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
We’re Orthodox IDF veterans. We’re voting Biden because Trump has endangered Israel.
We are proud Orthodox Israeli-Americans, alumni of Israeli education institutions and former IDF soldiers. We are both voting for Joe Biden in the upcoming elections. We realize that we are an anomaly in our milieu. In fact, we understand why many fellow Israel supporters are drawn to Trump, thanks to achievements like moving the U.S….
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Opinion Debate | Is Trump good or bad for the Jews?
The U.S. presidential election has divided Jews as it has the whole country. While recent surveys show that some three-quarters of Jewish voters support former Vice President Joe Biden, as they have largely backed Democrats for the last century, a sizable portion of our communities are siding with the incumbent Republican President Donald Trump. With…
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Opinion Stop saying Biden will restore bipartisanship on Israel. There’s no going back.
Last year, the U.S. State Department reversed its decades-old finding that Israeli settlements in territories occupied following the 1967 war were in contravention of international law. In so doing, the Trump administration overturned the consensus view of mainstream international law scholars. Now the administration has moved from word to deed: On Wednesday, Prime Minister Benjamin…
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Opinion For Jews of color, this election is about our right to exist
With early General Election voting already underway in several states, many Americans are heading to the polls. But for me and many Jews of color like me, our very existence as we know it hinges on this election. This isn’t just average political divisiveness for us. Growing up in southeastern Wisconsin during the close and…
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Opinion Should Israel be Jewish or democratic? Trump has divided American Jews
We are now a week out from what may be the most consequential U.S. presidential election in a generation. The election will be especially significant for American Jewry, who like all Americans are divided on President Trump. There has been an alarming rise in antisemitism on Trump’s watch. But it’s the president’s record on Israel…
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Opinion Not all Jews of color are Democrats
We’re told every day that this is the most important election of our lifetime. The headlines filling our social media timelines with the message “Vote!” often don’t bother to specify for whom, though it’s clear enough. They don’t have to fill in the blanks: that Donald Trump poses a unique threat to America, especially to…
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Opinion We can’t give up on Trump voters. They’re family – in my case, literally.
I recently shared a (socially distanced) meal on a Jewish holiday with an Orthodox rabbi I know and his family. The subject of President Trump came up, and I shared the perspective of an Israeli diplomat who felt that for all the hype, the Trump administration has been bad for Israel. The rabbi, a brilliant,…
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Opinion God is in the voting booth
I remember as a young child how my parents would take me with them into the voting booth to teach me not just how all the levers worked, but how democracy worked. For Jews of an earlier America, voting was a sacred privilege. Our immigrant forebears would dress for the polling place as though for…
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Opinion What the Talmud can teach Amy Coney Barrett about ‘Originalism’
During the course of her confirmation hearing for the Supreme Court seat left open by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death, Amy Coney Barrett was often asked about her judicial philosophy, which she summed up over and over as “Originalism.” It’s a view of the law which was favored by Judge Barrett’s mentor, Supreme Court Justice…
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Letters ‘Anonymous’ yeshiva scofflaw should not have been published
To the editor: My morning started out very badly. I hadn’t slept well, and rose early for my first Zoom appointment of the day. As I gulped down my coffee, the day immediately became much worse. I opened my laptop to the Forward and read, “Why I am Risking a $15,000 fine by hosting a…
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Opinion I worked for Joe Biden. Here’s what he really thinks about Israel.
If there’s one thing I’ve come to know about Vice President Joe Biden from working for him, it’s that he wears his heart on his sleeve. I was Biden’s personal assistant from 1986-87, during which time I learned that he says what he means, and he brings his life’s experiences with him, whether tragedy or…
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News What a Mayor Mamdani would mean for New York Jews
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Opinion Mamdani’s victory is an opportunity for Jews to relearn the art of disagreement
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Fast Forward Jewish group shoots back after Candace Owens accuses rabbi of bribing pastors to criticize her
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