Opinion

• 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

  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

Columnists View All

• Jay Michaelson What can really be done to prevent antisemitic attacks like Bondi Beach?

  

• Rob Eshman Australia shooting terrifies Jews worldwide — and strengthens the case for Israel

  

• Nora Berman Did crypto-Jews invent the modern tarot deck?

  

• Dan Perry An Israeli media mainstay is crumbling. Will liberal democracy go with it?

  

• Emily Tamkin The fundamental miscalculation behind the GOP’s antisemitism crisis

  

The Latest

• 
  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
• 
  Letters

  Letter | Lawsuits over vanilla flavoring are nothing to celebrate

  To the editors, Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, New York again leads the nation in food-labeling lawsuits, thanks in part to the torrent of filings over vanilla flavoring and other food additives. (“The Jewish lawyer fighting against fake vanilla — and for 3-legged squirrels,” Feb. 10.) The Empire State first overtook California as the favored jurisdiction…

  By Tom Stebbins Feb 25, 2021 | < 1 min read
• 
  Opinion

  This Purim, don’t boo Haman

  Purim is back, a year after many of us gathered in person for the last time, with very different masks on. Jewish communities all over are rising to the challenge of a virtual Purim with wonderful expressions of creativity and care, as we continue to struggle with the challenges of COVID-19, as well as with…

  By Amichai Lau-Lavie Feb 25, 2021 | 3 min read
• 
  Opinion

  Let’s tell the whole truth when talking about the antisemitism envoy

  This is an adaptation of our weekly Shabbat newsletter, sent by our editor-in-chief 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 first close encounter with IfNotNow,…

  By Jodi Rudoren Feb 25, 2021 | 5 min read
• 
  Opinion

  What Jewish comedians made of Michael Che’s Israel Joke

  (JTA) — It’s almost Purim, which means I am busy writing jokes that poke fun at the stuff we do and obsess about as Jews without offending too many people. Not always easy, and that’s when I am writing for an audience that I know extremely well. Now imagine writing Jewish jokes outside the bubble….

  By Andrew Silow-Carroll Feb 25, 2021 | 5 min read