Opinion

• Opinion

  Yeshiva U. Students Can Talk Sex

  When one of my editors at the YU Beacon, an online magazine produced by a group of Orthodox students at Yeshiva University, sent me an essay she had received from a friend, I responded to the submission with two words: “Love it!” The anonymous nonfiction piece described a Stern College student’s first sexual experience, in…

  By Simi Lampert

  4 min read
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  Opinion

  Jack Abramoff Says He’s Sorry, Sort Of

  When lobbyist Jack Abramoff appeared in federal court, where he was eventually convicted of mail fraud and conspiracy, he faced a sartorial dilemma. Abramoff, an Orthodox Jew, wondered whether he wear his kippah and risk smearing the Jewish people with his transgressions? Or should he cover his silver mop with a fedora, which would diminish…

  By Naomi Zeveloff Dec 16, 2011 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Remembering Christopher Hitchens

  A journalist friend of mine emailed me at 1 am Friday morning to tell me that Christopher Hitchens had died. The news brought with it a deep sadness and I instantly recited the Jewish prayer upon hearing of the passing of a friend, “Blessed is the true Judge.” That instinctive religious action captured the paradox…

  By Shmuley Boteach Dec 16, 2011 | 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 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

  Devilish Pact With Europe’s Right Wing

  Economic upheaval and strife in Europe have historically begat fierce nationalism, xenophobia and anti-Semitism. Faced with a serious debt crisis, severe budget cuts, grim austerity, rising unemployment and creeping inflation, the current depression is no exception. Since the fall of 2008, reported incidents of anti-Semitism have risen across the continent. In Britain, a record number…

  By Liam Hoare Dec 16, 2011 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  What Voter Fraud?

  This isn’t Russia, you know, where allegations of massive voter fraud in the latest parliamentary election were so outrageous that the chairman of the ruling party had to resign. Nor is the United States like any number of African nations, where brutal dictators somehow manage to be swept into office by unrealistic margins again and…

  Dec 16, 2011 | 2 min read
• Opinion

  Get to the Damn Table? Guess Who Said It First

  Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has drawn a lot of heat in the last few weeks, on himself and the administration, for his December 2 comment that Israel needs to “just get to the damn table” with the Palestinians. After all, his critics note, Prime Minister Netanyahu has been declaring since 2009 that he’s ready to…

  By J.J. Goldberg Dec 16, 2011 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Orwell Would Love Israel’s Anti-NGO Bill

  Editor’s Clarification: An earlier version of this article mistakenly suggested that NGO Monitor supports the Knesset’s current NGO legislation. It does not. The article has been changed to clarify this point. It was one of the boldest assaults on an Israeli military base in years: A gang of some 50 hostile West Bankers stormed a…

  By J.J. Goldberg Dec 15, 2011 | 4 min read
• Letters

  Forgotten Pact

  J.J. Goldberg is right to remind us (“What We Have Forgotten About Pearl Harbor,” December 2) of America’s refusal to join the battle against the Nazis until the Japanese brought the war to American soil. But some key facts are missing. When he seeks to distinguish between “the Nazi regime of malignant intentions and utter…

  Dec 14, 2011 | < 1 min read
• Letters

  No Comparison

  In Leonard Fein’s December 4 column, “It’s Time for Dialogue With Hamas,” he compares the PLO with Hamas. But, while the PLO is a secular organization motivated by nationalism, Hamas, an extreme fundamentalist group, is motivated by religion. Fein should read the prologue of Hamas’ founding charter. It states that Hamas’ aim is a war…

  Dec 14, 2011 | < 1 min read
• Letters

  A Different Context

  I just read the op-ed by Thai Jones, “From Russia to Zuccotti Park, the Parodox of Anarchism” in the December 2 issue. I am puzzled by the effort to somehow equate the 21st century protests against the inequality of wealth in America with the Russian revolution, which was against the brutality of the tsarist regimes….

  Dec 14, 2011 | < 1 min read
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  Opinion

  GOP Gets It Right on Israel

  The Republican presidential contenders have campaigned hard for the pro-Israel vote. Recently they each made bold promises of fealty to Israel while addressing the Republican Jewish Coalition (save for Ron Paul, who wasn’t invited) and sparred verbally, not just over whether the United States should support a Palestinian state, but over whether the Palestinians were…

  By Noam Neusner Dec 14, 2011 | 4 min read