For many years — centuries —Passover was the scariest time of the year for Jews because it more or less coincides with Easter. “That’s the time when people would do their Passion plays,” writer and rabbi Abby Sosland said. Those gruesome re-enactments of the Crucifixion did not exactly enhance Christian-Jewish relations, and Sosland said, “There…
Given the broad reach of the Forward’s digital offerings, we’re hopeful that maybe some readers in South Dakota will see this editorial. Whoever does read it, we ask that you consider a few questions before sending your child to school. Our request is prompted by the fact that South Dakota has just become the first…
The rabbi of a synagogue in Newtown, Conn. joined Christian and Muslim clergy from the place of last year’s massacre of schoolchildren in an open letter to Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), urging him to back far-reaching gun controls. “We pray that you will vote for meaningful gun violence prevention laws that include a ban on…
They deserve a vote. With that simple exhortation, President Obama cleverly married two causes that were certainly the emotional high points of his recent State of the Union address. In introducing his idea for a nonpartisan commission to “improve the voting experience in America,” he cited the hours-long wait some citizens endured last November just…
Two devastating tragedies struck the American northeast last fall with a deadly force that riveted the nation’s collective imagination, battered our conscience and rewrote our national agenda. One was the massive destruction of Superstorm Sandy. The other was the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Sandy and Sandy Hook. They came at a pivotal…
President Barack Obama will not be the only one delivering a message during the State of the Union address on Tuesday. Members of Congress along with the White House will also be making symbolic statements with the guests they invite to attend the annual speech. Invited guests this year reflect the pressing issues facing Congress…
President Barack Obama’s fellow Democrats in Congress are bringing victims of gun violence to his State of the Union address on Tuesday night, providing faces and voices to the carnage that he wants to curb with new firearms restrictions. About two dozen victims, including a girl from Newtown, Connecticut – site of the Dec. 14…
Nine days after the Newtown, Conn. massacre in which 20 children died, Wayne LaPierre, the National Rifle Association’s executive vice president, broke his group’s long silence with a bristling attack against gun regulation that included a theme heard frequently among gun rights advocates. “Israel had a whole lot of school shootings until they did one…
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