Opinion

• Opinion

  My biracial family is on the ballot this November. I know who we’re voting for.

  This Wednesday, like millions of Americans, my family will sit down together to watch the Vice Presidential Debate. My husband and I will curl up on the couch and pour cocktails and take turns shushing each other not to wake our preschool-aged daughter, who will inevitably wind up in my lap. My family is much…

  By Carly Pildis

  3 min read
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  Opinion

  All education is political. Jewish education should be, too.

  All education is political — and so it should be. For some readers, this statement will not feel new. But I imagine for others, it might be rather startling. But consider at their very basic level, education systems are established and supported by governmental entities in order to perpetuate the society in which they are…

  By David Bryfman Oct 6, 2020 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  A candidate abused women. Why did lefty journalists defend him?

  A recent political story out of Kansas pitted progressive, socialist values against the treatment of women in a way that revealed that for all too many, women are not a central part of their progressivism. The story centers on Aaron Coleman, a 20-year-old Jewish student who became the Democratic nominee for a state House seat…

  By Mia Brett Oct 6, 2020 | 4 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

  Orthodox Jews must listen to the politicians. Jewish law commands it.

  In an iconic remark attributed to him, Jesus famously said, “Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s.” (Matthew 22:21) Jesus was avoiding a trap set by the Pharisees seeking to persuade Pilate that Jesus opposed Caesar’s imposition of taxes. With his clever retort, Jesus effectively denied…

  By Joel Cohen Oct 6, 2020 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Yes, there’s an Orthodox COVID uptick. De Blasio and Cuomo are making it worse.

  Orthodox communities in New York and New Jersey are in the midst of a COVID uptick. That much is undeniable. But what is also undeniable is that New York Mayor Bill de Blasio and Gov. Andrew Cuomo are botching the response, singling out Jews for the convenience and pleasure of antisemites. These are politicians with…

  By Eli Steinberg Oct 5, 2020 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  American Jews are more politically engaged than ever

  Throughout this chaotic election cycle, President Trump has frequently aired his personal suspicions about voter fraud. From his tweets to his comments during the first presidential debate, the President has repeatedly harped on this point, leading some to suggest that this is part of a greater effort to undermine Americans’ trust in their electoral system….

  By Samuel J. Abrams Oct 5, 2020 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  So someone you hate is sick. What Jewish tradition says about praying for them.

  So, you found out someone whom you detest is sick. Maybe it’s a political opponent. Maybe it is someone who you think is downright evil. Maybe they’re sick with COVID-19 or maybe it’s the flu. Or maybe it was just some bad sushi. Regardless of who is sick or what they’re sick with, if it’s…

  By David Bashevkin Oct 2, 2020 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  On the first night of Sukkot, ‘rain feels very 2020’ — and your weekend reads

  This is an adaptation of The Forward’s weekly Shabbat newsletter. To get the Forward’s free email newsletters in your inbox, click here. And click here for a PDF of the following stories that you can download and print to savor over the weekend. It was another surreal morning. Breakfast was tie-dye waffles with a side…

  By Jodi Rudoren Oct 2, 2020 | 3 min read
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  Letters

  Letter | A Public Thank You to Rabbi Angela Buchdahl, or The Losses We Sustain When We Think of Jewishness as a Race

  I am grateful to Rabbi Angela Buchdahl for her recent Yom Kippur sermon, which touched on the intersectionality of race, ethnicity and religion, and turned on its head the old notion that Jewishness is a race. Instead, Rabbi Buchdahl explained, we should take the more expansive view of Jewishness not as a race, but as…

  By Jodi Bromberg Oct 2, 2020 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Why did the Orthodox relax COVID restrictions? Our hopeless optimism

  Despite a common stereotype of Jews as worrisome or depressed, at heart we of the tribe are really inveterate optimists. That’s why we’re always barking up utopia trees (though many of the “progressive” isms we’ve embraced over the centuries turned out to be disappointments). I think that our inherent optimism may figure into why parts…

  Oct 2, 2020 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  Dear Chrissy Teigen: Thank you for sharing your loss, for all of us who have been there

  Dear Chrissy, As a mom who has experienced pregnancy loss, thank you. Thank you for publicly sharing the heartbreak that so many of us have experienced in one form or another. I hope that in the past few days, as you grieved, you also felt the warm embrace of your community, which I’m sure includes…

  By Sandy Myers Grawert Oct 2, 2020 | 2 min read