Opinion

• Opinion

  Independence Day for an American Rabbi

  In 1914, Mary Antin, an American Jewish writer and immigration activist, described the founding of the United States in biblical terms: I have chosen to read the story of ’76 as a chapter in sacred history…. Once the thunders of God were heard on Mount Sinai, and a certain people heard, and the blackness of…

  By Jill Jacobs

  3 min read
• Letters

  Caring About Jewish Education

  The Forward’s June 14 opinion piece “Hebrew Language Charter Schools Are a Bad Bargain” fails to mention that Jewish federations maintain an unwavering commitment to hundreds of educational programs across North America, dedicating millions of dollars toward the future of our children. In fact, despite continued economic challenges, many federations are expanding their support of…

  Jun 29, 2011 | 2 min read
• Letters

  Bialystock, Through a Different Lens

  I write to respond to Allan Nadler’s discussion of my recent book, “Jewish Bialystok and Its Diaspora.” In his May 20 review, “Cities of Jewish Success, Crushed,” Nadler appears to have fallen into a classic trap: He measures my book not against its own ambitions but against the book he wishes I had written. As…

  Jun 29, 2011 | 2 min read

Columnists View All

• Jay Michaelson What can really be done to prevent antisemitic attacks like Bondi Beach?

  

• Rob Eshman Australia shooting terrifies Jews worldwide — and strengthens the case for Israel

  

• Nora Berman Did crypto-Jews invent the modern tarot deck?

  

• Dan Perry The 3 responses to the Bondi Beach Hanukkah attack that could make Jews safer

  

• Emily Tamkin The fundamental miscalculation behind the GOP’s antisemitism crisis

  

The Latest

• Opinion

  Keeping It Kosher

  Is a hotel no longer to be considered kosher because of the way it treats its housekeepers? Is a restaurant or a factory treyf because of how it treats its workers? Jews in America have long been concerned with the rights of workers and the conditions of employment, but those concerns have largely been framed…

  Jun 29, 2011 | 2 min read
• 
  Opinion

  How To Remember Gettysburg

  The sesquicentennial of the Battle of Gettysburg is still two years away, but the drumbeat is already sounding. On our visit just days before the 148th anniversary, the parking lot outside the new visitors center was throbbing with cars and buses, as if the commemoration had already begun. But what are we remembering? The bloodiest,…

  By Jane Eisner Jun 29, 2011 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  Anti-Semitism and the American College Campus

  The recent controversy over the axing of Yale University’s Interdisciplinary Initiative for Studying Antisemitism (to be replaced by a new faculty-based research program) has generated much heat, but little light. Some of the commentary has been venomous, unnecessarily personalized, and self-serving, while invoking unproven allegations of political bias. The highly polemical tone of the debate…

  By Robert Wistrich Jun 29, 2011 | 3 min read
• Opinion

  Measuring the American Jewish Population Today

  Oy, the perils of random telephone dialing, one of the tried and true methods of accurately measuring population trends. Sometimes, you hear the most unexpected replies. “We have 50 women all married to the same Jew,” said the respondent who answered the phone in St. Petersburg, Fla., during a demographic survey. What?! “We had called…

  By Lillian Swanson Jun 29, 2011 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  The Freedom Flotilla’s Real Agenda

  As a new international flotilla sets sail for Gaza, three recent headlines put the operation into context. In mid-June, Israel approved the delivery of $100 million of materials needed to build 1,200 new homes and 18 new schools in Gaza. Israel now transports some 50,000 tons of goods to Gaza biweekly. In addition to accelerating…

  By Alan Elsner Jun 28, 2011 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  The Futility of Barring Flotilla Coverage

  Never thought I would say this, but Benjamin Netanyahu just saved me from banging my head against the wall in desperate frustration. This morning brought news that Israel’s Government Press Office had warned media outlets that any foreign correspondent found aboard the flotilla about to set sail for Gaza would be “denied entry into the…

  By Gal Beckerman Jun 27, 2011 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  IDF Probe: Troops’ Hands Tied Controlling Rightist Jewish Extremism

  An internal Israeli army probe finds that Israeli security forces in the West Bank are hobbled in trying to control far-right Jewish lawbreakers by lack of cooperation among various branches of government working at cross-purposes. The probe is reported in Haaretz. The probe was ordered by the army’s Samaria Brigade following May 30 disturbances by…

  By J.J. Goldberg Jun 27, 2011 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  Israel’s Soviet Political Party

  Yisrael Beiteinu is widely understood to be the party of Russian Jewry, that population of nearly one million Jews who arrived in Israel after the disintegration of the Soviet Union. Twelve years since its founding, it has become the third largest party in the Knesset, on a radical anti-clerical and staunchly nationalist platform. Yisrael Beiteinu’s…

  By Liam Hoare Jun 27, 2011 | 4 min read