Opinion

• Opinion

  Heeding Hillary’s Words

  For a wisp of a moment, it seemed as if the two-state solution had been taken off life-support. Still bedridden, to be sure, but no longer leaning at death’s unlocked door. The ideological one-staters had been emboldened by the rising numbers of tired two-staters who had abandoned the cause not out of conviction but out…

  By Leonard Fein

  3 min read
• Opinion

  Wandering Too Long

  What is the Exodus story, anyhow, but a tale of immigration? The theological lesson of the Passover holiday is God’s redemption of the Israelite slaves from their Egyptian taskmasters. But after the plagues and the sea crossing and the years wandering in the desert, the Israelites become just another immigrant group in their new land,…

  Mar 31, 2010 | 2 min read
• Opinion

  The Civility Issue

  The wave of attacks against Democratic lawmakers by health care reform opponents should be setting off alarm bells across the country. Since the House of Representatives held its final vote on health reform in late March, more than a dozen House members have been targeted with verbal or physical threats, all apparently related to their…

  Mar 31, 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

  Generation to Generation, Our Changing Judaism

  We have become a little clan over the years. There are eight of us cousins, grandchildren of the late Jewish historian Israel Goldberg, who wrote under the name Rufus Learsi. We called him Grampa. Our children, his great-grandchildren, speak of him as Rufus. We gather for Seders and family events and other occasions to carve…

  By J.J. Goldberg Mar 31, 2010 | 4 min read
• Opinion

  The Fein Haggadah

  After a decade of working with a Haggadah that was scissored and pasted, the traditional text, poetry by Yehuda Amichai, a Moses story by Anthony Burgess, a selection from Primo Levi, stories of here and there, and a good deal of my own language, I am this year setting all that aside. Giving it —…

  By Leonard Fein Mar 24, 2010 | 5 min read
• Opinion

  Netanyahu’s First Year: Weathering the Obama Storm

  Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is often accused of achieving nothing since taking office beyond his own political survival. Yet when faced with a major crisis, navigating it is itself a major accomplishment. Netanyahu has indeed faced such a crisis: a hostile American administration that has made no secret of its intention to put “daylight” between…

  By Evelyn Gordon Mar 24, 2010 | 3 min read
• Opinion

  Netanyahu’s First Year: A Prime Minister Leading Nowhere

  One year into his second opportunity to lead Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s performance is looking increasingly problematic. Israel’s international isolation is growing by the day. Washington’s frustrations are overflowing into blunt criticism. Netanyahu’s Bar-Ilan University speech of last June, which seemed at the time like a promising attempt to rally the Israeli public behind…

  By Yossi Alpher Mar 24, 2010 | 3 min read
• Opinion

  The Four Questions About Israel’s Future

  Sitting at the head of the table during the Seder is a mini-test of leadership. Not only do you have to silence the chattering and resist the impatient demands to skip portions of the Haggadah and get straight to the food, you also have to offer some words of wisdom about what happened to the…

  By Uri Dromi Mar 24, 2010 | 4 min read
• Opinion

  Understanding the Physics of AIPAC

  Even the most alert readers are having trouble decoding the mixed messages heard at the recent policy conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the famed pro-Israel lobbying organization. We watched the crowned heads of Washington and Jerusalem rise to proclaim the undying friendship between our two nations and then bicker over the most…

  By J.J. Goldberg Mar 24, 2010 | 4 min read
• Letters

  April 2, 2010

  Drawing a Chilling Line in the Bay I must disagree with the conclusions of your March 26 editorial “Drawing a Line in the Bay” regarding the funding guidelines for Israel-related programming recently enacted by San Francisco’s Jewish Community Federation. Rather than being reasonable, these guidelines are devised to limit and chill discussion. At a time…

  Mar 24, 2010 | 3 min read
• Opinion

  A Healthier America

  During the last few months, as the political discourse in Washington went from disquieting to messy to ugly, and a paralyzing dysfunction blanketed the capital as thickly as the winter snow, it was easy to become discouraged. Easy to forget the powerful sense of possibility that drove Barack Obama into office — driven not only…

  Mar 24, 2010 | 2 min read