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
I’m glad Jonathan Pollard is moving to Israel. He doesn’t belong here.
Growing up in the fairly right-wing Orthodox community of Midwood, Brooklyn, during the immediate post-9/11 era, there were a number of active political causes that did not sound quite right to my young self. Through that potent combination of intellectual curiosity and adolescent rebellion, I began to define myself as a liberal, a rather dirty…
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Opinion Why Jews especially should be terrified by Trump’s refusal to concede
Almost two weeks after the 2020 election, President Trump has not conceded that he lost to President-elect Joe Biden. Legal challenges to the final tally have collapsed in outcomes ranging from frivolity to farce, and the President’s conspiracy theories have grown alongside Biden’s lead in both the popular vote and Electoral College. As Rudy Giuliani’s…
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Opinion To reestablish trust in America, Biden must start with Israel.
On Thursday, the US State Department announced that it will allow products made in Area C of the West Bank — the section of the territory which is entirely governed by Israel under the interim Oslo Accords — to be labeled “Made in Israel” upon entry to the United States. The State Department said the…
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Opinion Trump united Muslims and Jews. We must build on that to prevent another Trump.
Donald Trump is truly a uniter — unintentionally, that is. During his presidency, he brought Jews and Muslims together to stand up to bigotry directed against both communities and to vote against him by bigger margins than any other American faith groups. With Trump leaving office in January, these alliances must continue to strengthen, so…
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Opinion President-elect Biden: As former Israeli ambassador, my advice to you is to pursue Extreme Centrism.
Dear President-elect Biden, Congratulations, or as Barbara Emhoff, the incoming Second Mother-in-Law would say, Mazel Tov! You conducted a tough and dignified battle and won. I wish you great success from Israel as the 46th President of the United States. The ultimate Jewish leader was Moses. He faced a daunting challenge: to liberate the Hebrews…
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Opinion UK Labour’s Corbyn debacle is a blueprint for mainstreaming antisemitism
Late last month, British Jews were vindicated after facing years of abuse for calling out antisemitism in Jeremy Corbyn’s U.K. Labour Party. An independent human rights watchdog, the Equality and Human Rights Commission, published a report which found “unlawful harassment” including “using antisemitic tropes and suggesting that complaints of antisemitism were fake or smears.” Corbyn…
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Opinion Effi Eitam leading Yad Vashem disgraces the memory of the 6 million
What if an American university appointed a known, vocal racist with no academic training in the field to head its Holocaust Studies program? Surely an outcry would occur. Many would decry the defamation of the memory of the 6 million, and the contempt for the integrity of scholarship such an appointment would signify. That outcry…
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Opinion What does the Torah say about refusing to concede? A lot.
As of this writing, President Donald Trump has yet to concede the Presidential election, despite having decisively lost the Electoral College as well as the popular vote. Instead of conceding, the president has filed numerous lawsuits in battleground states while vociferously alleging widespread voter fraud on Twitter, claims that, with a tiny number of exceptions,…
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Opinion A CNN host apologized for comparing Trump to Nazis. But are there legitimate analogies?
On Monday night, CNN anchor Christiane Amanpour apologized for comparing President Trump to the Nazis. A week earlier, on the 82nd anniversary of Kristallnacht, Amanpour had compared Trump’s continuous assault on truth with the Nazi atrocities, triggering a storm of outrage from Jewish institutions worldwide. CNN anchor Christiane Amanpour invokes the murderous Nazi reign of…
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Opinion I work with bereaved Israelis and Palestinians. Here’s what I’ve learned about toxic polarization.
We had barely finished exhaling our collective sigh of election victory relief when it seemed like our shouts of joy turned into shock and disbelief that 70 million people could have voted for President Trump. How could they? Many voiced their certainty that those 70 million voters must lack values, humanity and decency. In a…
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Opinion The Trump/Bibi alliance is over. America went for Biden, but Israelis are moving right.
Many of the U.S.’s foreign allies have publicly acknowledged President-Elect Biden. But the Israeli Prime Minister and his governing coalition have yet to use the term “President” in reference to Biden. While Benjamin Netanyahu did congratulate Biden and Vice President Elect Kamala Harris, his social media accounts continue to celebrate Trump and the recent agreements…
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Fast Forward Hegseth says ‘no more beardos’ in the military. What about religious exemptions?
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News Hundreds of Northwestern students can’t register for class because they won’t watch an antisemitism training video. Here’s what’s in it.
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News Why was Netanyahu wearing a QR code at the UN, and where did it lead?
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Opinion A Yom Kippur confessional for 2025
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Fast Forward Hamas says it’s ready to release all Israeli hostages but does not offer clear ‘yes’ to Trump’s plan
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Fast Forward In Saudi Arabia, Dave Chappelle jokes that ‘I stand with Israel’ would be his code for censorship
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Opinion Two years after Oct. 7, even Israelis are losing faith in Israel
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Fast Forward Israel to spend up to $4.1 million on Christian PR campaign in western U.S., filings show
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