This is the Forward’s coverage of Israel, the Jewish state in the Middle East founded in 1948.
Israel
The Latest
-
Culture A Guide for the Judgmental
A reader wishing to be identified only as “Harry” has a question about the Mishnaic tractate of Pirkei Avot or — as it is often called in English — “The Ethics of the Fathers.” (The Hebrew title literally means “Chapters of the Fathers,” the book being divided into six chapters in which many of the…
-
Opinion Cancel Putin’s Visit
It’s official. This summer, Russian president Vladimir Putin will be taking a trip to Israel, his first since 2005. It’s the consummation of a relationship that has been fostered by Israel’s Moldovan-born foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, who also recently described Israeli-Russian relations — after 20 years of diplomatic contact — as “very positive.” That may…
-
Opinion My Way or the Highway
If you say that the peace process, like the Wicked Witch, is not merely dead, but really most sincerely dead, no one will argue with you. Israel and the Palestinian Authority have not had a real negotiating session since September 2010, when so-called “talks” collapsed following a so-called settlement “freeze.” The last sign of life…
-
Opinion Separate Synagogue and State
They didn’t exactly turn handsprings, but their cheering was unmistakable. “This is a historic day for Israelis and Jews around the world,” proclaimed Rabbi Julie Schonfeld, executive vice president of the Conservative Rabbinical Assembly. The head of Israel’s Reform movement, Rabbi Gilad Kariv, declared that the decision is “an important breakthrough in the effort to…
-
Israel News Israeli Outrage at Reporter’s Prosecution
In Israel’s highly polarized public square, the ideological lines dividing the country’s major media outlets are clear to all. Among daily newspapers, Haaretz stands on the left, Yediot Aharanot in the center, Ma’ariv on the center-right and Israel Hayom, owned by American casino mogul Sheldon Adelson, on Israel’s nationalist right. But the government’s recent decision…
-
Opinion Stop Worrying About Yordim
Israel’s president, Shimon Peres, acquiesced wearily to a recent question posed by Time magazine, one that was stated as fact: “One million Israelis live abroad. It’s not as if Jews are flocking there.” Peres admitted warily: “We’re swimming upstream….” But this picture is not new. In fact, for most of Peres’s 60 years of political…
-
Culture Should Israel Have Gone With Yiddish?
Murray Lefkowitz of Merion Station, Pa., writes a letter stating his opinion that it “may have been an unfortunate choice” that Hebrew became the language of the state of Israel, since “Yiddish was the more common tongue for almost all Jews prior to 1948.” The claim that Yiddish, not Hebrew, was the real national language…
-
The Schmooze Madonna’s Mixed Reviews
France’s far-right National Front is considering a lawsuit against Madonna over a video she used during her concert in Israel on Thursday night. The clip showed party leader Marine Le Pen with a swastika on her forehead. While she performed the song “Nobody Knows Me” in Ramat Gan Stadium, Madonna showed a video in which…
Explore
Most Popular
In Case You Missed It
-
Fast Forward Netanyahu says ‘tragic mishap’ fueled Gaza hospital strikes that killed 20, including 5 journalists
-
Fast Forward Kneecap cancels sold-out US tour, one day after clash with Jewish protesters in Paris
-
News How the online knitting world unraveled over Israel and Gaza
-
Culture The Trump administration says it’s posting ‘banger memes’ — here’s why that’s a problem for Jews
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
