Opinion

• Letters

  More Than Just Free

  In his June 15 op-ed, “The Problem With ‘Free,’” David Bryfman criticizes free Jewish programs, for “devaluing Jewish experiences.” “Why would people want to pay for a Jewish experience,” he asks, if they know “they can get Jewish products for free?” Although he doesn’t mention it by name, there’s no doubt he’s including PJ Library…

  2 min read
• Letters

  Nixon’s Bright Side

  With regard to your June 22 editorial, “The Depths of Nixonland,” while it is undeniably true that Richard Nixon distrusted Jews in general, his personal views were more than counter-balanced by his actions. In 1973, when things looked very bad for Israel during the Yom Kippur War, Nixon provided an emergency supply of ammunition and…

  Jul 5, 2012 | < 1 min read
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  Opinion

  Israel’s Coalition With Potential

  The inclination by those in the peace camp, both in Israel and the United States, to react cynically to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s surprise announcement of a coalition agreement with Kadima party chairman Shaul Mofaz was not that shocking. But it is sorely misguided. Worse, it could be detrimental to Israel’s interests. Discounting the formation…

  By Peter A. Joseph Jul 5, 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 I have the answer to Jon Stewart’s toughest question about Israel

  

• Nora Berman ‘Eddington’ is full of conspiracy theories but it’s not about Jews. Or is it?

  

• Dan Perry A US official just made history in the West Bank — did he imperil prospects for peace?

  

• Emily Tamkin Is starvation in Gaza really Israel’s fault? The facts are clear

  

The Latest

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  Opinion

  Three revolutions of July

  If months have personalities — April the cruelest, May the very merry, Adar the time for “increasing joy” — then July is the month of revolution. In this one month we mark the anniversaries of three historic political cataclysms that shook the pillars of human society. On July 4 we celebrate the American Revolution. July…

  By J.J. Goldberg Jul 4, 2012 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Mitt Romney Is Going to Israel

  Mitt Romney’s trip to Israel this summer signals a full-bore appeal to Jewish voters right around the time of the Republican convention in early September. Romney’s trip is designed to highlight President Obama’s decision not to travel to Israel during his presidency, said Fred Zeidman, a Texas oil executive and prominent Republican Jewish Romney supporter….

  By Josh Nathan-Kazis Jul 3, 2012 | < 1 min read
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  Opinion

  Romney’s Vision of Capitalism

  Capitalism in its purest form is gambling. Ask any entrepreneur. You have an idea for a product or a service; you bet on your premonition that there is a market for it, and you roll the dice. Then you either win or lose. That’s a simplistic rendering, but it is the basic gist of our…

  By Gal Beckerman Jul 3, 2012 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  What Would George Say?

  George Washington’s iconic letter written to the Jews of Newport, Rhode Island, in 1790 is finally on public display after a decade in the shadows. The timing of its emergence as the centerpiece of a new exhibit at the National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia is exquisite. But then, it was bound to…

  Jul 2, 2012 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  Israel Confronts Strangers In Its Midst

  What shall be done about the large number of non-citizens that dwell in Israel? This question is no longer merely vexing, it is urgent, inflammatory, sometimes violent, often vulgar. The ger has a long and detailed history in Jewish texts and thought. Its conventional translation is “stranger,” but you don’t have to search hard to…

  By Leonard Fein Jul 1, 2012 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Environment Has Day in Court and Wins

  Amid the uproar over the Supreme Court’s late-June rulings on healthcare and immigration, you might have missed what could be the most important federal court ruling of the year: a unanimous June 26 decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., protecting the Environmental Protection Agency’s greenhouse gas regulations. The Bush-era EPA was…

  By J.J. Goldberg Jul 1, 2012 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Jewish Leader of Hungary’s Anti-Semites

  If history does act with cunning, as Hegel claimed, recent events involving Hungary’s extreme right wing Jobbik remind us that it does not always keep a straight face when doing so. A better Hungary, according to Jobbik, the country’s third largest party, is a Hungary emptied of its Roma and Jewish communities. As a result,…

  By Robert Zaretsky Jun 29, 2012 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  France’s Jewish Problem

  Along with other post-industrial nations, France has long struggled with structural unemployment. Seismic shifts in its economy has led France to tolerate a level of joblessness — currently more than 10% — that would have been unthinkable a generation ago. But as events in the wake of the horrific massacre at a Jewish school in…

  By Robert Zaretsky Jun 29, 2012 | 4 min read