Opinion

• Letters

  Out of Context

  “What Stirred the Hornet’s Nest” (April 27), J.J. Goldberg’s unreflective assault on my review of Peter Beinart’s book, is a perfect example of how responsible writing is not done. A few examples will suffice. He says that I believe that Judaism “mandates a xenophobic rancor” against non-Jews, when, in fact, I specifically asked whether the…

  < 1 min read
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  Opinion

  What Says the Cynical Palestinian?

  A new Israeli social media meme caught my eye yesterday. Although it was in Hebrew, I felt as though I had seen a version of it in English at some point. It reminded me of the “Unimpressed Native American” meme. You, too, may have come across this meme in your Facebook feed recently. It’s the…

  By Renee Ghert-Zand May 3, 2012 | 3 min read
• Opinion

  Thoughts on Beinart vs. Gordis

  I got a chance to go to the Peter Beinart-Daniel Gordis debate last night at Columbia (you can still watch it here) and walked away with a few impressions I thought I’d share. It’s much harder to be mean to someone to their face. The tone of the Beinart book reviews have been strangely personal….

  By Gal Beckerman May 3, 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 Netanyahu’s new Gaza plan is a disaster. But it contains a tiny kernel of wisdom

  

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

  

The Latest

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  Opinion

  Rocking the Vote?

  Will President Obama rock the vote in 2012 as successfully as Candidate Obama did in 2008? Will Mitt Romney’s attempts to woo young voters by pinning blame for their economic woes on the current administration make a dent in November’s electorate? That’s the chatter on the campaign trail in the last few weeks, at least…

  May 3, 2012 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Now He’s Going for Gaga

  Remember this guy? The one who stood in front of Occupy Wall Street protests with the sign “Google: Zionists Control Wall St.”? Well, he’s back, and he may have moved on from anti-Semitic canards to pop culture. Now he wants us to Google: “Lady Gaga Demonic.” You read that right. Your guess is as good…

  By Josh Nathan-Kazis May 2, 2012 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  Should the Government ‘Get’ Involved?

  On a cold Saturday night in March 2007, the Jewish community of Silver Spring, Md., listened to a Jewish member of the Maryland legislature, Senator Jamie Raskin, explain why he had cast a deciding vote against a proposed “get law.” The bill, based on the precedent of an earlier New York law, would demand that…

  By Rachel Levmore May 2, 2012 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Occupy Camp Kinderland

  On the fringes of the Occupy movement’s May 1 rally in Manhattan’s Union Square, a group of older Jewish activists gathered under the yellow banner of a leftist Jewish summer camp and prepared to march. “We have to be here,” said Judee Rosenbaum, longtime staffer of the unremittingly progressive Camp Kinderland. “It’s what we do….

  By Josh Nathan-Kazis May 1, 2012 | 2 min read
• Opinion

  U.S. Groups Raise $40 Million for Settlements

  American Jewish not-for-profits raised $40 million for Israeli settlements in 2007, about the same amount they raised for progressive groups in Israel, a new Brandeis University study shows. The study, released April 27, is the first comprehensive study of the rapidly growing field of Israel-focused “American Friends” organizations, U.S.-based not-for-profits that send funds to Israeli…

  By Josh Nathan-Kazis May 1, 2012 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  Making Room for Another ‘Forward’

  It’s not every day that the president chooses a new campaign slogan…and it happens to be the name of your news organization. But that is indeed what happened today, as the video below will attest. We are tickled, of course, by the choice. As are, apparently, the folks in Twitter-land. There are those who think…

  By Gal Beckerman Apr 30, 2012 | < 1 min read
• Opinion

  Wis. Dems’ Recall Plan: Circular Firing Squad

  Democrats in Wisconsin are preparing to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory in the June 5 special election to recall Republican Governor Scott Walker, the Washington Post reports. Four Democrats are running in a May 8 primary to choose Walker’s opponent. Most of the state party leadership is backing Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, who…

  By J.J. Goldberg Apr 30, 2012 | < 1 min read
• Opinion

  The Road Ahead

  One year ago, I sat in the Nablus living room of the late Shaykh Hamid al-Bitawi, a leading religious figure in Hamas. We were joined by one of his sons, a man in his 20s. As an academic specializing in Islamist political movements, I was interested primarily in how (or if) Hamas was operating in…

  By Nathan J. Brown Apr 30, 2012 | 2 min read