Our Scribes On Israeli Independence Day — From The Far Left To The Far Right

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As Yom Ha’atzmaut (Israeli Independence Day) begins in Israel, we’re sharing Forward Scribe contributor perspectives from the far left, far right, and everywhere in between:
• Current Member of Knesset and career general Eyal Ben-Reuven, who at age 19 fought in the Yom Kippur War and served in the IDF for 35 years, explores the price of war, concluding that it is “the worst thing” and that “as leaders and policymakers, we must do everything that we can to avoid it, and to reach peaceful solutions.”
• Activist Donna Nevel concludes that not only is war a terrible thing — so is Zionism, and the realization of the Zionist dream.
• Yehuda Leibler asks if Netanyahu’s public shunning of foreign leaders who choose to meet with left-wing Israeli organizations is leading the Jewish state towards international isolation.
• Finally, Avi Zimmerman shares a recent talk by Rabbi Yehuda HaKohen, a radical “post Zionist” settler for whom Zionism isn’t nearly radical enough.

Why I became the Forward’s editor-in-chief
You are surely a friend of the Forward if you’re reading this. And so it’s with excitement and awe — of all that the Forward is, was, and will be — that I introduce myself to you as the Forward’s newest editor-in-chief.
And what a time to step into the leadership of this storied Jewish institution! For 129 years, the Forward has shaped and told the American Jewish story. I’m stepping in at an intense time for Jews the world over. We urgently need the Forward’s courageous, unflinching journalism — not only as a source of reliable information, but to provide inspiration, healing and hope.
, editor-in-chief