In the Forward’s opinion section, you’ll find analysis and essays from diverse corners of the Jewish world.
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Opinion
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Opinion
On the Same Side as Common Decency
The Jewish Telegraphic Agency recently published a lengthy expose, the gist of which was that some grantees of the New Israel Fund “accuse the Jewish state of horrendous human rights violations.” The principle piece of evidence of NIF’s alleged perfidy is that “In March 2007, eight groups that promote human rights for Israeli Arabs and…
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Letters August 1, 2008
JDC Shell Corporation The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee’s shell corporation in Cyprus has drawn more than Russian scrutiny, as a July 25 article reports; it has also drawn indignation and anger in the Jewish communities of the former Soviet Union (“Charity’s Shell Corporation Draws Russian Scrutiny”). Asher Ostrin, the head of the JDC’s Russian…
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Opinion The Man From Illinois and the Senator From New York
The senator from New York was remarkably talented, a political leader of the first order, a person of great influence at the highest levels of government, and destined for the party’s nomination for president of the United States. Although the senator faced stiff competition, for the four years preceding the election it was widely assumed…
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Opinion Lady Liberty Is Yearning To Breathe Free
Between 1892 and 1954, thousands and thousands of Jews escaping religious persecution came into the United States through Ellis Island. The tired, poor, huddled masses were greeted by the Statue of Liberty, a beacon of light and hope, a symbol of the future that lay ahead. Tall and proud, she welcomed Jewish immigrants to their…
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Opinion Get Used to More Davids Becoming Dianes
You have to hand it to Rep. Barney Frank, the man knows how to empathize. In the first-ever congressional hearing on workplace discrimination against transgender people, held by the House in late June in an Education and Labor subcommittee, Frank said he understands what it means to be trapped in the wrong body — because…
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Opinion When I Was Hated Like an Arab
It happened not so long ago, on a particularly hot Saturday afternoon in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. Red shopping carts hugged the newly paved road. Baby strollers and soccer moms passed by. I had just parked, and was walking up to Target to use up the $50 in gift cards I had gotten for my…
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Opinion Throats in Trouble
Tobacco is back in the news again, with the $375 million pledge by billionaires Bill Gates and Michael Bloomberg to help curb smoking. In my lifetime — I am now 96 — the story of tobacco has undergone a profound change. At one time, the smoke-filled room was an ever-present mark of social and political…
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Opinion Endow This Column Today, for Only a Pittance
At Brandeis University, the standard advice given to visitors is that they must not stop as they walk about the campus — for in less than a minute, a plaque is attached to any immobile object. Nor is Brandeis unique in its offer of “naming opportunities.” Atop one synagogue in Newton, Mass., there is an…
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Opinion The Games Begin
When the Olympic torch is formally lit August 8 in the Bird’s Nest, China’s odd-looking new Olympic stadium, and the sky above Beijing explodes with what officials promise will be a “spectacular” fireworks display (in the very “birthplace of gunpowder,” as a government press release artlessly points out), a few key figures will be conspicuously…
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Opinion Now This Here, Mr. Obama, Is…
By the time Barack Obama wraps up this week’s whirlwind tour of Israel, he will undoubtedly have heard all sorts of wise things from all sorts of wise men (and women). As is well known, we have no shortage of them here. But try as he may, the presumptive Democratic nominee for president of the…
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Opinion The Choices My Father Made
A couple weeks ago, my father passed away. As I prepared to speak at his funeral in Vienna, I wondered whether the life story of this very private man carried any larger message that would be of interest beyond his immediate family and friends. I soon realized that it did. My father left Europe after…
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Opinion The Iran war ended terribly for the US, and even worse for Israel
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News Abdul El-Sayed is courting Jewish voters — without moderating his views on Israel
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