Opinion

• Opinion

  The Loss of Our Very Own ‘Agony Uncle’

  Jeffrey Zaslow wasn’t a therapist, and he didn’t have a wealth of life experience, when he was plucked from among 12,000 applicants to succeed Ann Landers as an advice columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times in 1987. But the 28-year-old features reporter was as empathetic as he was astute, and he had the ability to communicate…

  By Gabrielle Birkner

  2 min read
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  Opinion

  Listening to Women

  Too many of the images of women in Israel these days are disturbing — a girl spat on because of her dress, an esteemed scientist denied the stage, a commuter forced to the back of the bus. But that’s an incomplete narrative in a nation where women hold leading roles in politics, business, the judiciary,…

  Feb 13, 2012 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Building Barriers to Two-State Solution

  Here’s a “sign of the times” factoid: In recent commentary on Israel’s settlement policy, the number of Jewish settlers beyond the Green Line has ballooned to 600,000 from 350,000 or so. It is as if there had suddenly been a mass immigration to the West Bank. But there has been no such immigration. What there…

  By Leonard Fein Feb 12, 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 Recognizing a Palestinian state is a great way to doom Palestinians

  

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

  

The Latest

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  Opinion

  Obama Wrong on Birth Control Coverage

  Say what you will about the principle of tikkun olam, but you can’t confuse it for something else. This central tenet of liberal Judaism means only one thing: Fix the world as it is, and you will be serving God. Feed the hungry. Heal the sick. Mend a broken heart. End war. Stop injustice. These…

  By Noam Neusner Feb 10, 2012 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Shrugging at BDS

  Before she became the subject of an Oscar-nominated feature film, Margaret Thatcher was prime minister of Great Britain during a particularly violent period of European airplane hijackings and Northern Irish terrorism attacks. She was especially critical of what she deemed the media circus covering these events. “Democratic nations must try to find ways to starve…

  Feb 10, 2012 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  When Democracy and Halacha Collide

  In late January, the Israel Democracy Institute’s Guttman Center for Surveys, along with the Avi Chai Foundation, released the results of a comprehensive survey on the religious beliefs of Israeli Jews. Among other interesting findings, it showed that some 80% of the Jewish population in Israel believes in God — which, perhaps, is good news….

  By Harvey Hames Feb 10, 2012 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Santorum’s Christian Hanukkah Greeting

  Rick Santorum is back in the headlines after his sweeping victory Tuesday in Colorado, Minnesota and Missouri. His success is cause for renewed attention and for a better look at this interesting nugget dug up by the New York Observer’s political reporter Hunter Walker. It is a Hanukkah card sent out by Rick Santorum’s South…

  By Nathan Guttman Feb 9, 2012 | < 1 min read
• Opinion

  How Biology, Psychology Dictate Political Beliefs

  I’m not quite sure where this sort of thing takes us, but I’m noticing a growing amount of chatter on the Web about scientific research into the nature of the conservative mind. The general tone seems to be one of wondering what flaws in one’s physical makeup lead to political conservatism. It could be just…

  By J.J. Goldberg Feb 9, 2012 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Palestinian Unity May Turn to Reality

  To understand the new unity agreement between the two Palestinian factions, Fatah and Hamas, it helps to recall the story of the village beggar and his cake. It happened once that the village beggar asked the rabbi for a ruble to buy some food. An hour later the rabbi saw the beggar in the market,…

  By J.J. Goldberg Feb 9, 2012 | 4 min read
• Letters

  Good Books

  On behalf of PJ Library, a program dedicated to giving the gift of quality Jewish children’s literature to families across North America and doing so at a rate of 95,000 books each month, I would like to respond to Deborah Kolben’s Jan. 31 column. “Where Have All the Good Jewish Books for Kids Gone?” We…

  Feb 8, 2012 | < 1 min read
• Letters

  Giving Back

  For nearly 40 years, the Jewish Communal Fund has been helping our donors achieve their philanthropic goals simply and efficiently. While our assets have grown to more than $1 billion, we take great pride in the fact that we distribute between 24% and 36% of our assets annually to thousands of qualified public charities at…

  Feb 8, 2012 | < 1 min read