Opinion

• Opinion

  I’m a professor of human rights. My students taught me the danger posed by Trump.

  My father, a Holocaust survivor and Hungarian refugee, knew oppression when he saw it, and were he alive, he would surely have joined the majority of Jews in voting for Joe Biden during this election. But it is actually the experiences of my current students that have demonstrated to me the gravest dangers of our…

  By Susan Banki

  3 min read
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  Opinion

  In 2016, I couldn’t imagine voting for Trump. In 2020, he has my vote.

  Four years ago, I couldn’t imagine voting for Donald Trump. Though my politics were always more conservative on social and fiscal issues, pulling the lever for Trump was unimaginable. While all politicians are flawed and many tend to bend the truth, Trump was unique in his blatant disregard for honesty. So you will not be…

  By Eliezer Brand Nov 2, 2020 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Call it by its name: The lesson for US Jews from the UK antisemitism debacle

  American Jews have a lot to learn from their British relatives. As the UK Labour Party antisemitism scandal came to a close this week, the lesson from across the pond was clear: If Jews call antisemitism by its name, others will follow their lead. If they do not, Jews will be left behind. History helps…

  By Ari Hoffman Oct 30, 2020 | 3 min read

Columnists View All

• Jodi Rudoren This is my last column as editor of the Forward

  

• Jay Michaelson American Jews were played — now what?

  

• Rob Eshman There’s a shocking new report on civilian deaths in Gaza. If only it were accurate.

  

• Nora Berman Is Netflix’s new show the most Jewish cartoon ever?

  

• Dan Perry Israel’s new gift to the far right could help end the Gaza war

  

• Emily Tamkin Entering motherhood — and an obsession with the works of an Italian Jewish literary hero

  

The Latest

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  Opinion

  We need to take back our Judaism and save our democracy

  The Jewish people are an ideological people. The Jewish State is an ideological state. For as long as the State of Israel aspires to be a Jewish and democratic state, those who control the Judaism will control the democracy. This is not a religious statement. This is a political statement. Yitzhak Rabin, who devoted his…

  By Terry Newman Oct 30, 2020 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  Voting is important, but it’s far from the most important thing you can do today.

  In the days leading up to the 2020 presidential election, social media is saturated with articles imploring us to vote. Jewish social media is not different; my feeds are awash in articles and posts telling me what Judaism says about voting, or even about who to vote for. “It is time for Jews to wake…

  By Eliezer Zalmanov Oct 30, 2020 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Why haredi rabbis, famous for their pragmatism, just backed a losing candidate

  On Sunday, with just over a week to go until the 2020 election, rabbinic leaders of American haredi Judaism made clear that they want to see four more years of President Donald Trump. In an open letter addressed to Trump, thirteen leading rabbis commended the president for his defense of “religious liberty” and for designating…

  By Judah Isseroff Oct 29, 2020 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  This election summed up in 2 numbers — 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. Who knew democracy would require this much math? As the hours tick down…

  By Jodi Rudoren Oct 29, 2020 | 5 min read
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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….

  By Meir Brooks and Oz Ben-Ami Oct 29, 2020 | 4 min read
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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…

  By Eli Steinberg and Joel Swanson Oct 28, 2020 | 9 min read
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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…

  By Abe Silberstein Oct 28, 2020 | 3 min read
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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…

  By Aaron Mitchell Finegold Oct 28, 2020 | 3 min read