Is Birthright an Intermarriage Panacea?
By Paul Golin
A recent study found that Birthright Israel participants are less likely to intermarry than their peers. But Paul Golin argues that it’s dangerous to see Birthright as a “cure” for intermarriage.Read More
Calming the Temple Mount
By Daniel Seidemann
The Temple Mount, writes Daniel Seidemann, “is a magnet for those who seek to sow discord and promote apocalyptic visions.” But, he argues, the exhortations of extremists only gain traction when fueled by events on the ground.Read More
Lévi-Strauss: He Changed How We See Culture, but Ignored His Own
By Melvin Konner
For Lévi-Strauss, as for other Jewish anthropologists, there was another dimension to being a cultural outsider: It drew them to a sympathetic view of simpler cultures, which most of their contemporaries viewed with disdain.Read More
Schmutz Sandwich Anyone?
By Susan Comninos
If you like gross-out humor, you’ll love “Sex, Drugs & Gefilte Fish,” a new compilation of essays, derived from Heeb magazine’s live storytelling series.Read More
Canonizing Saint Simon
By Laurence Klavan
Given Neil Simon’s hugely successful career in light comedy, the quick cancellation of “Brighton Beach Memoirs,” above, was surprising; maybe it shouldn’t have been, Laurence Klavan writes.Read More
Welcome to Zeek
The Forward is pleased to present its new partner, Zeek: A Journal of Jewish Thought and Culture, which you can find at zeek.forward.com. Zeek aspires to be a catalyst for conversation about the Jewish tomorrow, covering politics, spirituality and culture in a thoughtful, edgy way.Read More
Gender Negotiations
A Forward survey finding that only 14.3% percent of the top jobs in the nation’s 75 largest Jewish communal organizations are held by women ought to serve as a wake-up call. So should the finding that women leaders are paid only 61 cents for every dollar earned by male leaders. These employment and salary gaps need to be addressed not just because of individual unfairness, but also because of the communal imperative to ensure that the very best people are leading these important organizations.Read More
