Opinion

• Opinion

  Want to fill seats in shul? Take a lesson from southern evangelicals

  It will not surprise anyone that Christianity is alive and well in the South. Take a stroll on a Sunday morning in Little Rock and you’ll see groups of young, markedly hip people with tattoos and asymmetrical haircuts gathering and chatting every few blocks. Children are everywhere, and the cheer is so contagious, you’d think…

  By Masha Shpolberg

  4 min read
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  Opinion

  Last Rosh Hashanah, we lost RBG. This year, her legacy is in jeopardy

  When people across the country woke up on Wednesday, they opened their eyes to a new era of injustice. As of midnight Central Time, legal abortion was effectively banned in the state of Texas, and it’s clear the rest of our country could be headed in that direction. Although the U.S. Supreme Court had the…

  By Sheila Katz Sep 2, 2021 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Our rabbis, our heroes

  While many have enjoyed a restful summer, August was a blur for Jewish professionals. Most were locked inside offices, wondering how to hold the space for a liturgy that asks us “who shall live, and who shall die” while facing wildfires, hurricanes and a deadly pandemic that has decimated our communities. Just as it seemed…

  By Jen Gubitz Sep 1, 2021 | 3 min read

Columnists View All

• Jodi Rudoren This is my last column as editor of the Forward

  

• Jay Michaelson American Jews were played — now what?

  

• Rob Eshman I have the answer to Jon Stewart’s toughest question about Israel

  

• Nora Berman ‘Eddington’ is full of conspiracy theories but it’s not about Jews. Or is it?

  

• Dan Perry Recognizing a Palestinian state is a great way to doom Palestinians

  

• Emily Tamkin Is starvation in Gaza really Israel’s fault? The facts are clear

  

The Latest

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  Opinion

  YU’s institutional silence harms all students — and I know change is possible

  In many ways, I was an outsider at my elite boarding school: I was a Democrat, I was Jewish, and the wealth and conservatism of my peers were unlike anything I’d previously experienced. Yet there was something else that separated me from my classmates, which I kept private: I was bisexual. Our student handbook specifically…

  By Nora Berman Aug 31, 2021 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Three ways Jewish values are helping me embrace a healthier ‘new normal’

  Like most people, I thought I would be happy to return to normal this summer. I was grateful to be gathering with family to celebrate my mother’s 90th birthday in person. I enjoyed eating in restaurants again and making travel plans instead of sanitizing my groceries. But underneath that initial elation, as I stored my…

  By Lisa Trank Aug 30, 2021 | 5 min read
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  Opinion

  I left my Hasidic community. ‘Schitt’s Creek’ helped me put things in perspective.

  (JTA) — This article originally appeared on Alma. A year ago, I was watching “Schitt’s Creek” with my wife. It was the last season, second to last episode, so things were already emotional. Then there was that scene. The one where David is sitting on the car with his best friend Stevie and looking at…

  By Elad Nehorai Aug 30, 2021 | 5 min read
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  Opinion

  Ice cream and bourbon at America’s concentration camps

  At the Belle Meade plantation in Nashville, Tenn., you can partake in a wine tasting of Gentleman’s Red or Lady’s Cuvée. You can play a round of cornhole. And at its Coop N’ Scoop ice cream shop, you have a choice of strawberry, chocolate or their newest flavor — Krazy Kookie Dough. But here’s a…

  By Adi Eshman Aug 29, 2021 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  I run the Jewish refugee agency. Our work in Afghanistan is nowhere close to done

  This has been a tough week for all of us at HIAS, but it has been so much worse for the people of Afghanistan. My mind is occupied by the family members of the Afghans and the Americans who were killed at Karzai Airport today, and for the many people of Afghanistan whose lives are…

  By Mark Hetfield Aug 27, 2021 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Jordan has a public antisemitism problem. Why isn’t the U.S. holding them accountable?

  It is wise that the U.S. and Israel are pursuing deeper relations with Jordan. But it is unacceptable to let the Kingdom’s tolerance for public antisemitism go unchallenged in the process. King Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein was the first Mideast leader to be received as a visitor to the Biden White House, and Amman was…

  By Sharon Nazarian & Arnold Roth Aug 26, 2021 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  With these 3 moves, Bennett can begin repairing the U.S.-Israel relationship

  When President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Naftali Bennett meet today at the White House, they will have an opportunity to start undoing twelve years of damage and setbacks to the U.S.-Israel alliance. Although major policy disagreements will not evaporate overnight, the gnawing crisis of confidence that has beset the relationship can be quickly overcome….

  By Scott Lasensky Aug 26, 2021 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  10 ways Jewish Americans can help Afghan refugees

  The scenes from Afghanistan seem too dire to overcome. But there are things each of us can do right now that can make a major impact. The United States currently works with nine refugee resettlement agencies to assist those fleeing persecution abroad. HIAS, originally the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, is one of them — and…

  By Marisa Fox-Bevilacqua Aug 25, 2021 | 3 min read