Opinion

• Opinion

  COVID exposed America as a failed state. How can I honor the military oath I swore?

  “I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same…_” I spoke these words for the first time in the summer of 1997 when I entered basic training at the United States…

  By Josh Knobel

  4 min read
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  Opinion

  Anne Frank is being called a ‘Becky’. But here’s what that tweet got right

  Last week, a tweet about Anne Frank — the beloved memoirist of “The Diary of Anne Frank” through which most American children learn about the Holocaust — went viral. The tweet referred to Anne Frank as a “Becky” and lamented the lack of education in America about genocides besides the Holocaust. A “Becky” is a…

  By Alex Zeldin May 4, 2020 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Eulogy | ‘He was always chopping vegetables:’ Remembering Fred Pressman

  Fred Pressman was a giant in the Jewish world. A giant you probably never heard of. He didn’t hold power positions in major organizations, didn’t donate millions of dollars to causes. He was a giant wisp of a man, an aging hippie in saggy jeans with a stringy gray ponytail under a Bukharan kippah, a…

  By Jodi Rudoren May 3, 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

  America’s Jewish institutions were failing. Coronavirus hastened their demise.

  Borrowing from Tolstoy, one might say that every economic boomtime is alike in its happiness, while every economic crisis is unique in the misery it brings. And the particular economic crisis facing the United States in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, which economists fear could culminate in the worst economic downturn since the Great…

  By Joel Swanson May 2, 2020 | 6 min read
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  Opinion

  We canceled camp. We’re crying, too.

  I let myself cry today. For weeks during the shelter in place, I’ve been emotionally stuck in turmoil. You see, I’m an overnight Jewish camp director. This was to be my eighth summer on staff at Camp Newman and my 16th overall at Jewish camp. On May 31, we were to begin training staff for…

  By Allie Fischman Apr 30, 2020 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  What’s Birthright doing during the pandemic? Glad you asked!

  Twenty years ago, Birthright Israel was just a dream. Its goal was to combat the danger of a declining Jewish future and its founders hoped that if we could simply bring young diaspora Jews to Israel — to let them see and feel the land — that those young men and women would fall in…

  By Gidi Mark Apr 30, 2020 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Letter | My brother died alone. Why are hundreds attending these funerals?

  Dear Editor, I am a committed Jew. My brother died last week and was buried virtually alone due to regulations about crowds and social isolation. It made me very sad. Now, we read that in certain areas of the Orthodox community, rules of social isolation are ignored and people are going to home minyans or…

  By Mel Young Apr 30, 2020 | < 1 min read
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  Opinion

  De Blasio is the wrong messenger, but has a point: All Jews are responsible for each other.

  Never tweet angry. It’s a trite commandment, but like many clichés, it sounds a universal truth. Mayor Bill de Blasio violated it last night, when he infamously proclaimed, “My message to the Jewish community, and all communities, is this simple: the time for warnings has passed.” My message to the Jewish community, and all communities,…

  By Ari Hoffman Apr 29, 2020 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Mayor de Blasio’s outburst endangers my community

  On Tuesday night, there was a funeral for a Hasidic leader in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Unfortunately, throngs of people attended this funeral. They didn’t adhere to social distancing guidelines, although most in the crowd did wear facemasks. The gathering drew widespread criticism, including from many in our community, and deservedly so. Nobody is exempt from these…

  By Eliezer Brand Apr 29, 2020 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  De Blasio is stoking anti-Semitism. He’s not alone.

  Read this article in Yiddish On Tuesday night, Mayor Bill de Blasio declared war on New York’s Jewish community. The very same mayor who went to the gym the day after closing New York City’s schools, restaurants, and bars and who took a stroll in Prospect Park on Saturday, as news was breaking that 28…

  By Batya Ungar-Sargon Apr 29, 2020 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Debate | Should American Jews celebrate Yom Ha’atzmaut?

  Columnists Ari Hoffman and Joel Swanson discuss.

  By Ari Hoffman and Joel Swanson Apr 29, 2020 | 10 min read