Opinion

• Opinion

  A Season for Freedom

  One of the most remarkable features of the celebration of Passover is how decentralized it is. The Seder takes place in the home, away from the watchful eyes of rabbis or other religious authorities; it can be personal and fluid, quick or lengthy, in whatever language suits the leaders and guests. The Haggadah’s requirements are…

  3 min read
• Letters

  URJ’s New Leader Should Focus on Judaism, Not Politics

  Rabbi Richard Jacobs, who has been tapped to be the next leader of the Union for Reform Judaism, is calling for a “new path” for the movement (“Once a Critic, New Leader of Reform Judaism Promises Change,” April 1). One change that would be particularly welcome would be to eliminate the URJ’s funding of the…

  Apr 13, 2011 | < 1 min read
• Letters

  What Would Jesus Do, If He Were Israeli?

  I am writing to elaborate on a point I made in the article the Forward recently published about me, and my book “Jerusalem, Jerusalem” (“A Catholic Thinker Touched by Jerusalem and Its Mystical and Earthly Power,” April 1). In emphasizing the important problem that Christians find it difficult to think of Jesus as a Jew,…

  Apr 13, 2011 | < 1 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

• Letters

  The Jewish God Is a King, but Not a Rebel

  Allison Yarrow concludes her review of my novel, “The Gospel of Anarchy,” by citing my quotation of G.K. Chesterton saying that “Christianity alone has felt that God… must have been a rebel as well as a king” (“Wanted: A Gospel Worth Following,” March 11). Yarrow counters that “Christianity claiming a monopoly on the concept of…

  Apr 13, 2011 | < 1 min read
• Opinion

  Leaving the Door Open

  At the Seder meal, we drink four cups of wine, but pour a fifth that sits on the table untouched. That fifth cup is our offering to Elijah the prophet, whom we then invite to drink by opening the door after we have completed the Seder meal. When my wife, the artist Jan Aronson, and…

  By Edgar Bronfman Apr 13, 2011 | < 1 min read
• Letters

  Photo Choices Reflect a Double Standard

  It is with a deep sense of disappointment that I note the content of your March 25 editorial, “The Fogel Photographs,” and the unfortunate double standard it represents. Your aversion to presenting the pictures of the five murder victims from Itamar and the logic that you presented for your action is in direct contradiction to…

  Apr 13, 2011 | < 1 min read
• 
  Opinion

  When the Zionist Right Was the Scorned Side

  As I witness the outpouring of invective directed by some American Jews against members of their own community over Israel, I have a feeling of déjà vu. I wonder if those supporters of the current Israeli government who label everyone who disagrees with them as anti-Zionists or traitors realize that they are repeating sins committed…

  By David Rozenson Apr 13, 2011 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Judaism’s Lessons for a Nuclear Age

  A month has passed since the earthquake and tsunami that devastated northeastern Japan, yet the crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant continues. As radioactive material spews into the air, soil and water, we watch with feelings of helplessness and dread. We have been humbled, first by the destructive power of nature and then by…

  By Daniel Landes Apr 13, 2011 | 4 min read
• Opinion

  S*@#! My Foreign Minister Says: Lieberman’s Speech From the Throne? An On-Air Flush

  Say what you will, the guy has class. Ynetnews.com reports that Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman took his contrarian, defiant behavior to new heights, or perhaps to new depths, on Monday by flushing the toilet during a radio interview. The report on Ynet’s Hebrew website, here, includes a 14-second clip of the event, plus an…

  By J.J. Goldberg Apr 12, 2011 | 2 min read
• Opinion

  More Lessons From the Arab Spring, or Follow the Bouncing Logic

  Recently published analyses teach the following lessons: Lesson 1. The Arab uprisings are not necessarily democratic in nature, and liberal readiness to back them — morally or with arms and material aid — is at best foolhardy romanticism. We should stand back and avoid getting involved. Why undermine existing regimes when the replacement might be…

  By J.J. Goldberg Apr 12, 2011 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  Four Questions on Our Budget Debate

  As American Jews prepare for Passover, Congress is in the midst of the most far-reaching budget debate in generations. At Seder, we tell an old story and attempt to draw new lessons from it. The budget debate is, similarly, both an old and a new story. So in the spirit of Passover, when we study…

  By Mark Pelavin and Jonathan Backer Apr 11, 2011 | 3 min read