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
The verdict is in: Trump embraces Fascism
In Germany, they call them “Führer Balconies.” The term refers to buildings with prominent balconies high enough to keep the great leader separate and above the lowly masses, but not so high that the gestures of the leader — a man of the people, after all — would be impossible to see. That’s all I…
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Opinion 38 billion reasons to vote for Joe Biden
In these polarizing times, bipartisan support for a strong U.S-Israel relationship is more important than ever. As a Member of Congress representing South Florida from 1997-2010, I appreciate that many voters carefully consider both domestic and foreign policy when making their choice for president. I want to assure these voters that we can count on…
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Opinion Israel pays the price for Netanyahu’s pandemic politics
As New York targets neighborhoods, including those with many Haredi Jews, where COVID-19 outbreaks have spiked, Israelis can only look on with envy. For the past three weeks, the country has been in a nationwide lockdown to contain a world-high infection rate, that is primarily concentrated in Haredi areas. But rather than focus on those…
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Opinion Despite Armenia’s emotional appeals, American and Israeli interests are with Azerbaijan
For another take on how Jews should engage with the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict, click here. The ceasefire announced Friday in Moscow between Armenia and Azerbaijan is already coming under considerable stress. But even if it holds up, it is hard to see this long-frozen conflict over the Nagorno-Karabakh region going back into hibernation. An assertive Turkey,…
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Opinion What the current crisis shows about Haredi leadership and politics
The protests against COVID-19 restrictions by Haredi Jews in Brooklyn last week, which included burning masks and an attack on a Haredi journalist, were shocking. They seemed to represent a blatant defiance of public-health norms and plain old common sense. And they mark a new stage in the evolution of the Haredi community in the…
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Opinion Message from an Israeli Jew: Please don’t re-elect Trump
I have a simple message for Americans: Please don’t reelect Donald Trump. But first, an apology: I am not an American. I am an Israeli, a Jew, a Zionist, a father and a grandfather. In my twenties, I spent six years in the U.S., studying, teaching and working, but I was born and grew up…
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Opinion Do not let Gretchen Whitmer become the next Rabin
On Nov. 4, we will commemorate the 25th anniversary of the tragic assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. Rabin’s transformation from hard-nosed military leader to peacemaking premier culminated first in the Oslo Peace Accords — and then in his own demise. That the historic effort to end the conflict between Israeli Jews and Palestinians…
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Opinion What smoked fish and Haredi Jews don’t have in common — and your weekend reads
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 to download and print a PDF of Your Weekend Reads. Shortly after I first moved to New York City in 1998, my dad…
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Opinion Protip for journalists covering Haredi protests: Your job is not to judge but to understand us.
The images and videos coming out of Brooklyn this week of Haredi Jews protesting new Covid strictures are striking: Streets crowded with protesters, fires set in the middle of the street, loud chanting and jeering at those in “power,” journalists driven from the street. This was hardly the first time New York has seen something…
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Opinion What Trump can teach us about the Haredi Covid spike – and vice versa
We’ll probably all remember where we were on Friday morning, October 2, when we first learned that Donald Trump had tested positive for Coronavirus. Fewer of us may have noted that on that same day, the virus also struck another leader: Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky. The two figures are more similar than they may initially appear….
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Opinion Jews must stand up for the rights of Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh
A proud people, many the descendants of genocide survivors, occupy a small patch of territory in an unfriendly region. They’re attacked by their neighbors, longtime antagonists, who fire long-range artillery and armed drones. Global powers call for a ceasefire, but otherwise do not intervene. The attacks continue. No, this is not Israel; it is Nagorno-Karabakh,…
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Opinion Zohran Mamdani’s victory proves it: The ‘gotcha’ mode of fighting antisemitism has to go
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News What a Mayor Mamdani would mean for New York Jews
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Fast Forward Mamdani tells Colbert — and a national audience — why NYC Jews shouldn’t fear him as mayor
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Opinion Mamdani’s victory is an opportunity for Jews to relearn the art of disagreement
In Case You Missed It
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Music Anyone who tells you that you shouldn’t meet your heroes never met Jill Sobule
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Opinion Can we say Donald Trump’s Middle East nuclear strategy is dangerous — if it isn’t even a strategy?
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Opinion ‘Israel is seen as violent’ — and Israeli chefs, once global culinary icons, are feeling the heat
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Culture As Mel Brooks turns 99, his wisdom matters more than ever
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