Opinion

• Opinion

  You Can’t Pray the Gay Away

  ‘Reparative therapy” for gays and lesbians, which attempts to “change” sexual orientation and is neither reparative nor therapy, is the last gasp of bad theology. It exists to solve a theological crisis. On the one hand, Jews are told that God loves us and that “it is not good… to be alone.” (Genesis 2:18) On…

  By Jay Michaelson

  4 min read
• Opinion

  Living Title VI: A UC Santa Cruz Account

  A few weeks ago, we ran an op-ed by Tammi Rossman-Benjamin, a professor at the University of California Santa Cruz who has filed a Title VI complaint to the government’s office of civil rights. She cites a number of instances in which she believes Jewish students were discriminated against as the targets of anti-Israel advocacy….

  By Gal Beckerman Feb 23, 2012 | 5 min read
• Letters

  Cover Up

  Regarding “The Allure of the Burka” in the February 3 edition of the Forward, it is male religious fanatics (Muslims, Orthodox Jews, etc.) who have problems with the way women dress or want to dress. Instead of forcing women to conform to men’s rules, why don’t these men just wear bags over their heads so…

  Feb 23, 2012 | < 1 min read

Columnists View All

• Alyssa Katz What I learned at a Holocaust survivors’ Purim party

  

• Rob Eshman Trump is backed into a corner on Iran. Get ready for him to start blaming Jews

  

• Dan Perry Israelis have no idea where the Iran war is going. But they know it’s part of Netanyahu’s campaign

  

• Emily Tamkin Hungary is poised to topple an authoritarian leader. American Jews have something to learn

  

• Jay Michaelson Passover’s 4 cups of meaning

  

The Latest

• Letters

  Returning to the Oral Tradition

  Harvey Hames’ analysis of the role of Halacha in the State of Israel offers an important perspective on this complex historic-religious conundrum (When Democracy and Halacha Collide, February 17). There is, however, another critique of the rabbinic tradition that is overlooked in Hames’ op-ed. Halacha is, in effect, the offspring of an oral tradition, the…

  Feb 23, 2012 | < 1 min read
• Letters

  Just Ignore Them

  Since my granddaughter attends the University of California, Santa Cruz, I have been following and supporting the efforts of Tammi Rossman-Benjamin, including her recent Forward op-ed on February 17 (“Why I Filed Title VI Complaint”). Lately I have come to the conclusion that the best course of action would be to ignore the whole issue….

  Feb 23, 2012 | < 1 min read
• 
  Opinion

  Romney Gains Edge in Testy GOP Debate

  In a Republican primary debate marked by palpable tension between Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum, the two leading candidates for the Republican presidential nomination were united on one issue: a hard line on Iran. They nodded agreement with one another as they laid out harsh critiques of President Obama’s policy, and promised a much tougher…

  By Josh Nathan-Kazis Feb 23, 2012 | 3 min read
• 
  Opinion

  In the Line of Duty

  The day before she died, journalist Marie Colvin told CNN how dangerous it was to try to do her job, to simply survive, amid the shelling and violence in Homs, Syria, the besieged center of resistance to President Bashar al-Assad’s bloody regime. The next day, Colvin, the veteran foreign correspondent for London’s The Sunday Times…

  Feb 23, 2012 | < 1 min read
• 
  Opinion

  Distrust Divides Bibi and Obama on Iran

  As President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prepare to meet in Washington March 5 to thrash out their Iran differences, observers everywhere are scrambling to sort out exactly what the two men disagree about and what can be done to bridge the gaps. The answers, surprisingly, are: not much — and not much….

  By J.J. Goldberg Feb 23, 2012 | 4 min read
• 
  Opinion

  The March to AIPAC

  It is still more than a week away, but AIPAC’s annual policy conference is already creating a buzz in the political world. Every year organizers promise this will be the biggest pro-Israel gathering ever, but this time around the American Israel Public Affairs Committee has really outdone itself, with 13,000 participants expected to take part…

  By Nathan Guttman Feb 22, 2012 | 2 min read
• 
  Opinion

  French Jews Mostly Side With Sarkozy

  Like the United States, France will choose a president this year. Little more than two months away from the elections, the conservative president, Nicolas Sarkozy, is running behind the Socialist candidate, François Hollande. Several other candidates are polling well: Marine Le Pen of the extreme right-wing Front National hovers at about 20%, followed by the…

  By Robert Zaretsky Feb 22, 2012 | 4 min read
• Opinion

  Liars, Civil Liberties and SuperPACs

  In a famous Supreme Court ruling in 1927, Justice Louis Brandeis said: If there be time to expose through discussion the falsehood and fallacies, to avert the evil by the processes of education, the remedy to be applied is more speech, not enforced silence. In a perfect world, Brandeis is probably right. But we don’t…

  By Dan Friedman Feb 22, 2012 | 2 min read