Opinion

• Opinion

  How to get some Haredi children to stop wearing blackface on Purim

  Six months ago, in a September interview with The New York Times, Chris Rock was asked about the effort then underway to expunge all uses of blackface in TV and movies. Specifically, the interviewer wanted to know whether Rock thought society was taking things too far. “If I say they are, then I’m the worst…

  By Eli Steinberg

  4 min read
• 
  Opinion

  To Israel, converts are still just a political football

  This week, Israeli converts to Judaism found themselves once more caught in a political power struggle between Israel’s religious right and left. After 15 years of waiting for the Knesset to find a legislative solution to Israel’s conversion crisis, the Supreme Court dropped a legal bombshell by issuing a verdict requiring Israel’s Interior Ministry to…

  By Seth Farber Mar 3, 2021 | 4 min read
• 
  Opinion

  With conversion decision, Israel moves one step closer to being genuinely inclusive

  It is the rainy season in Israel, so I have been thinking about umbrellas. It is tempting to make a benign, even cozy, metaphor, imagining Israel as a protective force shielding us from threatening storms, and a means of uniting us as we huddle together to stay warm and dry. I wish I could give…

  By Anat Hoffman Mar 3, 2021 | 3 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

• 
  Opinion

  To truly welcome Jews of color, seminaries must ordain intermarried rabbis

  In December 2019, Rabbi Rick Jacobs called on the Reform movement to “dig deeper into social justice activism through the Religious Action Center to address racism in our broader society,” and to “commit to our sacred equity, diversity and inclusion work.” “I cannot imagine our movement without all the voices, hearts and minds of our…

  By Edmund Case Mar 3, 2021 | 3 min read
• 
  Opinion

  Israel’s conversion news isn’t good for converts

  As a convert to Judaism, it’s frequently the case that when conversion and Israel come into the news, I avoid reading the stories. It’s simply never good news. This week’s Israeli High Court decision recognizing converts via the Reform and Conservative movement might appear to be different — that is, until you read the fine…

  By Bethany Mandel Mar 2, 2021 | 3 min read
• 
  Opinion

  Confessions of a vaccine tourist: Is crossing state lines to get a shot against Jewish ethics?

  I recently crossed state lines to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Does that make me a bad person? I’m a 65-year-old rabbi who splits his time living in New Mexico and Jerusalem. But I went twice to Texas over the last month to get the Pfizer shots. Because of my age, I’m eligible to get the…

  By Barry Leff Mar 1, 2021 | 5 min read
• 
  Opinion

  Controversies about Jews and white supremacy are erasing Jews of color

  In December, the Forward published an article about my most recent book, “Black Power, Jewish Politics,” with a headline that mentioned Jews in connection with white supremacy. With those two words — “white supremacy” — the internet lit up. The article received over 100 critical comments. The Forward published an op-ed pushing back on the…

  By Marc Dollinger Feb 28, 2021 | 3 min read
• 
  Letters

  Letter | Ahoy Vey from Annapolis

  Dear Editor, A recent internet fascination with sea shanties must have prompted the Forward editors to concoct a Jewish connection. “Once Upon A Time, Jewish Pirates Ruled the Sea” says the headline. Well, shiver me timbers! Or is it sit shiva and timber? Or should I say Ahoy Vey? This is just the latest shot…

  By Paul Foer Feb 28, 2021 | 3 min read
• 
  Opinion

  We asked 13 rabbis: How should we process 500,000 American COVID deaths?

  This post is part of our Rabbi Roundtable series. This week, the United States recorded its 500,000th death from COVID-19. It’s a staggering number, one many of us have struggled to wrap our heads around. For thoughts on how to process the milestone we turned to rabbis across the country for their wisdom, both on…

  By Zachariah Sippy Feb 28, 2021 | 7 min read
• 
  Opinion

  Yes, that ‘Nurses’ episode hurt. So do the Haredi world’s systemic problems.

  When I was a kid, on Purim, several of my classmates from Belz Yeshiva in Borough Park and I would buy matching costumes, borrow a family member’s boombox and hire a car-service driver to take us from street to street in well-to-do Jewish areas of Brooklyn. We would hop out of the car, knock on…

  By Naftuli Moster Feb 26, 2021 | 4 min read
• 
  Opinion

  Open letter to Andrew Yang: You’ve got yeshivas all wrong

  Dear Mr. Yang, Your recent statement that we “shouldn’t interfere” in the city’s Chasidic yeshiva system constitutes a craven and deeply misguided embrace of a key voting issue for the Haredi community at the expense of thousands of children. At this point, you must know that the vast majority of Chasidic yeshivas in Borough Park,…

  By Jamie Hooper Feb 26, 2021 | 3 min read