Opinion

• Opinion

  Our Divisive Discourse

  “You say you’re pro-Israel, but you’re really not.” These words may sound reminiscent of the recent Knesset hearing about J Street. But they’re from an entirely different source: a high school junior we will call “Isaac.” Long before the Knesset questioned J Street’s activities, Isaac and his 11th-grade classmates were debating what it means to…

  By Sivan Zakai

  3 min read
• Opinion

  Our Skewed Priorities

  “Can someone name a minority group in Israel?” I once asked a class of high school seniors at a well-known Jewish day school. The students — the apple of the Jewish community’s eye — suddenly became fixated upon the floor tiles as they studiously avoided eye contact with me. Finally, one girl slowly raised her…

  By David Dabscheck Apr 20, 2011 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  France’s Ban, and Israel’s Burka Problem

  Israel, and particularly its rabbis, could learn from France’s ban on face veils. With this new law France has made a powerful statement about the level of integration it expects from Muslim citizens, and about the status of women in its society. Israel’s religious sector needs to make similar statements. The target would not be…

  By Miriam Shaviv Apr 18, 2011 | 3 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

  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…

  Apr 13, 2011 | 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
• 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
• 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

  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
• 
  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