Opinion

• 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

  2 min read
• 
  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
• 
  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

Columnists View All

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

  

• Jay Michaelson American Jews were played — now what?

  

• Rob Eshman There’s a shocking new report on civilian deaths in Gaza. If only it were accurate.

  

• Nora Berman Is Netflix’s new show the most Jewish cartoon ever?

  

• Dan Perry Israel’s new gift to the far right could help end the Gaza war

  

• Emily Tamkin Entering motherhood — and an obsession with the works of an Italian Jewish literary hero

  

The Latest

• 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
• 
  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
• 
  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
• 
  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
• 
  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
• 
  Opinion

  Stop Spying on Muslims

  What would it look like to have your movements and your friendships tracked simply because of your religion or where you prayed? Syed Farhaj Hassan knows. He stopped attending his mosque in New Jersey after discovering that the New York City Police Department had it under surveillance. Hassan, a specialist in the Army Reserve, told…

  By Marjorie Dove Kent and Rachel Kahn-Troster Oct 9, 2012 | 3 min read
• 
  Opinion

  Albright Gives Romney a C in Foreign Policy

  Republican candidate Mitt Romney came out swinging Monday at President Obama’s foreign policy, promising to end any “daylight” between the United States and Israel and a tough stance toward Iran. Speaking at the Virginia Military Institute, Romney sought to present Obama’s Middle East policy and his response to the Arab Spring as lacking leadership. As…

  By Nathan Guttman Oct 8, 2012 | 2 min read