Opinion

• Opinion

  The silver lining of Israel’s COVID-19 spike

  In recent weeks, Israel has gone from a Coronavirus success story to having the highest rate of infection in the world. In July, after months of successfully keeping cases and mortality rates down, the Israeli government was forced to close many of the country’s venues and businesses indefinitely in an attempt to control the virus’s…

  By Michael Blechman

  4 min read
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  Opinion

  Of course we should care about who rabbis think we should vote for

  Presidential campaigns, especially in the age of President Trump, tend to dominate the conversation. Everyone seems to have an opinion on the election, on who they will – and who everyone else should – be voting for. But there is a specific subset of Jews who are forbidden by popular decree from voicing their opinions…

  By Eli Steinberg Sep 8, 2020 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  The ACLU has lost its way

  On September 2, the District of Columbia suffered a tragedy as an 18-year-old Black American man named Deon Kay was killed in a police shooting. As news spread of his death, protesters took to the streets to demand accountability. Thanks to a new D.C. law, the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) is required to release…

  By Zaid Jilani Sep 8, 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

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  Opinion

  Editorial | ‘Words create worlds:’ Some changes in our style regarding identity

  An announcement

  By Jodi Rudoren Sep 8, 2020 | 5 min read
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  Opinion

  A summer of service — and your weekend reads

  This is an adapted version of our Shabbat newsletter. Sign up here to get future editions delivered to your inbox on Friday afternoons. This was the summer of canceled camp, thwarted travel, internships unwound. The pandemic left so many young people scrambling to fill their days. There were video games and backyard hangs. And there…

  By Jodi Rudoren Sep 4, 2020 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Of course we should cancel terrorists.

  Israel and the United Arab Emirates may have left the Palestinian cause in the dust of their recent peace agreement, but it continues to be championed on college campuses, even with quads and dorm rooms largely empty because of Covod-19. Two recent invitations spotlight the enduring appeal of pro-Palestinian politics for the tweed jacket set,…

  By Ari Hoffman Sep 4, 2020 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  My fellow Jews: Getting rid of Trump is a religious imperative

  In a recent interview covered by several Jewish outlets, Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, Great Britain’s former Chief Rabbi, condemned American rabbis who’ve made untraditional endorsements in the 2020 election. “I’m afraid American Jewry is making a big, big, big mistake,” Sacks said. “You mix religion and politics, you get terrible politics and even worse religion.” Rabbi…

  By Ben Gould Sep 4, 2020 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Jews in the Pacific Northwest are turning on each other

  It’s a Shabbat in the summer of 2020 and the Rabbi has poured shots to toast L’Chaiym like he does every week. As we go around to share our goods news for the week, I begin white knuckling my fist when a guest of the Shabbat group raises a glass in honor of President Trump…

  By Greg Cohen and Pauline Brown Sep 4, 2020 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  I’m Black and Jewish. Stop telling me Black Lives Matter is ‘political’

  Can we talk about race? I am a Black, queer, Jewish woman. Over the course of my life, I have encountered the same racial problem with the leaders of organizations that I have worked or volunteered for, and communities that I am engaged in. That problem is passive complicity, and its sting is especially sharp…

  By Tiziana Friedman Sep 4, 2020 | 5 min read
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  Opinion

  Why it Matters that Kamala Cooks

  The video is less than a minute long but I watch it for over an hour. How much does @KamalaHarris like to cook? She answered my husband’s ? about brining a turkey about 1 min before going on @PoliticsNation from Columbia, SC (after I was on). I recorded her response ‘cause I don’t cook and…

  By Carly Pildis Sep 3, 2020 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Peace with the UAE is fabulous. But Israel’s existential problem is at home.

  Shortly after the El Al jet arrived back from Abu Dhabi at Ben Gurion Airport last Tuesday, bringing the dignitaries and a large chunk of Israel’s press corps home, an Israeli radio channel broadcast a scoop: Israel and the United Arab Emirates will negotiate jointly sending astronauts to outer space. There was great excitement in…

  By Ori Nir Sep 3, 2020 | 3 min read