Scribe, the Forward’s curated contributor network, is a place for showcasing personal experiences and perspective from across our Jewish communities. Here you will find a wide array of reflections on Jewish issues, life-cycle events, spirituality, culture and more.
Community
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You say matzah — and matzo and matzuh and matzee and more
Readers respond to our editor-in-chief’s column about a Passover copy-editing conundrum
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Ranking Colleges Does Jewish Students A Disservice
The Forward recently published their second annual College Guide for Jewish Students. As the outgoing Student Activities Director at Harvard Hillel, I am honored that Harvard was tied for the #1 campus for Jewish life. I am also uncomfortable with the fact this news brought me joy. I admire the Forward’s efforts in providing Jewish…
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Don’t Let BDS On Campus Scare You Away
In April, Barnard College’s student body and George Washington University’s student government both voted to encourage their respective Boards of Trustees to divest from companies affiliated with Israel. They joined over thirty other campuses who have passed similar resolutions aligned with the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement. The BDS movement was founded in 2005 and…
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Think Airport Interrogations In Israel Are New? Ask An Arab
A British Palestinian professor deported. A Swedish Jewish journalist questioned for hours. An East Jerusalem Palestinian professor hassled on her way to Tunis. A woman strip searched for being born in the Middle East. A French intern at an Israeli newspaper held for hours on her way back from Turkey. An Israeli Supreme Court justice’s…
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On The Anniversary Of Charlottesville, Don’t Forget That Nazis Hate More Than Just Jews
On August 6, the Anti-Defamation League and the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington issued a joint “Community Advisory” on upcoming protests in the District of Columbia. The advisory speaks of “the current rise in bigotry, racism, and anti-Semitism” and says “we must stand together and draw strength from our diversity in order to…
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The Nation-State Law’s Authors Are Fanatics — As Are Many Of Its Opponents
There has always been a separation between national pride and national fanaticism. National pride is the natural expression of a clear and determined identity. National fanaticism, on the other hand, is the expression of a lack of security, of safety in one’s identity. The authors of the Nation-State Law and those who have set out…
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Poland Must Reckon With How It Treated Jews During WWII, For Good And For Bad
The “Polish Death Camp Law” has stirred many feelings across Poland and Israel, and among Diaspora Jewry. Jail time has been removed for making a claim that “the Polish nation or the Republic of Poland is responsible or co-responsible for Nazi crimes committed by the Third Reich,” but the law remains on the books. Many…
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Yes, Jews Need To Discuss Abortion — But They Also Need To Discuss Adoption
The recent Forward article, “‘My Dark Secret’: Orthodox Women Reveal Their Abortion Stories,” is heart-wrenching to read, but brings up topics crucial to discuss. Not just in the Orthodox community, but in the entire Jewish community. One story (New York, 26 years old, 8 weeks pregnant) reads of a single woman’s painful journey to abortion…
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In The Jordan Valley, Israelis Harass And Threaten Bedouin Shepherds
After years of reading, writing and arguing about the place, I finally visited Israel and Palestine for the first time back in February, under the auspices of Achvat Amim, a five-month-long educational and volunteer program founded upon the principle that every person has a right to self-determination in the place that he or she calls…
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The Nation-State Law Commits To Strengthening Jewish Peoplehood In The Diaspora — But Not In Israel
Since its passage in the Knesset on July 19, Israel’s Nation-State Basic Law has managed to stir up anger and debate not just inside Israel but also around the world. In a recent appearance of mine on the BBC, the interviewer prefaced her question to me by insinuating that the idea of constitutionally defining Israel…
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Jeremy Corbyn Is Gaslighting The Jews
Last Friday, upon the start of Shabbat, Britain’s Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn published an op-ed in The Guardian confronting accusations of anti-Semitism under his watch as leader of the party. What starts off as a welcoming letter of understanding quickly devolves into an exercise in distortion and excuses. Instead of acknowledging the trauma he and…
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Remembering My Cantor Ilan Mamber
Cantor Ilan Mamber wasn’t my cantor — but oh, how I wanted him to be. He rode a motorcycle — a Honda Pacific Coast — and was an avid tennis player. He chanted prayers to the tunes of “The Who” and “Hamilton.” And he loved, loved Bob Dylan. But more importantly, he made me realize…
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