Opinion

• Opinion

  Reporter Watches Bris — And It Ain’t Pretty

  While I was researching my Forward story about circumcision and pain, I realized that I didn’t know what a circumcision actually looks like. I’ve only attended one bris — apart from my own — and there I didn’t have a good line of sight to the baby. I was particularly interested to know more about…

  By Paul Berger

  < 1 min read
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  Opinion

  Hard To Repent If It’s Everyone Else’s Fault

  Well, the High Holy Days are upon us once again, and from the look of things, it seems the season of repentance and atonement is going to prove harder than ever to slog through this year. Not that we won’t give it our best. The trouble is, it’s hard to repent effectively when you believe…

  By J.J. Goldberg Sep 11, 2012 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Doing Business With Mohamed Morsi

  More than 100 American business executives descended on Cairo to discuss new investments in Egypt’s beleaguered economy. The four-day mission, hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt and the U.S.-Egypt Business Council, contains representatives from some of the United States’ largest corporations, including Boeing, Citigroup, ExxonMobil, and Microsoft, along with officials from the…

  By Aaron Ross Sep 10, 2012 | 2 min read

Columnists View All

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

  

• Jay Michaelson Being Jewish in America today feels like walking multiple tightropes at once

  

• Rob Eshman If war with Iran goes badly for the US, Jews will be the scapegoat

  

• 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 Israeli leaders are using Holocaust comparisons to justify attacks on Iran. Is that kosher?

  

The Latest

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  Opinion

  Our Forgotten Defenders

  In mid-August, 127 Americans flew to Israel with the intention of joining the Israel Defense Forces. They arrived at Ben-Gurion International Airport to a boisterous and well-organized welcome, complete with a live band, balloon hats, and a speech delivered personally by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Photos of would-be soldiers joyously dancing in the airport arrival…

  Sep 10, 2012 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Trickle-Down Benefits of Obamacare

  I recently had a conversation with a cousin. As we discussed our families, he told me proudly about his 27-year old daughter, a nurse. She was working in two interesting but part-time jobs, one at a community health clinic and the other with senior adults. “Great,” I said. “But wait. How does she get health…

  By Robert Tabak Sep 9, 2012 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Hitting The Road for ‘Tax Fairness’

  While some efforts to get younger Americans involved in the political process may be fretting over the so-called “enthusiasm gap” between four years ago and today, Alan Van Capelle, isn’t worried. And he’s got the bus tour to prove it. “There’s no gap in the community to make the world better,” Van Capelle said at…

  By Blair Thornburgh Sep 7, 2012 | 3 min read
• Opinion

  What Is Rabbi’s Role at Convention?

  When Rabbi Everett Gendler was released from jail in Albany, Ga., in 1962 he and the 11 other rabbis jailed with him for “public prayer without a license” each found a Western Union telegram waiting. Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, a professor at the Jewish Theological Seminary, sent to them a message with a verse from…

  By Beth Kissileff Sep 6, 2012 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Rabbis Have Long Had Place at Conventions

  “The prayer at the convention was offered by a Jewish rabbi,” The New York Times reported in an article headlined “Why a Rabbi was Chosen.” The reference was to neither Meir Soloveichik nor David Wolpe, who delivered invocations at this year’s Republican and Democratic National Conventions. Instead, the reference was to Samuel Sale of St….

  By Jonathan Sarna Sep 6, 2012 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Dueling Views From Israel on Jerusalem Flap

  The speaker of the Knesset, Reuven Rivlin, told Israeli reporters that the controversy over the mention of Jerusalem in the Democratic National Committee platform had “far-reaching significance” in harming the relationship between the Obama administration and Israel. The deputy speaker of the Knesset disagrees. In a conversation this morning in my office, Shlomo Molla, a…

  By Jane Eisner Sep 6, 2012 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  What About Working Women?

  Nearly 60% of working age women in America participate in the labor force. But for all the anecdote-sharing by the wives of the two presidential candidates at their party conventions, the role of working mother was barely mentioned. In Ann Romney’s case, of course, the omission is understandable. Juggling the work-life balance is simply not…

  Sep 6, 2012 | 2 min read
• Letters

  Not Just a School

  Your August 31 article that described the exciting, innovative approach of the Jewish Journey Project was right on target. But the article’s title (“Fun Times at Hebrew School”) is misleading in a key way. From its inception, this project was designed to be an alternative to the traditional “Hebrew school,” which really no longer meets…

  Sep 5, 2012 | < 1 min read