Opinion

• Opinion

  Roe v. Wade, 39 Years Later

  In its ruling in Roe v. Wade, issued 39 years ago on January 22, the Supreme Court affirmed a constitutional right of privacy “broad enough to encompass a woman’s decision whether or not to terminate her pregnancy.” No constitutional right, apart from questions related to race that go back nearly 400 years, has been subject…

  By Nancy K. Kaufman

  3 min read
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  Opinion

  Now We’ve Got a Contest

  So tonight I stand corrected. After New Hampshire I was sure that Mitt had this all wrapped up and that’s what I wrote here. But tonight I know I was wrong. I didn’t take into account the Sheldon Adelson factor. Five million dollars from Newt Gingrich’s buddy has given the former speaker yet another life…

  By Gal Beckerman Jan 22, 2012 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  Can Newt Take Surge to Jewish Vote in Florida?

  Newt Gingrich’s big win in the South Carolina Republican primary raises the stakes even higher in Florida, the first race in which the Jewish vote will be a significant factor. “This makes it a two-man race in Florida,” said Steven Abrams, the Gingrich campaign’s chairman for Florida’s Palm Beach County and an elected county commissioner….

  By Josh Nathan-Kazis Jan 22, 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 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

• Opinion

  Ready for Separation of Synagogue, State

  In an earlier phase of the argument between Israel’s Orthodox sector and the rest of society, the issues that were most heatedly debated involved the status of Reform and Conservative Judaism and of their rabbis. The battles were over inequities in the support provided Reform and Conservative Judaism as compared to the lavish support provided…

  By Leonard Fein Jan 21, 2012 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Holiday Proposal Sparks French Outrage

  The political tempest spawned in France by Standard & Poor’s downgrade of the country’s credit rating has transfixed outside observers. They have thus paid little attention to a different storm now roiling the waters of French society: the question of whether or not French Jews can take the day off on Yom Kippur. In early…

  By Robert Zaretsky Jan 21, 2012 | 5 min read
• Opinion

  Obama Trumpets Support From Israel

  One day after a New York Jewish fundraising event bought in $500,000 towards President Obama’s reelection effort, the Obama campaign has released a new video touting the president’s support for Israel, and citing praise for the president from Israeli leaders. Titled “America and Israel: An Unbreakable Bond,” the seven-minute web video intersperses Obama’s December 2011…

  By Josh Nathan-Kazis Jan 21, 2012 | < 1 min read
• Opinion

  Turkey Taps Jewish Star For Eurovision Song Fest

  In what seems a pretty clear message to the world (“Hey, guys, we’re still the open democracy you thought we were”), Turkey has chosen a Jewish pop star, Can Bonomo, to represent it at this year’s Eurovision song contest May 22-26 in Baku, Azerbaijan. JTA’s Ron Kampeas reports that the choice has stirred some grumbling…

  By J.J. Goldberg Jan 20, 2012 | < 1 min read
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  Opinion

  Falling in Love With Dusty Treaties

  One of the more surprising twists in recent Middle East punditry is a sudden surge of interest among pro-Israel hard-liners in the fine points of international law. The topic isn’t usually popular with hawks; they tend to see it as an infringement on national sovereignty, employed mainly as a club for bludgeoning Israel. Seeing it…

  By J.J. Goldberg Jan 20, 2012 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  A Movement Lives On

  The future of the social justice movement that swept Israel last summer and fall may rest in the hands of the young woman with the red-tinted hair tucked in the corner of a cramped, noisy café in the old city of Jaffa. Stav Shaffir looks like a graduate student from anywhere, her iPhone within easy…

  By Jane Eisner Jan 20, 2012 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  At Obama Fundraiser, a ‘Shout-Out’ to Koch

  At a fundraiser for Jewish supporters in Manhattan, President Obama reaffirmed his commitment to military cooperation with Israel, and to the imposition of tough sanctions on Iran. The 100-person gathering on January 19 at high-end Upper East Side restaurant Daniel raised upwards of half a million dollars, according to an estimate by Alan Solow, a…

  By Josh Nathan-Kazis Jan 20, 2012 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  Perry Drops Out, Boosts Newt’s New Surge

  Texas Gov. Rick Perry has dropped out of the race for the Republican presidential nomination, throwing his support to Newt Gingrich. Perry, who was trailing the rest of the Republican field in national and South Carolina polls, received less than 1% of the vote in the January 10 New Hampshire primary. But Perry did pull…

  By Josh Nathan-Kazis Jan 19, 2012 | 2 min read