Osirak, 25 Years Later
Last week marked the 25th anniversary of the Osirak bombing, when Israeli fighter planes bombed a French-built nuclear plant near Baghdad. The destruction of the near-completed reactor, which Israel believed was designed to make nuclear weapons to destroy Israel, was met with strong denunciation from the world community. A quarter-century later — with Iraq’s potential threat as a terrorist nation having led the United States into war — some see Osirak in a different light. One such person is Daniel Birk, a 30-year-old father of two from Seattle. Inspired by the 2004 book ‘Raid on the Sun: Inside Israel’s Secret Campaign That Denied Saddam the Bomb’ (Broadway), by Rodger Claire, Birk decided to commission a painting to commemorate the raid. He hired Jack Fellows, a Washington State-based painter known for his renderings of aerial combat scenes from the Pacific during World War II. The result is ‘Operation Babylon’ (seen above). Birk is now selling high-quality lithographs of the paintings at his Web site, www.birkartwork.com. The first 550 limited copies are signed by Fellows and can be purchased for around $100 per copy.
Why I became the Forward’s Editor-in-Chief
You are surely a friend of the Forward if you’re reading this. And so it’s with excitement and awe — of all that the Forward is, was, and will be — that I introduce myself to you as the Forward’s newest editor-in-chief.
And what a time to step into the leadership of this storied Jewish institution! For 129 years, the Forward has shaped and told the American Jewish story. I’m stepping in at an intense time for Jews the world over. We urgently need the Forward’s courageous, unflinching journalism — not only as a source of reliable information, but to provide inspiration, healing and hope.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
