In the Forward’s opinion section, you’ll find analysis and essays from diverse corners of the Jewish world.
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Opinion
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Opinion
It’s not Black Lives Matter’s job to make you feel comfortable about Israel
Four years ago, the Movement for Black Lives, the umbrella group that Black Lives Matter is a part of, endorsed a boycott of Israel on the ground that it was committing “genocide” against the Palestinians. It led to a crisis for many Jews anxious to be part of the movement yet distraught by the anti-Israel…
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Opinion Could Israel’s gestures towards Gaza during the pandemic turn into a new policy?
This week marks the 13th anniversary of Hamas’s violent takeover of Gaza. In response to that takeover, Israel established a punishing blockade and a series of sanctions, including cutting power and heavily restricting the movement of individuals and imports and exports. These sanctions have ebbed and flowed, getting stricter during escalations, and loosening up in…
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Opinion I faced anti-Semitism growing up. It pales in comparison to the racism my Black Jewish children face
It’s the 1960’s. There aren’t many Jews on the block where my chaotic post-Holocaust, fear-nurturing Jewish family lives, in this genteel Toronto neighborhood. There are fewer Jews at my primary school where we learn to sing “Jesus Loves Me,” “Onward Christian Soldiers” and “Rule Britannia.” Like zealots, we are taught to belt them out. Too…
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Opinion De Blasio just lost the Orthodox. It was a long time coming.
A very public clash is developing right now between the Haredi community in Brooklyn and Mayor Bill de Blasio. Over the last few days, the Parks Department welded shut the gates of public parks, mainly in neighborhoods populated by Orthodox Jews. Meanwhile, parks in non-Jewish areas have been allowed to remain open, with no police…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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