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
Appeal to ADL chief: It’s time for you to call to reinstate Whoopi
A plethora of voices have weighed in on the controversy of Whoopi Goldberg’s remarks on “The View” regarding the Holocaust, her apology for the same, and her subsequent two-week suspension from the show by ABC News. Here is a direct appeal from Rabbi Tamar Manasseh of Chicago to Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt calling on…
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Opinion What counts as racism? How the ADL’s ‘woke’ definition caused an uproar — and should be a cautionary tale
It recently came to light that the ADL — the vaunted anti-extremism and civil rights organization — had released a controversial definition of racism a few years ago. Public awareness of ADL’s new definition happened to coincide with Whoopi Goldberg’s ill-chosen words that the Holocaust “is not about race, but about man’s inhumanity,” and unsurprisingly…
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Opinion ‘We all have to be prepared’: Hero rabbi from Texas testifies before Congress
The following is the testimony that Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker of Congregation Beth Israel, Colleyville, Texas delivered before a Congressional hearing on Feb. 8, 2022. It was shared with the Forward in advance and printed here with permission. Chairwoman Demings, Chairwoman Slotkin, Ranking Member Cammack, Ranking Member Pfluger, thank you for the opportunity to share some…
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Opinion East Coast Jews defined the last century of Jewish life. West Coast Jews have the next
This essay was adapted from a section of the book “Why Do Jewish? A Manifesto for 21st Century Jewish Peoplehood,” published by Gefen Publishing in Nov. 2021. If the last century of Jewish American life was built by the Jews of the East Coast, then it’s quite possible the next hundred years of Jewish life…
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Opinion I’ve experienced plenty of antisemitism — and know confirming Deborah Lipstadt will help us fight back
I will accompany Dr. Deborah Lipstadt into the Dirksen Senate Office Building for her Senate confirmation hearing to become the State Department Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism on Feb. 8. I will most likely sit silently behind her as a reminder and witness to the problem of antisemitism in our country and the…
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Opinion The Beijing Olympics looks a lot like Nazi Germany’s
For Chinese leader Xi Jinping, the Olympics represent an opportunity to turn the world’s attention away from the Uyghur genocide.
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Opinion My secret life as a Mossad operative
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. The husband nearly fell off his recliner a couple of weeks…
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Opinion Here’s what to say about Israel and apartheid
The report from Amnesty Internationalthis week accusing Israel of “committing the crime of apartheid” against Palestinians within and outside Israel’s 1967 borders set off a storm of controversy. It also sent me to reread my new go-to response to Israel and the A-word, Danny Sokatch’s 2021 book, “Can We Talk About Israel? A Guide for…
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Opinion An Orthodox dad and a biker with Nazi tattoos walk into a hardware store
I was shopping at Lowe’s Hardware last Sunday to pick up some things for our new home in Austin, Texas, having just moved back after 26 years in greater Chicago. I was with my son, who had turned four a few days before and is already interested in tools and building materials (and cars and…
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Opinion We can’t fail the Uyghurs as the world failed us
As the Olympics begin, what is at stake is not medals, but the world’s commitment to Never Again. It is hard to fathom that 77 years after the end of the Holocaust, a potentially genocidal state is hosting the Olympic Games. As the athletes parade into the Beijing stadium for the opening ceremonies, the Chinese…
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Letters Jews are just as confused about our race as Whoopi Goldberg is
To the editor: Like Nora Berman, I also felt that Whoopi Goldberg’s Holocaust remarks were a teachable moment — but I’m a teacher, so to me most moments are. Fifty-plus years as a Jewish educator have taught me that hardly anyone, including many Jews, really understands antisemitism. We have long denied that we are a…
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Opinion The dark message behind Tucker Carlson’s attempt to drum up drama in Israel
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Fast Forward Robin Kelly, running for Senate in Illinois, says Israel committed ‘genocide’
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Fast Forward South Africa pulls out of Venice Biennale — because its selected artist wanted to focus on Gaza
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Film & TV Dear internet: Having Jews in movies isn’t ‘Zionist propaganda’
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