Opinion

• Opinion

  Investigate de Blasio for reprehensible yeshiva ‘deal’

  This week, publicly released emails from Mayor Bill de Blasio’s office revealed that City Hall interfered in the city Department of Education’s investigation into whether several dozen Hasidic and ultra-Orthodox yeshivas were providing at least the minimum standard of education required by law. According to the emails, first reported on by the New York Post,…

  By Victor Kovner

  2 min read
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  Opinion

  What will the rabbinate look like after COVID?

  In many ways, rabbis serve as the first spiritual responders for Jewish communities; we are often the first place people turn in moments of crisis. As the leader of the organization that represents Reform rabbis worldwide, I’ve seen firsthand the key role rabbis have played in leading Jewish communities nationwide as they adjust to radically…

  By Hara Person May 13, 2020 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Letter | Don’t let COVID prevent you from crucial genetic testing

  Dear Editor, Hawkin Miller’s recent article “Do Jewish genetic diseases increase the risk of COVID-19?” brought back memories of my work as a genetic counselor and care coordinator for patients with Gaucher and other diseases common in Jewish communities. Many people with underlying health conditions are more susceptible to infectious diseases and complications, and they…

  By Karen Arnovitz Grinzaid May 13, 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 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

  The ADL’s data proves it: The right owns anti-Semitism in America

  These are anxious times to be an American Jew. Of course, every time is an anxious time to be an American Jew. As a New York-born Ashkenazi Jew, chronic anxiety is as much a part of my cultural heritage as bagels and schmear. Trust me, if there isn’t some genuine threat to my safety, my…

  By Joel Swanson May 13, 2020 | 6 min read
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  Opinion

  Blacks and Orthodox Jews are being unfairly targeted. It’s a reminder that we’re in this together.

  There are some aspects of life which are constants, as reliable as the sun rising each morning in the east and setting each evening in the west. Hatred of the other is one such constant. Even during a pandemic, prejudice against my community and racism against the Black community just doesn’t take a break. Of…

  By Eli Steinberg May 12, 2020 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  ADL’s anti-Semitism numbers confirm what we know: Anti-Semitism is contagious

  The battle between the algorithm and the gut is a well told tale, played out in baseball front offices and Davos panels. Do we trust our instinct or the numbers? The premise behind the question is that these two paths lead to different conclusions. The ADL’s just-released Audit of Antisemitic Incidents 2019 is an entirely…

  By Ari Hoffman May 12, 2020 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  ‘He asked if his Rebbi didn’t like him anymore.’ Special needs families are struggling with the pandemic

  Sarah W. has six children. The youngest are three-month-old twins. But they aren’t the most challenging. Three of Sarah’s children were born with hydrocephalus, a condition in which spinal fluid accumulates in the brain, hindering development. It took years for Sarah’s children to learn how to dress themselves and feed themselves. When they are taught…

  By Eliezer Brand May 12, 2020 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Israel quietly helped Gaza fight corona. Israelis approved.

  In late March, the first two people in Gaza Strip were diagnosed with COVID-19. The ongoing humanitarian disaster of Gaza was poised to reach a crescendo. Surprisingly, positive things happened instead. The overcrowded strip of land holds nearly two million people hemmed in by a 13-year old closure imposed by Israel and frequent restrictions on…

  By Dahlia Scheindlin May 11, 2020 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  I live in camp country. Our health services already struggle. Camp this summer could destroy us.

  I live in camp country. We got about six inches of snow last night… yes, in May. My kids regularly get on their bikes with their fishing rods balanced on the handlebars (makes for easy social distancing) and head to one of the 330 lakes in our city limits. They build forts in the greenspace…

  By Emily Caruso Parnell May 11, 2020 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  If you care about religious minorities, join us in opposing Little Sisters of the Poor’s case

  The Supreme Court is currently hearing arguments for a case about religious liberty. Little Sisters of the Poor v. Pennsylvania involves an organization of Catholic nuns seeking an exemption from providing their employees with contraception. Since it is a case that concerns religious liberty, we at Americans United for Separation of Church and State filed…

  By Rachel Laser and Richard Katskee May 11, 2020 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  We’ve debated ourselves into irrelevance over liberalism and Zionism

  There are two versions of the story we tell ourselves about the increasingly curdled romance between a sizeable chunk of American Jews and the Jewish State. If you’re on the left, you probably believe that somewhere along the way, Zionism lost its liberalism. If you’re on the right, you probably believe the opposite, that liberalism…

  By Ari Hoffman May 11, 2020 | 11 min read