Opinion

• Opinion

  Israel Misses Point With Ad Campaign

  The advertising campaign by Israel’s Ministry of Immigrant Absorption aimed at inspiring expatriate Israelis to return to Israel so offended American Jews that it eventually was canceled by Prime Minister Netanyahu himself. One of the ads suggested that a peril of Israelis coming to the United States and raising children here is the likely loss…

  By Liora R. Halperin

  4 min read
• 
  Opinion

  The Shearing Heard ‘Round the Hasidic World

  Never before has the shaving of one man’s beard prompted such an outcry. When Hasidic reggae star Matisyahu posted pics, early Tuesday, of his newly-shaven (and nearly unrecognizable) face, and later posted a statement on his blog saying that there’s “no more Chassidic reggae superstar” and “sorry folks, all you get is me….no alias,” many…

  By Debra Nussbaum Cohen Dec 13, 2011 | 3 min read
• 
  Opinion

  JNF Board Member Quits Over Evictions

  Some of my earliest Jewish memories involve dropping spare change in the Jewish National Fund’s iconic little blue boxes. I was proud that my money would help plant trees in Israel. The JNF, I knew, was making the desert bloom. As an adult, I became a member of the organization’s Washington, D.C., board and moved…

  By Seth Morrison Dec 13, 2011 | 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

• 
  Opinion

  Somebody’s Raising Taxes on the Rich

  The growing ideological connection between the Republican Party in the United States and the Netanyahu government in Israel doesn’t extend to tax policy, it seems. With little fanfare, the Knesset last week approved an increase in corporate taxes and personal taxes on the very rich, going where the GOP here threatens never to tread. The…

  By Jane Eisner Dec 12, 2011 | < 1 min read
• 
  Opinion

  That ‘Invented People’? The Idea Is Invented

  Newt Gingrich’s December 9 Declaration of Palestinian Inventedness (“we’ve had an invented Palestinian people, who are in fact Arabs”) caused a bit of a stir at the Saturday night GOP debate. Both Mitt Romney and Ron Paul condemned the remark as, in Paul’s words, “just stirrin’ up trouble.” Interestingly, though, both agreed that Gingrich’s point…

  By J.J. Goldberg Dec 12, 2011 | 4 min read
• 
  Opinion

  Arabs Should Take Cue From Israel

  As the countries and peoples of the Middle East seek to forge their political futures, they, or at least some of them, are searching for models of democracy that they can follow. Of course, they can look to democratic theory, but how many ordinary people will crack open John Locke, the Federalist Papers, or John…

  By Daniel Jonah Goldhagen Dec 12, 2011 | 5 min read
• Opinion

  Israel Turning Into Theocracy

  It is becoming increasingly obvious that a break between Israel and Diaspora Jewry, particularly its American variety, is fast approaching. The reason for this is that Israel is slowly but inexorably turning into a conservative theocracy while the Diaspora is largely dedicated to liberal democracy. The strategy of the “pro-Israel” camp among American Jewish organizations…

  By Eric Alterman Dec 12, 2011 | 3 min read
• 
  Opinion

  Searching for the ‘Divine Society’

  Let’s start with the good news. Dorit Beinish, president of Israel’s Supreme Court and vehement opponent of what she calls “incitement against the court,” exempts Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from her indictment. And rightly so. In her remarks during a conference on public law, Beinish mentioned the role of Netanyahu in blocking the bills that…

  By Leonard Fein Dec 11, 2011 | 3 min read
• 
  Opinion

  ‘I’m Not Ashamed To Say That I’m a Jew…’

  We too were taken aback by Rick Perry’s new campaign video — the swagger, the Christian language, the denigration of gays, and America described as feminine with Perry posing as its shining defender. He was, for certain, trying to appeal to evangelical voters, and perhaps he’ll be releasing the Jewish version of the ad in…

  By Gal Beckerman Dec 9, 2011 | < 1 min read
• 
  Opinion

  Our Own 1%

  Why does inequality rankle us so? Why has it undergirded the protests and occupations of so many frustrated Americans? The reasons were well stated in President Obama’s recent speech in Kansas: Stubborn inequality stifles hope, perverts our political process and seems fundamentally unfair, a violation of the core American precept that only your ability and…

  Dec 9, 2011 | 2 min read
• Opinion

  Should Jews Build Bridges or Fortresses?

  Imagine that contemporary American Jews run their own government system made up of just three ministries. Depending on how you see the world, you work in one of the three. Are you a Department of Defense Jew — someone who sees threats to Jews and Israel at every turn? A Department of Education Jew —…

  By Naomi Zeveloff Dec 8, 2011 | 3 min read