Opinion

• Opinion

  Editorial | These historical times call for extreme empathy

  More states deploying National Guard troops to quell protests than at any time since the 1968 assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Unemployment rates not seen since the Great Depression. A pandemic more powerful than any since the 1918 flu. We are living in historic times indeed. In all the worst ways. We…

  By Jodi Rudoren

  3 min read
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  Opinion

  The last of his kind: ‘Jewish Arab’ Albert Memmi leaves a vital message about Zionism

  Albert Memmi, the great Tunisian-born French Jewish intellectual, passed away in Paris last Friday at the age of 99. He was arguably the last surviving member of a generation of great mid-20th-century Francophone intellectuals. Sadly, few in the English-speaking world seemed to notice. While major French, German and Hebrew news sources reported on his passing,…

  By Joel Swanson May 29, 2020 | 6 min read
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  Opinion

  Letter | We must attend shul whether or not women are present

  Dear Editor, As an Orthodox rabbi and someone who takes the role of women in prayer extremely seriously, I was dismayed by Rabbi Dov Linzer’s recent article To my fellow Orthodox Jews: Don’t open shuls until you can open them to women, in which Rabbi Linzer contends that Orthodox shuls in New York State should…

  By Avrohom Gordimer May 28, 2020 | 2 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 The challah that changed everything: Tracing Jewish baking back to Poland

  

• Nora Berman The Kennedy Center canceled all its ‘woke’ programming — so why is this Jewish musical OK?

  

• 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

  ‘You must yell, you must accuse, and you must threaten.’ How Larry Kramer changed the gay Orthodox community

  “You must yell, you must accuse, and you must threaten.” — Larry Kramer Dear Larry, The gift of a role model is having someone to see yourself in and through. It allows us to ground our emotional experiences in a communal destiny rather than a personal fate. Every injustice I have encountered, every coward I…

  By Mordechai Levovitz May 28, 2020 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Why Trump, warrior of the faithful, has my vote

  Last Friday, President Donald Trump issued an executive order deeming houses of worship providers of essential services. “Some governors have deemed liquor stores and abortion clinics as essential, but have left out churches and other houses of worship,” the president said, echoing the thoughts of many people of faith throughout the COVID-19 Pandemic. “It’s not…

  By Eli Steinberg May 27, 2020 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  The government is feeding a Hasidic persecution complex

  Imagine you are a Hasidic teenage boy, a yeshiva student. You usually have school all year round, six days a week; your purpose in life is to study Torah, especially before your arranged marriage at the age of 18 or 19 while you are not yet distracted by family and work. From the time you…

  By Frieda Vizel May 27, 2020 | 6 min read
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  Opinion

  To my fellow Orthodox Jews: Don’t open shuls until you can open them to women

  After two months of heavy restrictions on New Yorkers’ comings and goings, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that religious gatherings of up to ten people will now be permitted. My ears, like those of many religious Jews, perked up at the number ten. In Judaism, ten is the minimum number of people required to…

  By Dov Linzer May 26, 2020 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Netanyahu’s defense is a preview of Trump’s

  On Sunday, Benjamin Netanyahu became the first sitting Israeli prime minister to stand trial for alleged crimes committed in office. The charges read to him at the Jerusalem District Courthouse were for bribery, fraud, and breach of trust. The indictments originated in cases involving gifts from wealthy friends in exchange for favors and two harebrained…

  By Abe Silberstein May 26, 2020 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Americans may be distancing, but research shows Jews are more connected than ever

  The COVID-19 pandemic has rapidly and painfully transformed almost all facets of American life. The way we live, work, and connect with others have all been disrupted, in some cases by social distancing, and in others by loss. There is good news, though: New data shows that the coronavirus has not altered the resolve of…

  By Samuel J. Abrams May 26, 2020 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  COVID has exploded Jewish LGBTQ acceptance online. There’s no going back.

  Previous Article Next Article Last week, as part of a growing number of virtual speaking engagements, I had the privilege to give a talk to a few thousand Spanish speaking Jews from Latin America, through a program with Limud Buenos Aires. Among the texts and slides that I shared, I also showed a video of…

  By Abby Stein May 24, 2020 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Transforming the warmth of the Persian community into something new

  Previous Article Next Article As an Iranian Jew, I take pride in the warmth, hospitality, and intense affection and love that is displayed in my community. We greet each other with two kisses and warm hugs. Grandparents do not gently kiss their grandchildren but inhale them with affection, often whispering “gorboonet beram,” — I will…

  By Saba Soomekh May 24, 2020 | 3 min read