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 eve of Passover, a Russian Jewish heroine resists Putin
Alla Gutnikova is a Russian Jewish woman, and one of the former editors of the Moscow Higher School of Economics’ student journal “DOXA.” Gutnikova, along with four of her fellow editors, was sentenced to two years of correctional labor each for their role in a video questioning whether it was right for Russian teachers to…
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Opinion ‘How can I tell her that there is no more home?’ After leaving Ukraine, refugees face a bureaucratic nightmare
I decided to take the kids on a trip to cheer them up. A volunteer from Romania drove us to a local mall in Slovakia. These Ukrainian children will be starting school in Slovakia soon, and I wanted them to feel a little bit normal and excited by new clothes, backpacks and school supplies. I…
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Opinion Why I add a pomegranate to my Passover Seder
For the past few years, I have been adding a split open pomegranate to my Seder plate. In addition to the traditional six items on the plate, plus an orange as a symbol of LGBTQIA+ inclusion and, this year, sunflowers in honor of Ukraine’s fight for freedom, the pomegranate symbolizes something both personal and meaningful…
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Opinion I watched Dnipro’s Jews rebuild and thrive. I know they will triumph once again
Dnipro, one of the largest cities in Ukraine, is surrounded by Russian fighting. As Putin’s invasion intensifies, the city is urging people to flee, and things are looking grim. But I know the resilience of this city firsthand: I watched as Jewish life was rebuilt after decades of suppression, and I know that they will…
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Opinion My schnauzer fell in love with challah — just in time for Passover
As often happens with old souls, our nearly 12-year-old Schnauzer is showing a late-life hunger for religious sustenance. He rouses himself from cushioned slumber whenever we prepare for Friday night Shabbat dinner, fidgeting as I place the candles, wine cups and especially bread board on our dining room table. He also joins my wife and…
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Opinion I lost my dad to COVID. Opening up to a stranger helped me heal — and appreciate my Jewish community even more.
To Denise, I was an open book. For almost a year, through the endless blur that followed the first COVID shutdown, I shared with her the intimate details of my life. No, she wasn’t my psychologist, rabbi or spouse. She’s a sociologist running an oral history project. In April 2020, my dad died from COVID….
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Opinion Compassion, courage, patience, joy: Four (new) Questions to ask ourselves this Passover
This is an adaptation of Looking Forward, a weekly email from our editor-in-chief sent on Friday afternoons. Sign up here to get the Forward’s free newsletters delivered to your inbox. Download and print our free magazine of stories to savor over Shabbat and Sunday. On the way to the Women’s Seder at our synagogue last…
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Opinion People actually prefer live Jews, really
Horn’s focus on all the ways society has failed Jews may be electrifying, but ignores a more complicated truth
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Opinion Zelenskyy is a Jewish hero. That doesn’t erase Ukraine’s complicated past
Ukrainian President Volodoymyr Zelenskyy has led a courageous and unexpectedly strong resistance to the brutal and murderous invasion by Russia, rising to the challenge of the moment in a heroic and extraordinary way. I am proud that he is Jewish. But despite his fearlessness and eloquence in support of Ukraine, I still find myself troubled…
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Opinion A frat Seder on a party boat taught me the true meaning of Passover
“I hate religion,” the college student told my brother-in-law, Shlomo. “Such chutzpah,” I fumed silently. I had flown down to Nashville to help my sister, Nechama, as she and her husband ran Passover services for the throngs of Jewish students who came to their nonprofit organization for Jewish students on Vanderbilt’s campus, the Rohr Chabad…
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Opinion Stop trying to get Jews to date each other and start focusing on nurturing friendships
An Atlantic article about people who prioritize friendship over romance went viral a few years ago. “Intimate friendships,” wrote Rhaina Cohen, “can be models for how we as a society might expand our conceptions of intimacy and care.” As someone who has spent 15 years helping people connect more deeply to one another and to…
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