Opinion

• Opinion

  The Michael Caine of Israel Ambassadors

  Maybe I’m watching too many movies. When I was called and asked if I wanted to meet Matthew Gould, Britain’s first-ever Jewish ambassador to Israel, I immediately imagined a blue-eyed Paul Newman type who passes undetected. Searching the Web, I learned that his background includes deputy chief of mission in Iran and security-related postings in…

  By J.J. Goldberg

  4 min read
• Letters

  July 9, 2010

  Wyatt Earp’s Jewish Burial It is truly ironic that in your June 18 issue, which features a cover story about the controversy over burying non-Jewish spouses in Jewish cemeteries (“Cemeteries Are Becoming New Challenge for Interfaith Families”), there is an unrelated article which mentions that “O.K. Corral gunfighter Wyatt Earp is buried in a Jewish…

  Jun 30, 2010 | 3 min read
• Opinion

  The Big Tent

  As the first-ever convening of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered Jews got underway in California at the tail end of June, conference funder and philanthropist Lynn Schusterman threw down the gauntlet — in her Tulsa, Oklahoma way, of course. She’s too polite and Southern to pick a real physical fight, but her words were plenty…

  Jun 30, 2010 | 2 min read

Columnists View All

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

  

• Jay Michaelson American Jews were played — now what?

  

• Rob Eshman There’s a shocking new report on civilian deaths in Gaza. If only it were accurate.

  

• Nora Berman Is Netflix’s new show the most Jewish cartoon ever?

  

• Dan Perry Israel’s new gift to the far right could help end the Gaza war

  

• Emily Tamkin Entering motherhood — and an obsession with the works of an Italian Jewish literary hero

  

The Latest

• Opinion

  Fade to Irrelevance

  All year, the Forward is publishing a series entitled “Imagining Two States for Two Peoples,” using news stories, opinion columns, essays and detailed maps to engage our readers in the pressing challenge of securing Israel’s future while acknowledging Palestinian national aspirations. Another installment appears on the Forum page this week. Since advocating for a “two-state…

  Jun 30, 2010 | 2 min read
• Opinion

  Labor Minister, Ex-Gen. ‘Fuad’ Ben-Eliezer: Time’s Up. World Is Tired of Us. Bibi Must Decide

  Binyamin “Fuad” Ben-Eliezer, Israeli minister of trade, industry and labor, is the senior leader of the Labor Party’s hawkish wing, a tough-as-nails ex-general and currently the party’s grand old man. Born and raised in Iraq, he was a career soldier from 1954 until 1984, the first Israeli liaison to the South Lebanese Christian militias, military…

  By J.J. Goldberg Jun 27, 2010 | 4 min read
• Opinion

  Olmert Trial Update: Prosecution’s Case Is Springing Leaks. For This We Lost the Peace Process?

  The corruption trial of former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert took an unexpected turn today (Thursday, 6/24) when the chief judge of the Jerusalem district court assailed the prosecution for submitting what appeared to be misleading and possibly false documentation. Olmert’s defense team had written to Israel’s attorney general the day before and called for…

  By J.J. Goldberg Jun 24, 2010 | 3 min read
• Opinion

  Obama at 18 Months

  Messiahs come, messiahs go. Sometimes they are self-proclaimed, sometimes they are the collective fantasy of others. The longing for a messiah is, one way or another, a universal: Why not imagine the arrival of one, of The One, who will finally bring peace, justice, forgiveness and all manner of good thing to humankind? Indeed, how…

  By Leonard Fein Jun 23, 2010 | 4 min read
• Letters

  July 2, 2010

  We Are Not One, Genetically As a Reform rabbi serving a 500-family congregation, but who has no “Jewish genetic markers” from my ancestors, I am deeply offended by your June 11 editorial “We Are One, Genetically.” The editorial asked whether, as “genetic distinctions fade away,” our sense of peoplehood will remain intact. I was shocked…

  Jun 23, 2010 | 2 min read
• Opinion

  With Friends Like These…

  Israel needs friends in Europe, but there are some friends that it could do without. In June, the English Defence League, a thuggish anti-Muslim group known for its raucous (and sometimes violent) street protests, launched a Jewish division, attracting at least a handful of Jews among the 500 fans on its “Jewish Division” Facebook page….

  By Miriam Shaviv Jun 23, 2010 | 3 min read
• Opinion

  How Hasidism Went Astray

  For the past half-century, I have been reading and studying the sources of Hasidism with both affection and respect. I have worked as a historian of Hasidic thought and, more recently, as a theologian trying to construct a contemporary Judaism on the basis of Hasidic insights. Like the Hasidic master Pinhas of Korzec, who once…

  By Arthur Green Jun 23, 2010 | 5 min read
• Opinion

  On Gaza, an About-Face That Was Overdue

  “In the wake of this decision, the world’s focus will be on the Qassam rockets Hamas is firing out of Gaza and not the coriander that Israel isn’t allowing in.” That’s how an unidentified senior aide to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, quoted by the Israeli daily Haaretz, explained the Israeli government’s decision to significantly ease…

  By Uri Zaki Jun 23, 2010 | 2 min read