Opinion

• Opinion

  These are divided times. 4 tips for civil debate on difficult topics.

  This article is part of a new series called “On Persuasion.” We asked thought leaders to consider what persuasion means to them. What works in terms of persuading people? Is it moot in 2020? What is the Jewish value of persuasion? Should we be opening our minds to other points of view, or closing them…

  By Zaid Jilani

  4 min read
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  Opinion

  Tim Scott refuses to call out Trump’s racist behavior — again

  Today, the President once again made a racist statement on Twitter. Tweeting about the only black NASCAR driver, who mistakenly thought a noose was intended as a hate crime against him, Trump then tweeted disapprovingly of NASCAR’s recent decision to ban the Confederate flag. “Flag decision has caused lowest ratings EVER!” He wrote. Has @BubbaWallace…

  By Issac J. Bailey Jul 6, 2020 | 5 min read
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  Opinion

  The right – and wrong – way to handle anti-Semitism on college campus

  At two universities on opposite ends of the country, student government leaders recently found themselves mired in controversy for promoting anti-Semitism online. In June, the student senate president of Florida State University, Ahmad Daraldik, was revealed to have posted hateful messages to his social media accounts, including “#f—kisrael” and “stupid jew thinks he is cool”…

  By Yael Lerman Jul 6, 2020 | 3 min read

Columnists View All

• Alyssa Katz As editor-in-chief, I’m finding my way Forward (and back)

  

• Rob Eshman A two-hour State of the Union with zero vision for Gaza or Iran

  

• Dan Perry You could be imprisoned for praying at the Western Wall — and Bibi isn’t stopping it

  

• Emily Tamkin We’re losing the fight against antisemitism. Here’s how to turn the tide

  

• Jay Michaelson We are talking past one another on Zionism

  

The Latest

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  Opinion

  ‘Only a racist believes in race:’ On Germany’s failed attempt to erase race

  The first time I was asked about my race was when I came to the U.S. as a Ph.D. student in history more than thirty years ago. One of the questions in Columbia University’s application form was about race. I had to think about which box to check. I knew I was neither Black nor…

  By Michael Brenner Jul 5, 2020 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Woodrow Wilson was a hero to Jews. What should we do with his racism?

  The man whom African Americans revile as a villain turns out to have been a hero to the Jewish people

  By Jonathan D. Sarna Jul 2, 2020 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Anti-Israel demonstrations are ruining Black Lives Matter

  It is perhaps less than shocking that this season of our discontent gave way to a Day of Rage, a term used across the Arab world to denote a popular uprising. July 1 was devoted to an expression of Palestinian rage, with demonstrations erupting across the U.S. against “Israeli annexation, racism, and repression.” The date…

  By Ari Hoffman Jul 2, 2020 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  A Supreme Court decision just exposed how liberal Jewish groups abandoned Jewish education

  As is common in church-state cases, the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling earlier this week that religious schools cannot be exempted from government programs which provide aid to other private schools was welcomed by some as a breath of fresh air — and by others as the illest of winds. The decision, Espinoza v. Montana Department…

  Jul 2, 2020 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Annexation and BDS are two sides of the same coin

  This is one of many pieces The Forward is running on annexation. Read another point of view here and here. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu keeps his promises. I made that very point in my September article when Netanyahu first proposed annexing large portions of the West Bank, in the heat of his then tightly…

  By Dean Obeidallah Jul 1, 2020 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Love Israel? Oppose annexation.

  This is one of many pieces The Forward is running on annexation. Read another point of view here and here. In both my professional and personal life, there has never been a time when I have not proudly been a Zionist. My relationship to Israel has been defined by an abiding understanding that to be…

  By David Ellenson Jun 30, 2020 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  What does Jewish tradition say about tearing down statues? It’s complicated.

  We Jews aren’t big statue fans. You know, that second commandment and all: “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image.” I remember back in the 1970s when my father, the beloved rabbi of a Baltimore synagogue that attracted Jews of all backgrounds, received a large, heavy package, a gift from a congregant. He…

  Jun 30, 2020 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  American Jews’ hysteria about annexation has nothing to do with Israel

  This is one of many pieces The Forward is running on annexation. Read another point of view here and here. There are plenty of things to argue about these days. The presidential election is a mere 125 days away, and the country is enmeshed in a series of overlapping crises, fueled by long-simmering resentments and…

  By Ari Hoffman Jun 30, 2020 | 4 min read