Opinion

• Opinion

  What Connects Us To One Another?

  I have been thinking about the Jews — not as voters, mind you, but as a people. And the obvious question that arises is what makes of this mixed multitude a whole, a people. What is it that connects us to one another? The traditional answers of organized American Jewry are barely adequate today, and…

  By Leonard Fein

  3 min read
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  Opinion

  $64 Million Question on Iran

  It was hardly surprising that Israeli diplomat Barukh Binah refused several times to discuss the nitty-gritty of plans to confront Iran over its nuclear program at a public forum at the Jewish Federations of North America’s General Assembly. Neither was the lack of optimism voiced by any of the three panelists that increased sanctions against…

  By Renee Ghert-Zand Nov 13, 2012 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  No (GOP) Sex on Tisha B’Av

  With President Barack Obama’s reelection only a few days in the rear view mirror, the topic of the Jewish role in American politics is still brewing — and we learned some tantalizing details about Mitt Romney’s summer trip to Israel. Democratic and Republican operatives sparred over the importance of the Jewish vote in the just-completed…

  By Nathan Guttman Nov 13, 2012 | 2 min read

Columnists View All

• Jay Michaelson What can really be done to prevent antisemitic attacks like Bondi Beach?

  

• Rob Eshman Australia shooting terrifies Jews worldwide — and strengthens the case for Israel

  

• Nora Berman Did crypto-Jews invent the modern tarot deck?

  

• Dan Perry The 3 responses to the Bondi Beach Hanukkah attack that could make Jews safer

  

• Emily Tamkin The fundamental miscalculation behind the GOP’s antisemitism crisis

  

The Latest

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  Opinion

  Finding Meaning of Jewish Law in Sandy Shelter

  There were fallen trees everywhere. Twisted electricity pylons and crushed white picket fences littered the dark roadside as our Red Cross vehicle made its way to Locust Valley High School, in Long Island’s Nassau County. The roads were a labyrinth of dead-ends as a result of fallen debris and wrecked cars. Yet this was the…

  By Samuel Klein Nov 13, 2012 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Two Giants in Baltimore

  Reminiscing on the golden days of Jewish American activism, two heroes of the Soviet Jewry movement took to the stage at the General Assembly of the Jewish Federations of North America in its main plenary session on Monday. Natan Sharansky, the former refusnik who is now head of the Jewish Agency for Israel and Nobel…

  By Nathan Guttman Nov 13, 2012 | < 1 min read
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  Opinion

  Forward 50’s Unexpected Stars

  I learn a lot about leadership by overseeing the painstaking but ultimately rewarding process of compiling the Forward 50 each year, of trying to identify the American Jews who have had the greatest impact on our lives in a variety of fields, from politics to culture to sports. And I learn even more about leadership…

  By Jane Eisner Nov 13, 2012 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  Will Gaza Rockets Reelect Bibi? Is That Hamas’ Aim?

  Center-right commentator Shalom Yerushalmi at Maariv argues that the rockets from Gaza seem likely to turn the upcoming Israeli elections once again into a referendum on who has bigger guns, meaning a Likud reelection. Sadly, he says, that would again bury the election that seemed to be shaping up, the one that Israel deserves, the…

  By J.J. Goldberg Nov 12, 2012 | < 1 min read
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  Opinion

  Disunity Key To Defeating Netanyahu

  After the latest political earthquake in Israeli politics — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to join with Yisrael Beiteinu leader Avidgor Lieberman to create right-wing “mega party” Likud-Beiteinu — Israeli liberals and centrists are panicking. They fear that the merger has locked up Netanyahu’s chances of winning another term and that they will give Lieberman…

  By Geoffrey Levin and Aaron Magid Nov 12, 2012 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  What a Waste

  Six billion dollars. Six billion dollars. That’s the amount spent on the 2012 election campaign, according to an analysis of Federal Election Commission data by the Center for Responsive Politics. It is by far the most money spent on an election in American history — probably in human history — and that is thanks in…

  Nov 12, 2012 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  Gaza Escalation Changes Political Tune

  Dozens of rockets launched by militants in Gaza have pounded down on southern Israel today, wounding three Israeli civilians. The round of violence began last night when Gazans launched an anti-tank missile which scored a direct hit, wounding four Israeli soldiers — an act that was followed by Israeli airstrikes on Palestinian targets in Gaza….

  By Nathan Jeffay Nov 11, 2012 | 2 min read
• Opinion

  The Forward Needs Your Help

  By Samuel Norich Nov 10, 2012 | < 1 min read