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
Whoso Sheddeth Man’s Blood, by Man Shall His Blood Be Shed
One of the most gruesome scenes of the ongoing intifada happened right at its beginning. On October 12, 2000, Israeli military reservists Vadim Norzhich and Yosef Avrahami were beaten to death in a Ramallah police station. Their bodies were then thrown out of the window into the hands of a mob of Palestinians, who mutilated…
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Opinion Israel’s Tomorrow, Today
More than that of any other country in the world, Israel’s fate is dependent on “tomorrow” — a tomorrow that comes closer day by day with the approach of August 15, the date set by Prime Minister Sharon to begin Israel’s planned withdrawal from Gaza. How does Israeli society look from afar during these critical…
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Opinion Breyer’s Wisdom
Just about everybody seems to have found something to hate in this week’s twinned Supreme Court decisions on public displays of the Ten Commandments. Liberals disliked the 5-4 ruling by which the justices allowed a Commandments monument to remain on the grounds of the Texas state Capitol. Conservatives hated the other 5-4 ruling, barring the…
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Opinion Looking ‘White,’ Thinking ‘Other’
‘Be a Jew in private and a human being in public.” This was the mantra with which a generation of American Jews was raised, and the idea was to keep the Jewish particulars to yourself and blend in to the American dream. But the quality of the American Jewish experience has changed in the past…
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Opinion What If the Biblical Ruth Came to America?
If the biblical Ruth came to America today, what would happen? In the biblical story, Ruth was welcomed onto the fields of Boaz, where she gleaned what the regular harvesters had left behind. Boaz made sure that even this despised foreigner had a decent job at decent pay. When she went one night to the…
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Opinion Between Religious Equality and Liberty
Lawyers will be arguing for a long time about the practical effect of this week’s Supreme Court decisions in two cases related to the public display of the Ten Commandments. About the only thing that can be said with certainty is that the hope that the court would establish clear rules about religious displays to…
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Opinion Reformists, Conservatives and Other Iranians
A sense of dread befell the world last Friday: New Iranian president Mahmood Ahmadinejad is an extremist, a lover of nukes, a Beckham-hater, a believer in the separation of the sexes. To cut a long story short: Prepare for war. One could sense the disappointment that crossed the ocean with the news that former president…
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Letters July 1, 2005
Group Backed Bolton A June 24 article on President Bush’s choice for ambassador to the United Nations fails to mention B’nai B’rith International’s support for John Bolton’s nomination (“Groups Buck White House on Bolton”). In fact, this support is a matter of public record, as B’nai B’rith International sent letters of support to the members…
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Opinion Unfinished Business at the Jewish Agency
Sallai Meridor’s surprise announcement on May 10 that he would relinquish his chairmanship of the Jewish Agency for Israel and of the World Zionist Organization caught many, including me, off guard. I can only hope that whoever is chosen to replace him later this month is committed to seeing through to completion the important work…
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Opinion Build an Open Tent Instead of Guarding The Communal Gates
A few months ago, Joshua Venture quietly closed down. We are proud that during its four-plus years of existence, our fellowship of Jewish social entrepreneurs piqued the interest of hundreds of unaffiliated young adults who had felt alienated by increasingly conservative and creatively stagnant Jewish institutions. We are proud, but we are also worried. We…
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Opinion ‘Green’ Nuclear Energy, in Black and White
As the Senate debates its bipartisan energy bill, it is obvious that nuclear power is slated to make a comeback in America. The bill includes an extension to 2025 of the Price Anderson liability protection law, which caps the damages for which the nuclear industry can be held liable in the event of a catastrophe…
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