Leonard Fein
By Leonard Fein
-
Opinion Define Zionism as the Jewish Right of Return
From November 1975 to December 1991, Zionism was “officially” a form of racism and racial discrimination. So the United Nations famously proclaimed by a vote of 67- 35 (with 32 abstentions), and so it was for 16 years, until, by a vote of 111-25 (with 13 abstentions), the “Zionism is racism” resolution was simply rescinded….
-
Opinion If There’s Life Out There, Do They Eat Pastrami?
All right, folks; this could be very serious. As you have likely read, astronomers have now discovered a planet some 120 trillion miles from Earth, off in another galaxy, which seems — from a distance, as it were — capable of supporting life. (The astronomers tell us that 120 trillion miles isn’t all that far…
-
Opinion Confessions of a Non-intact Jewish Male
It used to be that the Jewish male’s early sacrifice of his foreskin was meant to prevent trichinosis. No, wait a minute: Preventing trichinosis was the purpose of avoiding pork. Circumcision had no parallel scientific rationalization. Its appeal (as distinguished from its status as commandment) was more aesthetic than scientific. Its aesthetic appeal was getting…
-
Opinion A Servant of Delusion and Master of Mistruth
What has Ehud Olmert been smoking? In a recent interview, when asked about his low approval ratings among the Israeli public, Olmert replied: “My first year in government reminds me of the first year of [Ariel] Sharon and the first two years of Bill Clinton in the White House. Both of them moved dramatically up,…
-
Opinion The Niftiest Pedagogic Device There Is
The Passover Haggadah, as we all know, is fixated on the number four: Four questions, four cups of wine, four sons and so fourth. But that fixation derives from a much earlier time, when the number four was basically as high as most people could count. The system back then, we’re told, was “one, two,…
-
Opinion Leaders to the Right, Followers to the Left
On March 12, by action of its executive committee, the Union for Reform Judaism became the first national Jewish organization to take more than a tongue-clucking position on the Iraq War. It did what the Senate has been unable to do: It voted overwhelmingly to oppose President Bush’s “surge” of new troops, and it called…
-
Opinion Amir Peretz Turns His Lens Inward
The question: What did he see? By now, you may well have watched or heard about Amir Peretz’s blooper the other day. It made the front page of Israel’s two mass circulation dailies and has been featured on Jay Leno, on NPR’s “Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me!” quiz show, and approximately everywhere else as well….
-
Opinion Our Clever Foolishness Does Israel No Good
This is not the first time that some Jews have shunned nationalism. In fervently Orthodox circles, Zionism was (and, to a lesser degree, remains) offensive because it is an effort “to force God’s hand.” Classical Reform Judaism opposed it because it violated their determined universalism. And around the turn of the past century, the Bund…
Explore
Most Popular
- 1
News Dutch Jews grapple with ‘weaponization’ of their fear following attack on Israelis
- 2
News What a Secretary of State Marco Rubio would mean for American Jews and Israel
- 3
Fast Forward Trump AG nominee Matt Gaetz has left a trail of antisemitic comments
- 4
Fast Forward ‘Antisemitic hit-and-run squads’: Amsterdam temporarily bans demonstrations after Israeli soccer fans attacked by street mobs
In Case You Missed It
-
Opinion Like our patriarch Abraham, American Jews face 10 post-election tests of our values
-
Fast Forward Trump taps RFK Jr., whose anti-vaccine activism has included antisemitic comments, to lead Dept. of Health and Human Services
-
Fast Forward A Ben & Jerry’s battle over Israel, long frozen, thaws anew amid Gaza war
-
News What a Trump second presidency will mean for school prayer, campus antisemitism and other education issues Jews care — and worry — about
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
