Opinion

• Opinion

  My fellow white Jews: We can’t sit this one out.

  I want to speak to my fellow white-skinned Jews. You may be among the majority of us who are generally liberal and definitely do not think of yourself as racist. You may be more politically conservative and feel ambivalent about where racial equity fits in your political identity. Or you may be a single-issue voter…

  By Julia Appel

  5 min read
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  Opinion

  Conservative Jews: Do you care about Israel? Then vote Trump out

  We all have our personal metrics for the grimness of these times. Here’s one of mine: I’ve been finding Israeli news soothing. Debates over whether and when to apply sovereignty over Palestinian territories, reports of covert electronic warfare with Iran, whispers of a possible fourth election within the next year. Ah, normalcy. Normalcy has been…

  By David Zenlea Jun 17, 2020 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Racial justice and religious liberty go hand in hand. De Blasio pitted them against each other – and got sued.

  Last week, New York emerged as the new center of ongoing legal conflicts between faith communities and stay-at-home orders. While churches have previously filed religious liberty lawsuits around the country, a new lawsuit — filed by two Catholic Priests and three Orthodox Jews — comes on the heels of heightened tensions over who is and…

  By Michael A. Helfand Jun 16, 2020 | 7 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 Want to understand what’s wrong with the ‘pro-Palestine’ movement? This Palestinian can help

  

• 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

  The lesson of ‘Pride’ on its 50th anniversary: People can change. Let’s use that to protect Black lives.

  The first gay pride march took place in New York 50 years ago on June 28, 1970, with just a few thousand protesters in attendance. It wasn’t the decadent street festival with millions dancing to music that it is today. The first march was a courageous act by LGBTQ people of affirmation and self-declaration against…

  By Peter Fox Jun 16, 2020 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  The Bronx desperately needs aid. Now is not a time for a novice.

  We have a red-hot race going on in the 16th Congressional District, which I call home. Long-time Democratic Congressman Eliot Engel, born and raised in public housing, a former school teacher, and now head of the House Foreign Relations Committee, is facing a primary from Jamaal Bowman, also an educator, and an African-American man who…

  By Jacqueline S. Gold Jun 16, 2020 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  We hoped LGBTQ acceptance in Israel would help Palestinians. We were wrong.

  Though progressive change comes rarely and slowly in Israel, the one area where there is consistent positive change is LGBTQ rights. Pride Month is a good time to reflect on our Israeli Movement’s success and the challenges ahead. The progress in the last twenty years toward equal rights and full acceptance of the LGBT community…

  By Noa Sattath Jun 16, 2020 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Letter | Is Israel really Goliath in this story?

  Dear Editor, Jodi Rudoren’s recent editorial raised an interesting point about when an attack should be classified as terrorism. However, this question barely scratches the surface of the complexities of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. Consider, for instance, the question of asymmetry of the opposing sides. The editorial makes Israel, with its formidable…

  By Toby Block Jun 15, 2020 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  The ‘lost cause’ myth is everywhere in our culture. Now is the time to expose it – for a more just America

  When the Civil War ended, there were no truth and reconciliation commissions formed to process memories, no Nuremberg Trials to enable reflection, no Great Emancipator to free the future from the past — only ghosts, and the ravenous politics of memory. The need for national reckoning was quickly subordinated to the political imperative of reunification,…

  By Peter Birkenhead Jun 15, 2020 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Camp Himmler, Fort Eichmann? How would I, a Jewish soldier, feel if our army bases were named after Nazis

  My mind was anxious as I landed at Frankfurt Airport in October 2004. Nearly 65 years prior, relatives on both sides of my family were either living under Nazi occupation in Eastern Europe or had already perished in the German concentration camps. My family that did survive the Holocaust came to America with nothing but…

  By Steven Katz Jun 15, 2020 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  A moment of reckoning for Jewish voters: Eliot Engel or Jamaal Bowman

  For many of us who grew up as part of the post-World War II American Jewish generation, a commitment to the concerns of the underprivileged was part of our self-definition as Jews. We took great pride in our involvement in the anti-war movement, the civil rights movement, and the war on poverty. Figures like Rabbi…

  By Peter Joseph Jun 15, 2020 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Yes, Black Lives Matter is religious. That’s a good thing.

  No sooner had protesters poured into the streets following the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer than commentators started offering interpretations. One provocative thesis: The Black Lives Matter movement has become a new religion. It was not meant as praise. One writer cringes at the “surrender-worship posture” of one Bethesda, Maryland demonstration…

  By Benjamin Dueholm Jun 15, 2020 | 3 min read