Opinion articles that represent the views of the Forward’s editors.
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Opinion Who By Fire, Who By Water
This day is the birthday of the world; this day places all the creatures of the world in judgment. The day is Rosh Hashanah, the New Year on the traditional Jewish calendar, which begins this coming Monday evening. The words — “This day is the birthday of the world” — will be recited at the…
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Opinion Sharon’s Mission
It might be none of our business, technically speaking, how Ariel Sharon chooses to spend what’s left of his political career. He’s shown himself over the years to be a master of his country’s political system; he can probably figure out without our help how to maneuver his way through the unrest in his Likud…
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Opinion What They’re Waiting For
Israel’s leaders seemed to respond with gratification and discomfort in almost equal measures to the outpouring of warmth they received at the United Nations this month during the opening ceremonies of the world body’s 60th anniversary summit. It was a welcome they’d longed for, but it came with conditions. Prime Minister Sharon, whose very name…
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Opinion Who’s for Democracy?
In recent months, as efforts to stop the Gaza plan intensified, the settler movement and its Orthodox allies in America sought to broaden their appeal by painting themselves not merely as defenders of the faith, but also as champions of democracy. Even now, with the Gaza disengagement a fait accompli, opponents continue to attack the…
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Opinion Wiesenthal
The death of Simon Wiesenthal this week at 96 reminds us of some indivisible moral truths bequeathed to us by the Holocaust: that freedom cannot exist without justice; that guilt and responsibility rest with each individual; that one person can make a difference. Wiesenthal emerged from the Nazi hell convinced of those principles, and he…
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Opinion UNimproved
The failings of the United Nations are so familiar by now and the disappointment in it is so deep that it’s hard to imagine the organization letting us down any further. Remarkably, that’s just what it has contrived to do as its General Assembly convenes in New York this week for its 60th anniversary gala…
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Opinion Listening in Ellul
These last weeks of summer, as the days shorten and the winter chill looms, are designated in the traditional Jewish calendar as the month of Ellul. It is the last month before the New Year, set aside as a time for reflecting and for taking stock. In a few weeks we will be called on…
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Opinion After the Deluge
It is too early to assess the full scope of Hurricane Katrina, much less its larger meaning. It will be months before we have a clear sense of the disaster’s toll on the national economy, and years before we know if New Orleans can be revived. Even counting the dead will take weeks. What does…
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