Opinion

• 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…

  By Bethany Mandel

  4 min read
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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…

  By Ari Hoffman Mar 6, 2021 | 4 min read
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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…

  By Jodi Rudoren Mar 5, 2021 | 6 min read

Columnists View All

• Alyssa Katz What I learned at a Holocaust survivors’ Purim party

  

• Rob Eshman Gavin Newsom isn’t waffling on Israel — he’s voicing sensible ideas in an era of outrage

  

• Dan Perry The moral degradation of Israel’s far-right is even worse than you think

  

• Emily Tamkin We must rewrite the rulebook for fighting antisemitism — or conspiracists like Joe Kent will win the narrative wars

  

• Jay Michaelson Antisemitism is exploding on the right but the Jewish establishment is focused on the left

  

The Latest

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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…

  By Eli Steinberg Mar 4, 2021 | 4 min read
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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…

  By Seth Farber Mar 3, 2021 | 4 min read
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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…

  By Anat Hoffman Mar 3, 2021 | 3 min read
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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…

  By Edmund Case Mar 3, 2021 | 3 min read
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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…

  By Bethany Mandel Mar 2, 2021 | 3 min read
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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…

  By Barry Leff Mar 1, 2021 | 5 min read
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  Opinion

  Controversies about Jews and white supremacy are erasing Jews of color

  In December, the Forward published an article about my most recent book, “Black Power, Jewish Politics,” with a headline that mentioned Jews in connection with white supremacy. With those two words — “white supremacy” — the internet lit up. The article received over 100 critical comments. The Forward published an op-ed pushing back on the…

  By Marc Dollinger Feb 28, 2021 | 3 min read
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  Letters

  Letter | Ahoy Vey from Annapolis

  Dear Editor, A recent internet fascination with sea shanties must have prompted the Forward editors to concoct a Jewish connection. “Once Upon A Time, Jewish Pirates Ruled the Sea” says the headline. Well, shiver me timbers! Or is it sit shiva and timber? Or should I say Ahoy Vey? This is just the latest shot…

  By Paul Foer Feb 28, 2021 | 3 min read