Opinion

• Opinion

  ‘Blood Flows Like Water And People Fall Like Flies,’ The Forverts Remembers The Great War

  In April, 1915, as The Great War was raging in Europe, your favorite Yiddish newspaper had 176,125 daily readers, according to the masthead’s circulation figures. The United States had yet to enter the fight, but The Forverts covered it aggressively. And on April 9th, New York-based editors and publishers of foreign language newspapers who differed…

  By Chana Pollack

  7 min read
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  Opinion

  An Unlikely Correspondence: How A German Soldier Sought Forgiveness From A Jewish One

  On December 16, 1944, my great-uncle Lester Bornstein was stationed with his unit, the United States Army 168th Combat Engineer Battalion, in the Ardennes forest in Belgium. After seven months of relentless fighting, the troops were supposed to have a quiet night. But that was about to change. At dawn, the Germans staged a surprise…

  By Arielle Kaden Nov 10, 2019 | 11 min read
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  Opinion

  U.S. Aid To Israel — We Asked, You Sounded Off. Here’s What You Had To Say

  Have Your Say is your chance to tell us what you think. Yesterday, we did a Twitter poll to get your take on whether the U.S. should place any conditions on aid to Israel. In under 24 hours, we got thousands of responses and hundreds of passionate Facebook comments from each side. Have Your Say!…

  By Forward Staff Nov 7, 2019 | 2 min read

Columnists View All

• Jodi Rudoren This is my last column as editor of the Forward

  

• Jay Michaelson I supported Israel’s actions in Gaza in October 2023 — not anymore

  

• Rob Eshman The staggering hypocrisy behind Trump’s deal to free the last living American hostage

  

• Nora Berman She’s a titan of Israeli architecture. Her story contains troubling lessons for her country

  

• Dan Perry It looks like Israel totally underestimated Trump

  

• Emily Tamkin This week proved it: Trump’s approach to antisemitism at Columbia is horribly ineffective

  

The Latest

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  Opinion

  Hassidic Communities Are Built On Charity – Thanks To Their Schools

  There has been a lot of drama surrounding this year’s legislation around governing yeshiva education. But in all the discussions, something dramatic and important has been missing: the role of charity in Haredi education. As I have argued previously, socialization is at the heart of Haredi schooling, and like any religious community, Haredim want their…

  By Moshe Krakowski Nov 7, 2019 | 5 min read
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  Opinion

  Letter | Left-Wing Extremism Is Just As Dangerous As Right-Wing Extremism

  Dear Editor, I disagree with Liam Hoare with regard to the assertions and to the conclusions in his piece about hate on the right and left. A quick internet search reveals that between 2002 and 2017, the number of American fatalities caused by right-wing extremists (106) was actually slightly lower than the number caused by…

  By Toby Block Nov 7, 2019 | < 1 min read
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  Opinion

  Stop Calling Violent Settlers Bad Apples. They Are The Inevitable Outcome Of Occupation.

  When video surfaced earlier this month of settlers throwing stones at Palestinians while Israeli soldiers looked on, I was not surprised. From 2013 to 2015, I was a sergeant in the operations room of Israel’s Civil Administration in the Palestinian Territories stationed in the Nablus region, so I know that the violent tactics of land-grabs…

  By Frima Merphie Bubis Nov 7, 2019 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Bernie Would Have Been My Zeyde’s Candidate. He’s My Children’s, Too.

  I have no idea what my parents, both lifelong liberal Democrats, would have made of the current unwieldy crop of presidential candidates. But about my maternal grandfather, Max Blustein, I have no doubt. I’m certain my Zeyde, who died in 1969 when I was in college, would have been unwavering in support of Bernie Sanders,…

  By Cara Greenberg Nov 6, 2019 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  What Democrats Need To Learn From Obama About Aid To Israel

  Twice, President Barack Obama launched negotiations with Israel on a long-term Memorandum of Understanding regarding U.S. military assistance. Once was in March 2013 during his visit to Israel. Those talks progressed, but were later put on hold (by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s request) until after the Congressional review of the Iran nuclear deal. The second…

  By Daniel B. Shapiro Nov 6, 2019 | 5 min read
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  Opinion

  The Real Reason The Squad Loves Bernie

  In early October, Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign was on the ropes. The 78-year-old senator from Vermont experienced chest pain and was rushed to the hospital. Later, he would admit that doctors diagnosed him with a myocardial infarction, better known as a heart attack. It was just two weeks before the third Democratic Primary Debate. While…

  By Siraj Hashmi Nov 6, 2019 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Bernie Sanders Is The Only Presidential Candidate Who Truly Cares About Palestinian Lives

  The 2019 J Street Conference, held last week in Washington, was the first time in recent memory that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was openly discussed and critically assessed in the mainstream American public sphere. Historically, presidential candidates on both sides of the political spectrum have been deaf to Palestinian grievances, blind to Israel’s injustices and defensive…

  By Muhammad Shehada Nov 5, 2019 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Israel’s Decision To Deport Human Rights Defender Will Further Alienate American Jews

  Tuesday’s Israeli Supreme Court verdict upholding the deportation of Human Rights Watch researcher Omar Shakir will reverberate well beyond Israel/Palestine. It will further the chilling of peaceful political activity of Palestinians and their allies across the world, including in the United States. But it will also contribute to the growing mobilization of American Jews against…

  By Sari Bashi Nov 5, 2019 | 4 min read