Opinion

• Opinion

  What would happen if the U.S. stopped giving aid to Israel?

  Shortly after becoming Prime Minister for the first time in 1996, in a special address to the US Congress, Benjamin Netanyahu said, “there can be no greater tribute to America’s long-standing economic aid to Israel than for us to be able to say: We are going to achieve economic independence. We are going to do…

  By Dany Bahar

  5 min read
• 
  Opinion

  So long Ruvi Rivlin, the last liberal Likudnik

  Over the weekend, as it became clear that Naftali Bennett would move to establish a unity government, ending Benjamin Netanyahu’s 12 year reign, a disturbing image popped up in a WhatsApp group of Likud activists: a black-and-white photo of Bennett in a keffiyeh— a traditionally Arab headscarf— with the words “The Liar” and “Elections Now”…

  By Abe Silberstein Jun 2, 2021 | 3 min read
• 
  Opinion

  Conversion students are asking me if it’s safe to become Jewish. This is what I tell them.

  (JTA) — “Rabbi Adar, is it dangerous to wear my Jewish star?”  In 12 years of teaching “Introduction to the Jewish Experience” through HaMaqom|The Place in the San Francisco Bay Area, no student ever asked me that question in those words. This year three students have asked it of me. The first student who asked…

  By Rabbi Ruth Adar Jun 2, 2021 | 3 min read

Columnists View All

• Alyssa Katz As editor-in-chief, I’m finding my way Forward (and back)

  

• Rob Eshman UpScrolled is a social media haven for unspeakable antisemitism. How does that help Palestinians?

  

• Dan Perry You could be imprisoned for praying at the Western Wall — and Bibi isn’t stopping it

  

• Emily Tamkin In Trump’s instinct to punish and desecrate, a rejection of the values of King David

  

• Jay Michaelson Tragically, ‘genocide’ has become a meaningless word

  

The Latest

• 
  Opinion

  Israel’s new government teaches American Jews two important lessons

  Just days after the rocket launchers have cooled in Israel and Gaza, news broke that after 12 years, the Netanyahu era is just about finished, in the most improbable of ways. The new government, which while not a done deal seems to be more likely than not, seems like it was created via a game…

  By Ari Hoffman Jun 1, 2021 | 3 min read
• 
  Opinion

  Editorial | Changing Israeli prime ministers is not enough

  You don’t have to love Naftali Bennett or Yair Lapid to be happy about their agreement Wednesday to form a new Israeli government that ends the reign of Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister. You don’t have to agree with them about any key issue facing the Jewish state. You don’t have to trust them…

  By Jodi Rudoren May 30, 2021 | 3 min read
• 
  Opinion

  Israel’s proposed coalition agreement offers a rare chance for optimism

  Barring any unusual surprises, of which we have already had a great many, Israel will soon have a new government that few could have imagined a few weeks ago. The proposed coalition between Yair Lapid, a centrist, and Naftali Bennett, a man of the hard right, who will share the premiership through a rotation agreement,…

  By Abe Silberstein May 30, 2021 | 3 min read
• 
  Opinion

  Need a little “Israel Therapy”? Meet Libby Lenkinski, unlicensed professional

  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. One friend called because her…

  By Jodi Rudoren May 28, 2021 | 5 min read
• 
  Opinion

  Marjorie Taylor Greene’s Holocaust tweet was a gift to Democrats

  In today’s political environment, where everyone is either a Nazi or communist — and, as ever, the Jews are unhappily stuck in the middle — it was almost bound to happen. Like so many discarded blue face masks spread across the asphalt of a shopping center parking lot, the gauntlet was thrown down on May…

  By Ron Coleman May 28, 2021 | 3 min read
• 
  Opinion

  Israel’s attacks on Gaza have only made Hamas stronger

  At the end of each round of violence between Israel and Gaza, both Israel and Hamas always insist that they have won. This time around, Israeli politicians have ample footage of Gazan towers and neighborhoods they bombed “back to stone age.” Hamas likewise has footage of its rockets reaching Tel-Aviv and Jerusalem, forcing Israelis into…

  By Muhammad Shehada May 27, 2021 | 4 min read
• 
  Opinion

  We’re witnessing a new wave of antisemitic hate crimes. Here’s how we stop it.

  In May, there’s been a terrifying surge in antisemitic hate crimes across the country. This is not just anecdotal, nor is it just a few isolated but well-publicized incidents in places like Los Angeles and New York. Rather, we have seen a torrent of incidents across the country in both small towns and major urban…

  By Jonathan A. Greenblatt May 26, 2021 | 4 min read
• 
  Opinion

  To get closer to a two-state solution, Biden should make these four diplomatic moves

  On May 25, Secretary of State Antony Blinken landed in Israel to help secure the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and design the economic arrangements with Gaza in the wake of the latest violence. It is also Biden’s first opportunity to open much broader conversations about the future of the Palestinian Authority, assert America’s position…

  By Gidi Grinstein May 25, 2021 | 5 min read