Opinion

• Opinion

  Israel’s Stakes, Egypt’s Streets

  With Hosni Mubarak’s autocratic, pro-Western regime under threat from the angry Egyptian masses, it appears we are witnessing a new dawn for the power of the “Arab street” in Egypt, Tunisia and potentially elsewhere. This is going to be a profound challenge for Israel, whose only diplomatic or even clandestine relationships with Arab states have…

  By Yossi Alpher

  3 min read
• Opinion

  In Cairo, Stability, Democracy — or Neither?

  Be careful what you wish for. Over the years, American officials have with modest frequency lectured other countries about their denial of basic civil liberties to their citizens. Some lectures have been quite public: Cuba and Venezuela come readily to mind. Others, such as China, have typically been reported sotto voce. During the Cold War,…

  By Leonard Fein Jan 31, 2011 | 3 min read
• Opinion

  Reuters: Spreading Unrest in Arab World Bodes Ill for Israel

  This is the first bit or reporting I’ve seen on the strategic implications for Israel of all the popular ferment in the Middle East. By Crispian Balmer of Reuters Jerusalem bureau, Analysis: Bad neighborhood risks getting worse for Israel: Political turmoil in Lebanon has strengthened Israel’s Iranian-backed enemy Hezbollah, while a leak of hundreds of…

  By J.J. Goldberg Jan 27, 2011 | 2 min read

Columnists View All

• Jodi Rudoren This is my last column as editor of the Forward

  

• Jay Michaelson I supported Israel’s actions in Gaza in October 2023 — not anymore

  

• Rob Eshman How anti-Israel rhetoric led to the killing of 2 in Washington, DC

  

• Nora Berman How the Oct. 7 aftermath splintered the New York Dyke March

  

• Dan Perry It looks like Israel totally underestimated Trump

  

• Emily Tamkin Even if the Capital Jewish Museum shooter ‘did it for Gaza,’ his actions were antisemitic

  

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  Opinion

  Exit Joe: Lieberman and His Legacy

  Bipartisanship Blues By E.J. Kessler Liberals love to extol the virtues of bipartisanship. Why then do so many despise Joe Lieberman, who spent his Senate career practicing it? On homeland security, terrorism, the environment, trade and gays in the military, among other issues, Lieberman worked with legislators of both major parties to make America safer,…

  Jan 27, 2011 | 4 min read
• Opinion

  Mapping a Way Forward

  There is always reason for despair when it comes to the prospect of a negotiated settlement to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and there’s no sense in enumerating why. The evidence is obvious. Those of us buoyed by each new attempt to jumpstart talks too often feel like Jets fans at the beginning of football season, bound…

  Jan 26, 2011 | 2 min read
• Opinion

  Who Isn’t a Jew?

  Last July, when Chelsea Clinton married Marc Mezvinsky in a wedding that juxtaposed Jewish objects, rituals and traditions with non-Jewish ones, the ensuing conversation was laced with all the ambivalence American Jews feel about intermarriage. But when an assassination attempt nearly took the life of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords in early January, ambivalence took a back…

  Jan 26, 2011 | 2 min read
• Opinion

  There Is a Partner, Just Read the Papers

  Well, well, well, isn’t this awkward? After all that talk about Israel having “no partner” for peace, it turns out the Palestinians were ready to make a deal after all, on terms that weren’t far from Israel’s bottom line. If you’ve been following the news about the so-called Palestine papers, the newly leaked trove of…

  By J.J. Goldberg Jan 26, 2011 | 4 min read
• Letters

  Goldstone vs. the Mob

  In effect what Alan Dershowitz and Yaacov Lozowick have suggested with their letters to the editor is that since they disagree with the findings of Judge Richard Goldstone’s Gaza report, he is fair game for all who take issue with him and should be treated horribly (“Goldstone Critics Have a Real Case,” January 14). This…

  Jan 26, 2011 | < 1 min read
• Letters

  Libeling Palin

  As a child of Holocaust survivors who was born in a displaced persons camp in Germany, I take issue with Ronald Florence’s contention that the term “blood libel” may not be legitimately used except in relation to past accusations against Jews that stimulated persecution and bloodshed (“The True Meaning of ‘Blood Libel,’” January 28). Florence…

  Jan 26, 2011 | < 1 min read
• Letters

  Libeling Begin

  In trying to compare Sarah Palin to Menachem Begin, Benyamin Korn can’t be serious (“Breaking Begin, but Not Palin,” January 28). Did Governor Palin ever serve in a Siberian prison? Did she ever fight for her country’s freedom from foreign rule? Did she ever serve in the opposition for several decades? Did she ever do…

  Jan 26, 2011 | < 1 min read
• Letters

  Realpolitik or Toadying?

  Granting that Henry Kissinger was dealing with “realpolitik” and that “context” is of some importance, words still count and often reflect character (<“Why Kissinger Said U.S. Jews Acted ‘Traitorously,’”> December 24). That Kissinger, a highly sophisticated man, used the language he did indicates a flagrant careerist mentality. He was toadying to Nixon, a pronounced anti-Semite….

  Jan 26, 2011 | < 1 min read