Opinion

• Opinion

  Should Israel be Jewish or democratic? Trump has divided American Jews

  We are now a week out from what may be the most consequential U.S. presidential election in a generation. The election will be especially significant for American Jewry, who like all Americans are divided on President Trump. There has been an alarming rise in antisemitism on Trump’s watch. But it’s the president’s record on Israel…

  By Susie Gelman

  4 min read
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  Opinion

  Not all Jews of color are Democrats

  We’re told every day that this is the most important election of our lifetime. The headlines filling our social media timelines with the message “Vote!” often don’t bother to specify for whom, though it’s clear enough. They don’t have to fill in the blanks: that Donald Trump poses a unique threat to America, especially to…

  By Monique Wallace Oct 28, 2020 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  We can’t give up on Trump voters. They’re family – in my case, literally.

  I recently shared a (socially distanced) meal on a Jewish holiday with an Orthodox rabbi I know and his family. The subject of President Trump came up, and I shared the perspective of an Israeli diplomat who felt that for all the hype, the Trump administration has been bad for Israel. The rabbi, a brilliant,…

  By Shanie Reichman Oct 27, 2020 | 5 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

• 
  Opinion

  God is in the voting booth

  I remember as a young child how my parents would take me with them into the voting booth to teach me not just how all the levers worked, but how democracy worked. For Jews of an earlier America, voting was a sacred privilege. Our immigrant forebears would dress for the polling place as though for…

  By Rabbi Joshua Davidson Oct 27, 2020 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  What the Talmud can teach Amy Coney Barrett about ‘Originalism’

  During the course of her confirmation hearing for the Supreme Court seat left open by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death, Amy Coney Barrett was often asked about her judicial philosophy, which she summed up over and over as “Originalism.” It’s a view of the law which was favored by Judge Barrett’s mentor, Supreme Court Justice…

  By William Kolbrener Oct 26, 2020 | 4 min read
• Letters

  ‘Anonymous’ yeshiva scofflaw should not have been published

  To the editor: My morning started out very badly. I hadn’t slept well, and rose early for my first Zoom appointment of the day. As I gulped down my coffee, the day immediately became much worse. I opened my laptop to the Forward and read, “Why I am Risking a $15,000 fine by hosting a…

  By Nechama Liss-Levinson Oct 26, 2020 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  I worked for Joe Biden. Here’s what he really thinks about Israel.

  If there’s one thing I’ve come to know about Vice President Joe Biden from working for him, it’s that he wears his heart on his sleeve. I was Biden’s personal assistant from 1986-87, during which time I learned that he says what he means, and he brings his life’s experiences with him, whether tragedy or…

  By Sam Lauter Oct 26, 2020 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Amy Coney Barrett reminds me of all the Haredi mothers I admire

  On Monday night the Senate will wrap up the confirmation of Judge Amy Coney Barrett, who will be voted in to replace Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court. It’s a good time to pause and recognize something astonishing about the confirmation proceedings: For a time as politically riven as ours, Judge Barrett’s confirmation…

  By Eli Steinberg Oct 26, 2020 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  About double standards, antisemitism, and Israel

  Was there a double standard in the controversy at the University of Southern California that led to the resignation of a Jewish student leader, Rose Ritch, after a spate of online harassment targeting her as a Zionist? Bari Weiss, who publicly resigned as a New York Times Opinion writer and editor this summer, was just…

  By Jonathan Jacoby and Diane H. Winston Oct 24, 2020 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  California ballot initiative to restore affirmative action is unnecessary and dangerous

  There are few issues that have inflamed relations between Blacks and white Jews more than affirmative action. As Californians vote — yet again — on whether to allow the use of racial and ethnic preferences to guide admissions to its vaunted public university system, we are in danger of over-rotating and further dividing groups that…

  By David A. Lehrer Oct 23, 2020 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  What Saeb Erekat taught me about the peace process

  Editor’s note: Saeb Erekat died on Nov. 10, 2020, after contracting Covid-19. This article was originally published while he was in the hospital, on Oct. 23. 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….

  By Jodi Rudoren Oct 23, 2020 | 5 min read