Opinion

• Opinion

  Should Bin Laden Have Faced a Judge?

  When I heard the news that Osama bin Laden had been killed, I was in the middle of an author’s tour for my recent book on the Eichmann trial. It was impossible not to immediately see the parallels between the fates of these two mass murderers, who both ended up in watery graves: While bin…

  By Deborah E. Lipstadt

  3 min read
• 
  Opinion

  A Tale of Two Brothers

  If you’ve felt embarrassed by Israel lately, what follows might really offend you. But first, a parable. Two brothers live on distant continents. Aaron, the elder, makes a good living as a corporate lawyer, finding fulfillment in his family and hobbies. Joshua, the younger, chose a much harder path as a novelist, chasing an artistic…

  By David Hazony May 2, 2011 | 4 min read
• Opinion

  Pride and Justice

  We feel safer today. Not completely safe, but safer. Osama bin Laden’s death does not eradicate al Qaeda, nor does it eliminate the terrorist threat from this virulent network of violent radicals. It may, in fact, make the United States and its allies, notably Israel, more vulnerable to revenge attacks in the coming days and…

  May 2, 2011 | 2 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 Epstein and Iran are an antisemitism mega-crisis. Here’s what Jewish organizations should do about it. 

  

The Latest

• Opinion

  Fatah Spokesman: ‘Bin-Laden’s Elimination Is Good for the Peace Process’

  The statement by Hamas prime minister Ismail Haniyeh mourning Ben-Laden and condemning his killing is getting a lot of internet traffic. It’s instructive; optimists make much of the group’s occasional hints at softening and its conflicts with Al Qaeda. Worth remembering that it still sees itself as part of Jihad International. Here is Ynetnews.com’s report…

  By J.J. Goldberg May 2, 2011 | < 1 min read
• Opinion

  Bin Laden Dead: Some Thoughts About Celebrating, and About the Region (updated)

  Two big nights in a row for Obama – White House correspondents’ dinner followed by the bin Laden press conference. In the TV chatter after the announcement, NBC reported that the big lead had come from Pakistani intelligence last. I passed it along in the initial version of this blog post. This morning, as I…

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

  Bibi Forbids Aides To Find Any Upside to Fatah-Hamas Pact; JTA Attacked for Reporting Facts

  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has instructed his cabinet ministers to stick to a single message regarding the Fatah-Hamas reconciliation agreement, Israel’s Channel 10 News reports on its Nana-10 website. The message: “there is no possible positive component in the reconciliation agreement.” That’s right:Cabinet ministers are forbidden even to speculate on any conceivable upside. You…

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

  Yesterday Abbas Couldn’t Make Peace Since He Didn’t Speak for Gaza. Today He Can’t Because He Does. When Can He Eat Cake?

  Boy oh boy, Jews say the darnedest things, don’t they? You’ve got to love it. We’ve been hearing for years now that the Palestinian leadership under Mahmoud Abbas isn’t capable of making peace with Israel even if it wants to because, among other things, it doesn’t speak for Hamas, which controls Gaza (see here, here…

  By J.J. Goldberg Apr 29, 2011 | 3 min read
• Opinion

  America Must Lead

  September 1, 2010: President Obama hosts the leaders of Israel, Jordan, Egypt and the Palestinian Authority in what is optimistically billed as the opening meeting of a year-long effort to finally arrive at a two-state solution for Mideast peace. Eight months later: Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak is deposed, King Abdullah of Jordan is clutching onto power,…

  Apr 28, 2011 | 3 min read
• Opinion

  Birth Pains

  Article II, Section I of the U.S. Constitution stipulates that the president must be a “natural born Citizen.” Scholars agree that the reason for this narrow exception to an otherwise broad description of eligibility was the well-founded fear, back in 1787, that a European prince or duke might immigrate to America and seek to install…

  Apr 28, 2011 | < 1 min read
• Opinion

  A Changing of the Guard

  One of the things I learned early on in journalism is to be good to your staff members, because you’ll never know when one of them will become your editor. Sure enough, that happened to me a few months after I arrived at the Forward in 2008, when the position of opinion editor opened up…

  By Jane Eisner Apr 28, 2011 | < 1 min read
• Opinion

  Who Is To Say When It’s Okay To Cry ‘Fire’?

  Lately there’s been a lot of talk about the importance of restoring civility in community discourse. Here’s what I think: It totally sucks. It’s not that I’m against civility as such. Treating others with the same respect and kindness one wishes to receive in return is a nifty rule of thumb for any civilization. It…

  By J.J. Goldberg Apr 27, 2011 | 4 min read