Dear Editor, I’m admittedly less versed than Avi Shafran in Jewish theology and how it dictates religious administration, but I do take issue with his argument that women should be excluded from religious leadership on the grounds that this desire is borne from “external” influence. Are the considerable number of Jewish women who feel a…
A recent article in the Forward claimed that by accepting an invitation to a meeting with Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the leader of Poland’s ruling conservative party, Chabad is “feuding” with Jewish organizations. This is not true. Chabad violated no understanding, explicit or implicit, nor any relationship with the other Jewish representatives by taking this meeting. In…
Dear Editor, Peter Beinart claims that Israel, as a Jewish state, has a special obligation to abstain from selling arms to Myanmar. However, his article fails to provide critical background information on which countries actually sell arms to Myanmar and how Israel’s sales compare to the total. The result was surprising. According to public data…
Dear Editor, After reading articles on the divisions among Jewish people over Israel, Zionism, settlements and the like, I have one question: Why does it really matter? There has been an elephant in the room since Israel was established. At no time since it’s inception have the Muslim states ever agreed to live with Israel…
To the Forward, Of course I have every sympathy for the victims of the Las Vegas shooting. But when I read the line about what a young man told his Jewish mother when he met his wife for the first time (“She’s so beautiful, I can’t believe she’s Jewish!”), I couldn’t believe I was reading…
Dear Editor, The religion I grew up with always included “Next year in Jerusalem” in EVERY Sabbath service. EVERY SINGLE ONE. The idea that Zioness could be threatening to anyone is absurd and misogynistic. If Linda Sarsour felt threatened it is her own paranoia, especially since she is a supporter of Sharia law which is…
Dear Editor, In an article published in these pages on Wednesday, Alissa Wise, the Deputy Director of Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), attacked the Zioness Movement, a new group made up of those of us who seek to pursue social justice while also embracing our Zionist identities. Wise’s piece misrepresents both Amanda Berman and our…
To the Editor: Unfortunately I was not able to go to the March for Racial Justice on Sunday, but I did read the article discussing the role of Zionists in fighting racism. Although I do not wish to paint all Zionists with the brush of universal racism or deny that some may oppose anti-black or…
Two weeks ago, MASA Israel officially withdrew their support of Achvat Amim, an educational and volunteer program that engages young adults with the complex realities of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This decision was made based on false allegations brought up by the extreme right wing NGO, Ad Kan. In response to these events and in the…
While I was excited to see The Forward follow The New York Times in covering our Yiddish for Dogs program, it was disappointing that the author missed the point of the event—and, more importantly, seemed confused about the new Workmen’s Circle and what we’re about today. With that in mind, I suggest that we zitz…
J. J. Goldberg’s September 18 column, “A Major Jewish Philanthropist Just Published a Plan to Ethnically Cleanse Palestinians,” is an important journalistic contribution to the American Jewish discussion about Israel, but it contains one subtly pernicious misconception. Mr. Goldberg repeats the received wisdom that the term Palestine was “coined” by the Roman rulers of Jewish…
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