Opinion

• Opinion

  The Muslim ‘Other’

  A survey by the Democratic firm Public Policy Polling, released the morning of the Mississippi and Alabama primaries, found that about half of the Republicans queried believe that President Obama is a Muslim. We use the word “believe” here purposely, because this is indeed a matter of belief, not fact. The fact is he’s a…

  < 1 min read
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  Opinion

  Le Pen’s Candidacy, Secured by French-Israeli

  We all know politics makes for odd bedfellows. Just how odd, though, was revealed in this morning’s news. The presidential candidacy of Marine Le Pen, leader of the extreme right wing Front National, has just been made possible by a French Israeli citizen. In order to run for president in France, an individual must secure…

  By Robert Zaretsky Mar 14, 2012 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  Six Things South Africans Learned at AIPAC

  Being an effective pro-Israel activist in South Africa is no easy feat. We do not yet have a strong American-style “lobbying culture,” which is partially because our democracy is only 18 years old. The historic relationship that existed during the apartheid years between the white minority regime and the Israeli government, and between the Palestine…

  By Dan Brotman Mar 14, 2012 | 4 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

  What Feels so Icky About Those Mormon Baptisms?

  Israelism, the idea of a nation or people’s direct descent from one of the ten lost tribes of Israel, or the appropriation of Jewish ideas or texts for use in new belief systems, is not unique to the Mormon faith. At the height of British imperial power in the early twentieth century, notions of a…

  By Liam Hoare Mar 14, 2012 | 4 min read
• Opinion

  On the Abunimah Story: It’s Called Journalism

  Jonathan Tobin, senior online editor of Commentary magazine, writes. A lot. At least a lot of short, sharp blog posts on his magazine’s website in the unabashedly conservative style that has defined Commentary for decades. It’s an ideological publication, which holds to a point of view that certainly has its place in the firmament of…

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

  A New Yorker Cartoon Says It All Too Well

  I think I just found an image for the Passover cards I was planning to send to Bill Kristol and Noah Pollak over at the Emergency Committee for Israel.

  By Gal Beckerman Mar 12, 2012 | < 1 min read
• Opinion

  Israel and Iran: What ‘60 Minutes’ Didn’t Tell You

  Leslie Stahl’s “60 Minutes” interview Sunday night with former Mossad chief Meir Dagan gave important exposure to his views on the folly of attacking Iran. However, she got two things very wrong, both of which weakened the strength of his case against a military strike. The bottom line is, she let you think Dagan is…

  By J.J. Goldberg Mar 12, 2012 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  The Sound of Silence

  In the video broadcast widely on Israeli television, Salim Joubran was staring straight ahead, his square face quite still but for his eyes, which occasionally darted back and forth. Oh, and his mouth. That was the key feature here. It was fixed in a closed, downturned shape, the opposite of a smile. And it didn’t…

  Mar 12, 2012 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Judge’s Silent Protest of Israeli Racism

  The scandal took place at the home of Israel’s president, where members of the nation’s leading legal and political echelon had gathered to pay tribute to the retiring president of the Supreme Court and to welcome her successor to that august office. Among those present were the other justices of the Court, including Justice Salim…

  By Leonard Fein Mar 11, 2012 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  TNR Has a New Owner — And He’s Not a Jew

  Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes, 28, announced last night that he had purchased The New Republic, the 100-odd-year-old journal of liberal opinion. The most striking piece of news here is that a man under thirty has bought one of the most important names in American letters. It’s like when Jared Kushner bought The New York Observer…

  By Josh Nathan-Kazis Mar 9, 2012 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  Mitt Romney, The Man With No Kishkes

  I’d like to make an election year prediction. If Mitt Romney becomes the Republican nominee for president (still the surest bet in this topsy-turvy contest), American Jews will not vote Republican in larger numbers as the right so often prophesizes. Where is this confidence coming from? It’s not because of President Obama’s recent muscularity on…

  By Gal Beckerman Mar 9, 2012 | 4 min read