Opinion

• Opinion

  The Real Problem With Student Debt

  I was greeted the other day by the charmingly nasal voice of President Barack Obama crackling through my telephone — calling to talk with me (and, surely, an undisclosed number of others) about the importance of keeping student loan interest rates low. This White House Update Call — planned for student activists working alongside the…

  By Hannah Rubin

  3 min read
• 
  Opinion

  Poverty in the Orthodox World

  I am writing as the executive director of a network of kosher soup kitchens, as a Hasidic man and resident of Boro Park, Brooklyn, as a working American citizen who might be thought of as “uneducated” by secular standards, and as a Jew, to weigh in on the survey just released by UJA-Federation of New…

  By Alexander Rapaport Jun 28, 2012 | 5 min read
• 
  Opinion

  Being Super Pro-Israel Doesn’t Win Elections

  Results were mixed last night for New York City congressional hopefuls who ran on their pro-Israel credentials. In Brooklyn, Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries trounced Councilman Charles Barron in a Democratic congressional primary where Barron’s harsh criticism of Israel was a major issue. But in Queens, Councilwoman Grace Meng received nearly twice as many votes as Assemblyman…

  By Josh Nathan-Kazis Jun 27, 2012 | 2 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

• 
  Opinion

  A Disastrous Ruling

  The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to let stand its disastrous 2010 ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission consolidated Sheldon Adelson’s position as the national leader of mega-donors in this year’s political races. He is so far in the lead that he has become the poster child for unprecedented, unfettered campaign spending, with promises…

  Jun 27, 2012 | 2 min read
• Opinion

  Hath Not an Elmo Constitutional Rights?

  Elmo haters — i.e. any one who has parented a 3 year old child — were vindicated on Monday, when a man dressed as Elmo was taken away from Central Park by police in an ambulance after making an anti-Semitic rant outside the Central Park Zoo. The man, as yet unidentified, is apparently a recidivist…

  By Jordana Horn Jun 26, 2012 | < 1 min read
• 
  Opinion

  Push Russia on Human Rights

  It has now been 38 years since President Ford signed the historic Jackson-Vanik Amendment, a piece of legislation that will soon expire. At this moment, as the future of the amendment is under debate in Congress, it is important to look back at the role it served as one of the most potent weapons for…

  By Larry Lerner Jun 26, 2012 | 3 min read
• 
  Opinion

  Obama Drops In on Mofaz

  President Obama seems to be perfecting the art of drop-in diplomacy, at least when it comes to Jewish and Israeli leaders. Obama, in recent weeks, took the liberty of dropping into the meetings White House officials held with Jewish Conservative and Orthodox leaders. Then last Thursday he popped into a meeting National Security Adviser Tom…

  By Nathan Guttman Jun 25, 2012 | 2 min read
• 
  Opinion

  The Benefits of ‘Free’

  Recently in these pages, David Bryfman warned about the danger of giving away various things in order to facilitate Jewish continuity in an age of assimilation. The Taglit-Birthright trips, which allow young Jews to go to Israel for 10 days are probably the best-known examples, but Jewish communities are experimenting with numerous other ones. Two…

  By Dan Markel Jun 25, 2012 | 3 min read
• 
  Opinion

  Beyond Gee-Whiz Figures in Population Study

  Most of the conversation surrounding that new survey of New York’s Jewish population, released in early June by UJA-Federation of New York, has been focused on its two big, gee-whiz numbers: the one-third of Jews in the region (40% in New York City proper) who are Orthodox and the 20% who are poor. It’s understandable…

  By J.J. Goldberg Jun 24, 2012 | 4 min read
• 
  Opinion

  Exploiting Jewish Fear on Iran

  Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav famously said that the main thing is never to be at all afraid. The revered rabbi was wrong. It is madness never to be afraid at all. We need to know whether to hide from the wolves, to slay them, or in some other way defend against them. That said, it…

  By Leonard Fein Jun 24, 2012 | 3 min read
• Letters

  Walk and Talk

  As your June 15 editorial put it, “Why Stop at the Big Gulp?” Indeed. Mindful of the sad three ‘D’s of living in urban poverty, diabetes, drugs and depression, why can’t we see from our leafy suburban perches the obvious but unspoken reality that individuals and familes in our cities are living under siege, cooped…

  Jun 22, 2012 | < 1 min read