Opinion

• Opinion

  Dangers of Syria’s Downward Spiral

  Of all of Syria’s neighbors, Israel is the least involved in the revolutionary events there, and wisely so. Turkey is arming and training an opposition army; Lebanon is the main avenue for smuggling weapons to the rebels; Jordan is sheltering refugees and may be supplying arms to the opposition; Iraqi Sunnis are helping Syria’s Sunni…

  By Yossi Alpher

  4 min read
• 
  Opinion

  Goodbye Tzipi, Hello Shaul

  The results of the elections for leadership of the Kadima party are in and Shaul Mofaz has won a decisive victory over Tzipi Livni. With 100% of the votes counted, Mofaz won 61.5 percent to Livni’s 38.5 percent. Ouch. There was nothing really for Livni to say as she stood in front of her supporters…

  By Gal Beckerman Mar 28, 2012 | < 1 min read
• 
  Opinion

  Has David Geffen Abandoned Obama?

  In 2008, billionaire media mogul David Geffen was among Barack Obama’s most visible Hollywood supporters. A top-level fundraiser for the Obama campaign, Geffen hosted major Hollywood events and launched a tide-turning media attack against primary opponent Hillary Clinton. In 2012, he’s all but absent from the political landscape. Sure, Geffen has given the maximum allowable…

  By Josh Nathan-Kazis Mar 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 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

• 
  Opinion

  Free Gross, Free Cuba

  The photos of Alan Gross before and during his imprisonment in Cuba are striking: The ruddy-faced man with bulging cheeks now looks thin and sallow. His wife, Judy Gross, says that he has lost 100 pounds in the last two years, and it shows. For humanitarian reasons alone, the ailing 62-year-old Jew ought to be…

  Mar 27, 2012 | 2 min read
• 
  Opinion

  J Street Stumbles by Inviting Olmert

  J Street’s decision to offer Ehud Olmert the keynote address at the peace lobby’s annual conference indicates a loss of moral compass. When Olmert takes to the podium tonight, delegates will applaud the Israeli prime minister who orchestrated the punishing siege on Gaza, launched two wars, killing 2,500 Lebanese and Palestinians and pulverizing their infrastructure….

  By Nicolas Pelham Mar 26, 2012 | 3 min read
• 
  Opinion

  Greg Smith Shined Light on Wall Street

  On the day after his op-ed piece appeared in the New York Times on March 14, Greg Smith, a mid-level executive in the London office of Goldman Sachs had generated 19 million entries on Google. By three days later, that number had risen to 134 million. Smith’s announcement of his departure from the storied firm…

  By Leonard Fein Mar 25, 2012 | 3 min read
• 
  Opinion

  I’m The Fool. Ackerman’s Not Buying the Mets

  Queens Rep. Gary Ackerman isn’t running for reelection, and the Queens Tribune seemed to be the only media outlet that knew why. A column, penned by Tribune publisher Michael Schenkler, reported that Ackerman had signed on as a managing partner of a group of investors that had reached a deal to buy the New York…

  By Josh Nathan-Kazis Mar 23, 2012 | 2 min read
• 
  Opinion

  What To Do?

  If well-meaning American Jews who love Israel believe that the occupation of Palestinian land and people is detrimental and wrong, what are those Jews to do? How can they express those beliefs and take actions that protect Israel, support their fellow Jews, and also hold Palestinians appropriately accountable for their own actions? One response to…

  Mar 23, 2012 | 3 min read
• 
  Opinion

  The Courage to Embrace Imperfection

  On March 21, I chose to celebrate World Down Syndrome Day. I gave our 9-year-old son, Shmuel, an extra hug and kiss. But now, with a test called MaterniT21 developed by the biotech company Sequenom, the days for those who want to celebrate Down syndrome may be numbered. MaterniT21 provides an alternative to the older…

  By William Kolbrener Mar 23, 2012 | 3 min read
• Letters

  Preventable

  The March 23 news story “Two Babies Sickened by Circumcision Rite,” followed up on the recent story of a death from herpes associated with ritual circumcision in New York last September. These are totally preventable tragedies. It is disturbing that with today’s global blood-borne epidemics of not only herpes, but also HIV and Hepatitis B,…

  Mar 22, 2012 | < 1 min read
• Letters

  Stop Hating

  It is sad to see the otherwise fine writer Austin Ratner (“Cleveland Rocks — Not Really,” March 16) using the threadbare trope “Cleveland = misery” to describe a city that is on the rise. At a recent community conclave, Ari Maron, a young Jewish developer, stated succinctly that Cleveland self-loathing is a generational phenomenon that…

  Mar 22, 2012 | < 1 min read