Opinion

• Opinion

  Letter | I’m being accused of racism for standing up for Jews

  In the 1960s, I went to Mississippi to register Black voters. It was only natural for me; I had been a regular participant in sit-ins for Black housing rights and protest marches for civil rights. Having grown up in an all-Black neighborhood, I, like many other Jews at the time, thought it was horrifying that…

  By Mort Klein

  3 min read
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  Opinion

  How to celebrate Rosh Hashanah while tormented by the pain of others

  Our people have not avoided tragedy or chaos. Its rabbinic form was birthed in the crucible of the demolished Temple, crushed uprising, and loss of sovereignty. The Romans killed hundreds of thousands of Jews and sold similar numbers into slavery. But it was only the beginning. Our great sage, Moses Maimonides once reflected on the…

  By Joshua Stanton Sep 17, 2020 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  28 million Americans blame Jews for the Holocaust. Our schools are failing.

  Survey results on Holocaust knowledge in America are in, and the findings are terrifying. Not only do they show a shocking level of ignorance, but they reinforce findings about all adults, as well as trends throughout western Europe. And they coincide with a disturbing rise in Neo-Nazi propaganda, antisemitic feelings, and hate crimes against Jews….

  By John A. Tures Sep 17, 2020 | 3 min read

Columnists View All

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

  

• Jay Michaelson Mamdani’s victory is an opportunity for Jews to relearn the art of disagreement

  

• Rob Eshman ‘Israel is seen as violent’ — and Israeli chefs, once global culinary icons, are feeling the heat

  

• Nora Berman Did Netanyahu coerce Trump into attacking Iran? No — but he tried with Obama

  

• Dan Perry Trump wants to control the Israeli judiciary. Uh, good luck

  

• Emily Tamkin Zohran Mamdani’s victory proves it: The ‘gotcha’ mode of fighting antisemitism has to go

  

The Latest

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  Opinion

  Call it what it is: Normalization of men. The women stayed home.

  On Tuesday, on the White House lawn, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain celebrated the signing of the Abraham Accords peace deal between the three countries. The spouses of the U.S. President and the Israeli Prime Minister were the only women participants in the normalization signing ceremony. This is not a coincidence. Women have…

  By Noa Balf Sep 17, 2020 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  We’re calling for ZOA to be kicked out of Boston’s JCRC

  This summer, we have had challenging conversations with our friends, our children, and our synagogue communities about racial injustices in the world. It would have been easy to avoid these conversations. Instead, we chose to engage in difficult discussions about systemic racism, since our friends of color do not have the luxury of opting out….

  By Beth Badik and Rabbi Barbara Penzner Sep 15, 2020 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  I was set to vote for Biden. Then Trump made peace in the Middle East.

  It was supposed to be a simple election. Deep into July, or “month four” on the new COVID-19 calendar, I thought the choice had become clear: This would be a referendum on President Trump’s atrocious handling of a devastating pandemic and a chance for Joe Biden to show that he can return the country to…

  By Michael Weiner Sep 15, 2020 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Care about the future of Judaism? It’s time to start listening to millennials.

  Every Jewish person knows that this is going to be a High Holiday season like no other in recent memory. Most of us won’t be able to attend services in synagogue in person, and many of us won’t even be able to visit our families. We’re all going to become very familiar with all of…

  By Joel Swanson Sep 14, 2020 | 5 min read
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  Opinion

  Stop calling these peace deals ‘historic.’ It’s the Arabs who are waiting for peace.

  In the wake of the recent announcements that the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain would be normalizing relations with Israel, there seemed to be breathless if begrudging coverage of what many called “historic” peace achievements between Israel and the sovereign Arab states who have opposed normalizing relations with Israel. The truth is this opposition has…

  By Daoud Kuttab Sep 14, 2020 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  This year, Rosh Hashanah is a time of mourning

  Yesterday, the sun did not rise in my Bay Area home. My toddler who usually wakes at dawn, slept until 9am and woke up confused, pointing to a dark umber colored sky, obliterated by clouds of smoke from wildfires billowing all over the West Coast. Even the hummingbirds and bees in my backyard were disoriented….

  By Elliot Kukla Sep 14, 2020 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Why Iranian American Jews Love Trump

  As the presidential election draws nearer, American Jews, like all Americans, are making their choice about who to vote for. By and large, American Jews are Democrats. But there are pockets in the community where support for President Trump is not just strong but effusive. My own community, Iranian American Jews, is one such pocket…

  By Philip Mehdipour Sep 14, 2020 | 6 min read
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  Opinion

  Dear Facebook: Please don’t adopt the IHRA definition of antisemitism

  A coordinated public pressure campaign is attempting to induce Facebook to adopt the controversial definition of antisemitism used by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance and to use it to police content published on its platform. On August 7, 128 organizations sent an open letter to Facebook’s Board of Directors, calling on them “to fully adopt…

  By Amos Goldberg Sep 13, 2020 | 3 min read