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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Letters
Letter | For converts to have a voice, the Knesset must be reformed
To the editors: Rabbi Seth Farber was absolutely correct when he said that “To Israel, converts are still just a political football.” Israel was certainly aware, even before Jews were allowed to leave the Soviet Union in significant numbers, that many of the people entering Israel, completely legitimately under the Law of Return, were not…
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Opinion Yes, Israel should vaccinate all Palestinians. Here’s why.
Editor’s Note: Israel’s vaccination program for its citizens and residents does not discriminate based on ethnicity; Arab-Israelis and Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem are eligible along with Jews, as we reported in this Feb. 16 article, There is debate over Israel’s responsibility to vaccinate Palestinians under the Geneva Convention and the Oslo Accords, as we…
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Opinion A year into COVID, we must send kids back to shul
On the first night of Hanukkah, I went to downtown D.C. to witness the menorah lighting on the National Mall with my four kids. I’ve never been one for such Jewish spectacles. I’ve never even been much of a synagogue-goer. But I’ve long known that when it comes to building their Jewish identity, my kids…
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Opinion Catching a glimpse of the Jewish future — on Clubhouse
Jews have been talking for approximately 3,000 years. Despite having been written down for more than a millenia, we still call half of the commandments the “Oral Law,” remembering the days when they were shouted and whispered. For a while, this focus on the spoken word seemed out of style in the visual wonderland of…
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Opinion Confessions of a lockdown addict: I don’t want to go back to the old “normal”
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. Truth time: I don’t want to…
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Opinion How to get some Haredi children to stop wearing blackface on Purim
Six months ago, in a September interview with The New York Times, Chris Rock was asked about the effort then underway to expunge all uses of blackface in TV and movies. Specifically, the interviewer wanted to know whether Rock thought society was taking things too far. “If I say they are, then I’m the worst…
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Opinion To Israel, converts are still just a political football
This week, Israeli converts to Judaism found themselves once more caught in a political power struggle between Israel’s religious right and left. After 15 years of waiting for the Knesset to find a legislative solution to Israel’s conversion crisis, the Supreme Court dropped a legal bombshell by issuing a verdict requiring Israel’s Interior Ministry to…
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Opinion With conversion decision, Israel moves one step closer to being genuinely inclusive
It is the rainy season in Israel, so I have been thinking about umbrellas. It is tempting to make a benign, even cozy, metaphor, imagining Israel as a protective force shielding us from threatening storms, and a means of uniting us as we huddle together to stay warm and dry. I wish I could give…
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Opinion To truly welcome Jews of color, seminaries must ordain intermarried rabbis
In December 2019, Rabbi Rick Jacobs called on the Reform movement to “dig deeper into social justice activism through the Religious Action Center to address racism in our broader society,” and to “commit to our sacred equity, diversity and inclusion work.” “I cannot imagine our movement without all the voices, hearts and minds of our…
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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…
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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…
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