Opinion

• Opinion

  America’s Holocaust museums should mobilize for racial truth and reconciliation

  When I was 19 years old, the small Holocaust museum in my hometown of Terre Haute, Indiana was firebombed. The arsonist spray-painted on the brick exterior the words “Remember Timmy McVeigh” — an homage to the perpetrator of the deadliest domestic terrorist attack in U.S. history. That museum was rebuilt, and a few years later…

  By Kiel Majewski

  3 min read
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  Opinion

  When Kamala Came for Shabbat Dinner

  They walked in like so many other Shabbat guests who we’ve had the pleasure of hosting. Our home in Jerusalem before Corona was always buzzing with great Shabbat conversations, our table more often than not surrounded by local friends, African dignitaries, and American politicians. While we’ve hosted many Members of Congress, Kamala Harris was our…

  By Yosef I. Abramowitz Aug 12, 2020 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  For me, Kamala Harris is the hope that America will love my mixed race family

  My daughter and I are dancing. We are screaming. We are full of joy. I am throwing my daughter in the air as she laughs hysterically and chants “KAMALA!!! KAMALA!!!” My husband comes in, bemused by the scene. What in this bleak summer of pandemic panic and canceled plans could spark such a burst of…

  By Carly Pildis Aug 12, 2020 | 3 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

  Debate | Who is the future of the Democratic Party and what does it mean for Jews?

  On Tuesday evening, Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden announced his pick for vice president: California Senator Kamala Harris. While that was going on, Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar was in the process of winning her primary. The two women pose starkly different versions of the Democratic Party, especially when it comes to Israel. Harris is a…

  By Ari Hoffman and Joel Swanson Aug 12, 2020 | 13 min read
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  Opinion

  After Charlottesville, Black and Jewish Americans can’t afford to let our differences divide us

  America feels like a country on the brink. We have been sickened by a global pandemic, shaken by waves of protests and suffocated by political paralysis. But as we pause to recall the anniversary of the “Unite the Right” white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, hate could be the most damaging condition affecting our country. A…

  By Jonathan Greenblatt and Nick Cannon Aug 11, 2020 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  The hypocrisy of fat shaming Nazis

  Since I am a prominent Jewish woman on the internet, I have obviously received my fair share of ant-Semitic and sexist harassment. And much of that harassment has been focused on my looks. I apparently have a Jewish nose, frizzy Jew hair, and “Khazer milkers” (my breasts). These white supremacists claim they can tell I’m…

  By Mia Brett Aug 11, 2020 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Amar’e Stoudemire is sparking joy for Haredi Jews like me

  In a world that continues to produce social media celebrities and superstars at a dizzying pace, it’s hard for me to bring myself to get excited about anyone’s social media posts. Increasingly, social media has become a toxic sphere, filled with self-centered shallowness and one-upmanship, with extraordinarily little else. I can always pass on that….

  By Eli Steinberg Aug 10, 2020 | 5 min read
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  Opinion

  For Biden to be truly pro-Israel, he’ll have to do more than just refute Trumpism.

  The unveiling of the 2020 Democratic Party platform raises the question of what approach the Democratic Party’s presidential candidate, former Vice President Joe Biden, will take to foreign policy in general, and towards Israel in particular should he win the election. A Biden presidency promises positive change for the world and Israel, but will it…

  By Nadav Tamir Aug 10, 2020 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Israel’s protests are an opportunity for American Jews to fall back in love with the Zionist dream

  Jewish history is once again happening in Jerusalem. Saturday night saw tens of thousands of Israelis in front of the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Residence and all over the world expressing anger at a range of sources: Netanyahu’s endless tenure, his web of corruption, and a Covid response that started strong but has since buckled…

  By Ari Hoffman Aug 10, 2020 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  A USC student was told her Zionism ‘made her complicit in racism’

  The University of Southern California, where I work, is embroiled in a student government controversy — and its implications could reverberate far beyond our campus. It began when Truman Fritz, the former president of the undergraduate student body, stepped down in early July after being accused of racial microaggressions. Now, comments made during the push…

  By Stephen D. Smith Aug 6, 2020 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  What victories for BDS in Congress means for American Jews

  It’s hard to know when the wave began, but there can be no doubt that it’s gaining strength. In a series of primaries across the nation, progressive challengers have succeeded in ousting incumbents in Democratic primaries. These incumbents have included some of the most pro-Israel stalwarts in government. Their ouster suggests a much bigger story:…

  By Ari Hoffman Aug 5, 2020 | 3 min read