
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  Opinion

  Israel’s Stealth Plan To Detain 15,000 Sudanese

  In an attempt to pressure African asylum seekers to leave Israel, Interior Minister Eli Yishai has announced that 15,000 immigrants from Sudan will be rounded up and detained if they do not “voluntarily” leave the country by October 15. Not sure what’s less democratic here: an inhumane plan to indefinitely detain 15,000 people (and eventually…

  By Maya Paley Oct 11, 2012 | 3 min read
• Opinion

  Druze Soldier’s Body Found After 7 Years

  A few days before the anniversary of Gilad Shalit’s return home from captivity in Gaza, the story of another missing Israeli soldier has come to an altogether more tragic end. Majdy Halabi, an ethnic Druze, disappeared in May 2005 near his home in northern Israel. Today, in a brief statement, the Israeli military said that…

  By Nathan Jeffay Oct 11, 2012 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  Pennsylvania Losing Swing-State Status

  Pennsylvania, it seems, has lost its swing. We’re not talking 1940s big band music or even baseball here, despite the disappointing finish of the Phillies and the Pirates. The losing streak extends to the political realm as well. This once heavily courted state is quickly losing its standing as a toss-up. With President Barack Obama…

  By Lisa Hostein Oct 11, 2012 | 5 min read
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  Opinion

  Talking Faith

  There are seismic shifts occuring in the American religious landscape that could have profound effects on the way that faith intersects with public life, but you’d never know it from the language and behavior of the two presidential candidates. That’s both a great relief and a cause for despair. The shifts were underscored by the…

  Oct 11, 2012 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Jewish Races Among Nastiest in Nation

  Jewish candidates are involved in some of the meanest, dirtiest races of the 2012 election cycle. There are 435 U.S. House races this fall. Politico picked the ten “nastiest.” Of those, three feature Jewish candidates. Politico doesn’t divulge its criteria for picking the “nastiest” races. But even an unscientific survey by the wonks at the…

  By Josh Nathan-Kazis Oct 10, 2012 | 2 min read
• Opinion

  But Did Their Congregants Stay Awake?

  Pulpit Freedom Sunday was, its organizers proclaimed, a success. At more than 1,500 churches around the country — mostly, it seemed from small communities outside the big cities — preachers defied the Internal Revenue Service this past Sunday and preached politics from the pulpit. Must have been scintillating. As Stephen Colbert said, Pulpit Freedom Sunday…

  By Jane Eisner Oct 9, 2012 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  Making Pell Grants Work

  The strength of the United States, the late Claiborne Pell once said, “is not the gold at Fort Knox or the weapons of mass destruction that we have, but the sum total of the education and the character of our people.” Pell believed so much in furthering educational opportunity for Americans, and in 36 years…

  Oct 9, 2012 | 3 min read