This is the Forward’s coverage of former U.S. president Barack Obama and his relationship to the Jewish community.
Barack Obama
The Latest
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Fast Forward Jack Lew Would Be First Orthodox Jew at Treasury
President Barack Obama plans to announce his nomination of White House chief of staff and budget expert Jack Lew as his next Treasury secretary on Thursday at an event at 1:30 p.m. ET (1330 GMT), a White House official said. Lew, 57, will take the lead on difficult negotiations with Congress on how to cut…
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Fast Forward White House Cool to $1T Platinum Coin Plan
The White House on Wednesday sees little profit in the notion of minting $1 trillion platinum coin as an escape hatch to avoid a debt default if Congress balks at raising the U.S. debt limit. With another standoff with Congress over raising the debt ceiling looming as early as mid-February, a petition on the White…
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Opinion Jack Lew’s Really Bad John Hancock
Does Jack Lew need to tighten up his penmanship if he’s going to be treasury secretary? The Orthodox Jew whose signature is going to be on every single dollar bill in the land has a pretty weird — actually, an incredibly, startingly weird — signature. And it seems to be the main thing the world…
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News Jack Lew Will Be Named Treasury Secretary
President Barack Obama will nominate White House chief of staff Jack Lew to be his next Treasury secretary, choosing a budget expert and close confidant to spearhead tough fiscal fights with Congress over the U.S. deficit. If confirmed by the Senate, Lew will replace Timothy Geithner, the longest serving member of Obama’s original economic team,…
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Opinion The $1 Trillion Debt Ceiling Solution
Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) wants the government to mint a platinum coin worth…a cool $1 trillion.. Nadler, a Jewish Upper West Sider, thinks the minting of a ridiculously valuable coin could foil GOP attempts to hold Democrats hostage in debt ceiling negotiations. It would allow the government to pay its debts without going through Congress,…
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Opinion Chuck Hagel Failure May Haunt Hawks
Hawkish groups that sought to pre-emptively sink Chuck Hagel’s candidacy for secretary of defense may have been trying to teach President Obama and his supporters a lesson — but it seems they’re the ones who may look back at this episode as a cautionary tale. “You don’t want to wound the king,” Joseph Cirincione, president…
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Opinion Better Schools for Better Communities
After 50 well-spent years inside urban public schools — as a teacher and principal, a parent, a school board member, an author and advocate — I’ve discovered that, given the chance, all children can receive a high-quality education. All we need are small class sizes, probably located in small schools. Lots of time for teachers…
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Fast Forward Jack Lew Eyed for Treasury Secretary
Jack Lew is reportedly the strong favorite to be named the next treasury secretary and President Obama may announce the pick before the end of the week. Lew, an Orthodox Jew who now serves as White House chief of staff, would replace Timothy Geithner at Treasury, Bloomberg News reported. Lew, who lives in the Bronx…
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News Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s selection as JTS commencement speaker roils graduating class
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Opinion How Israel became a country where teenagers murder each other in cold blood
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Sports NBA coach Steve Kerr: ‘Israel sought revenge for Oct. 7 and now 72,000 Palestinians have been killed’
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Film & TV A new documentary challenges stereotypes about Orthodox Jewish women — and their wigs
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Opinion Reform Judaism helped craft the Voting Rights Act. Its evisceration gives Jews a new mission
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Books This graphic novel illustrates the story of America’s first Jewish congregation — pirates and all
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Theater A new musical wonders: What happened to solidarity with English Jews?
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Fast Forward Support for Iran war among ‘connected’ US Jews falls again, poll finds