Opinion

• Opinion

  Start Thinking With Us

  The Forward is a newspaper with roots in the 19th century that has transformed itself into a multi-platform news organization in the 21st century. And this new blog, Forward Thinking, is another example of the evolution in the way we tell the American Jewish story. In the days of Abraham Cahan, the legendary founding editor…

  By Jane Eisner

  < 1 min read
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  Opinion

  Why I Decided To Study Non-Belief?

  The Forward interviewed Phil Zuckerman, a professor at Pitzer College in Claremont, Calif. a who will soon launch the first academic department of secular studies. Forward: What got you thinking about starting a department of secular studies? What kind of need are you filling? Phil Zuckerman: I had been studying religion for many years. I…

  Jun 6, 2011 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  The No-Longer Temporary Occupation

  One particular success of Israel’s 44-year control of the West Bank and Gaza Strip has been the government’s ability to convince the Israeli population of the temporary nature of the occupation. Every sector of Israeli society, except religious settlers and the military establishment, understand the occupation to be an ephemeral security measure necessary only in…

  By Joseph Dana Jun 5, 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 Americans keep getting killed in the West Bank. Here’s how the US could fight that awful trend

  

• Nora Berman First Camp Auschwitz, now Alligator Alcatraz — why the right is obsessed with commodifying brutality

  

• Dan Perry What exactly is going on between Israel and Syria — and is the prospect of peace dead?

  

• Emily Tamkin Zohran Mamdani’s victory proves it: The ‘gotcha’ mode of fighting antisemitism has to go

  

The Latest

• Opinion

  Update on Ex-Mossad Chief Meir Dagan: Embrace Saudi Plan. Bibi Scares Me!

  Recently retired Mossad chief Meir Dagan, fresh from calling a military attack on Iran “the stupidest thing I ever heard,” said at a conference in Tel Aviv that Israel should embrace the Saudi peace plan. He also said he has been speaking out against the prime minister’s policies since leaving the Mossad in January because…

  By J.J. Goldberg Jun 3, 2011 | 3 min read
• Opinion

  Cutting Out Science

  The activists from California to Norway who are working to approve ballot initiatives and legislation to ban circumcision probably don’t realize it, but they share something in common with the faith healers currently on trial in Oregon. What ties these disparate stories together is a deep-seated ignorance about and mistrust of medical science. The hottest…

  Jun 1, 2011 | 3 min read
• Opinion

  Driving While Female

  The video is a shaky, homemade effort, obviously shot from the rear passenger seat of a car as it carefully drives around the streets of Dammam in eastern Saudi Arabia. At the wheel is a woman in large, dark sunglasses, her head tightly covered by a black scarf, talking animatedly with a friend next to…

  Jun 1, 2011 | < 1 min read
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  Opinion

  Lessons of Operation Opera

  Thirty years ago, on June 7 at 5:31 in the evening, eight Israeli F-16s attacked Iraq’s Osirak nuclear reactor near Baghdad. Within 80 seconds they dropped 16 MK-84 iron bombs. When the last two were released by Ilan Ramon — who would become the first Israeli astronaut and one of the crewmembers killed in the…

  By Uri Bar-Joseph Jun 1, 2011 | 4 min read
• Opinion

  Treating J Street With a Little Respect

  What happens when candor collides with civility? These days, discussions of contentious subjects routinely begin with a caution: We should be civil in our disagreements. But if we are to be courteous and respectful toward those with whom we disagree, how do we avoid lapsing into the anemia of political correctness? Respect? I am happy…

  By Leonard Fein Jun 1, 2011 | 3 min read
• Opinion

  Jewish Mothers, Tiger Moms, Immigrant Geniuses

  Immigration advocates don’t get much of a break in the great national policy debate these days, so there’s an understandable buzz surrounding a new study with some astounding numbers on immigrants, their achievements and their contribution to America. The study, “The Impact of the Children of Immigrants on Scientific Achievement in America,” covers a very…

  By J.J. Goldberg Jun 1, 2011 | 4 min read
• Opinion

  Wash Post Op-Ed Writer: What If Torture Is Morally Wrong — but Effective?

  A recent op-ed essay in the Washington Post dissects torture / “enhanced interrogation” and presents evidence that as repugnant as it is, it might work — that is, yield usable intelligence that otherwise wouldn’t have been forthcoming. The writer, M. Gregg Bloche, is a psychiatrist and teaches law at Georgetown. He was a health consultant…

  By J.J. Goldberg Jun 1, 2011 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  Searching for Normalcy in the Holy City

  In June 2009, the Gymnasia Rehavia High School in Jerusalem celebrated its centennial. The school was founded in 1909 and became one of the landmarks of Zionist education, preparing graduates for the heady task of building the modern state of Israel. At this gathering, some 3,000 alumni filled the school’s courtyard ranging from recent graduates…

  By Elan Ezrachi Jun 1, 2011 | 3 min read