Opinion

• Opinion

  The U.S. must fight for fair Palestinian elections — and Israel should, too

  After years of hibernation due to internal conflict, Palestinians were expecting to head to the polls on May 22 to choose local representatives to the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) — until those elections were (again) postponed indefinitely by President Mahmoud Abbas last week. Those who preach to Palestinians about democracy, including Americans and others in…

  By Daoud Kuttab

  3 min read
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  Opinion

  I was an Army rabbi. The chaplaincy’s white, Christian leadership must diversify.

  Imagine if there was a job in America — a government job — that was advertised with the condition that “Jews, Muslims, women, Mormons, LGBTQ people and Black people need not apply.“ We would be shocked. But without things spelled out so explicitly, in the Army Chaplain Corps, this kind of perspective is business as…

  By Carlos C. Huerta May 6, 2021 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Toxic leadership in the Jewish world goes beyond sexual misconduct. A reckoning must come.

  We’re in the middle of yet another reckoning with abuse in the Jewish community. The Forward reported last week that a former senior leader of the Reform movement had sexually assaulted members of his congregation and may have committed other acts of abuse and harassment — and that the Reform movement may have kept details…

  By Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg May 5, 2021 | 4 min read

Columnists View All

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

  

• Jay Michaelson Being Jewish in America today feels like walking multiple tightropes at once

  

• Rob Eshman If war with Iran goes badly for the US, Jews will be the scapegoat

  

• Nora Berman Did Netanyahu coerce Trump into attacking Iran? No — but he tried with Obama

  

• Dan Perry The US and Israel could seek to topple Iran’s regime. They should choose negotiation instead

  

• Emily Tamkin Israeli leaders are using Holocaust comparisons to justify attacks on Iran. Is that kosher?

  

The Latest

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  Opinion

  My son was at the Mount Meron disaster

  (JTA) — This article first appeared on Kveller. On Thursday evening, as I was just about to close my computer, I saw the news alert from The New York Times: “Breaking News: At least 15 people are dead and dozens are injured after a stampede at a religious celebration in Israel.” A surge of panic…

  By Rabbi Robyn Frisch May 4, 2021 | 5 min read
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  Opinion

  Is ousting Netanyahu really worth elevating Naftali Bennett?

  Israelis who wish to end the seemingly infinite tenure of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have in recent days pinned their hopes on a new idea: the prospect of a national-unity government led by Naftali Bennett, a former defense minister who heads the right-wing Yamina party. In theory, this Bennett-led government would be non-ideological, and the…

  By Abe Silberstein May 4, 2021 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  For George Floyd’s yahrzeit, say his name

  If you do nothing else over Shabbat on May 14 and 15, whether you go to shul or not, say kaddish. And say it for George Floyd. Say his name. George Floyd was killed on May 25, or 2 Sivan, which corresponds to May 13 this year. If it is your tradition on the following…

  By Robin Washington May 2, 2021 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  How to grapple with the Lag B’Omer tragedy? Remember fate is random.

  Every tragedy seems to cry out for an explanation. Initial explanations are practical and outline the worldly reasons why a terrible event occurred. For believers there is an additional burden — the question of how God could allow such suffering. The deaths on Lag B’Omer at the tomb of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai on Mount…

  By David Wolpe May 1, 2021 | 3 min read
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  Letters

  Letter | My beloved rabbi was accused of sexual abuse. Now what?

  To the editor, My heart is breaking, because Rabbi Sheldon Zimmerman, this week accused of “sexually predatory behavior,” is my beloved rabbi and teacher, a mentor who helped me on the road to my career as a rabbi. (“Reform Rabbinic giant disciplined for inappropriate relationships now accused of ‘sexually predatory behavior.’”) As a congregant at…

  By Jo David Apr 30, 2021 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  We’re Jewish advocates for refugees. Biden’s inertia means Congress must act.

  While President Biden made mention of immigration reform in his first address to Congress this week, the fate of refugees was conspicuously absent. After weeks of whiplash for refugees and their advocates, we’re still waiting for clarity on a path forward. On April 16, President Biden announced he would maintain the limit on the number…

  By Mark Hetfield Apr 30, 2021 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  It may not seem like it, but justice was done in the Sarah Halimi case

  What happened in Paris on April 4, 2017 was unspeakable. Kobili Traoré, an immigrant from Mali, burst into the apartment of his neighbor, Sarah Halimi, a 65-year-old retired doctor. Shouting antisemitic invective, Traoré battered Halimi and then threw her to her death from the window of her third-story apartment, exclaiming “Allahu akhbar” and that he…

  By Robert Zaretsky Apr 30, 2021 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  We are all Lag B’Omer pilgrims on Mount Meron

  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. And click here for a PDF of stories to savor over Shabbat and Sunday that you can download and print. My daughter nudged me as…

  By Jodi Rudoren Apr 30, 2021 | 4 min read