Opinion

• Opinion

  Letter To The Editor: In This Unique Moment, Zioness Speaks For Us

  Aiden Pink’s recent Forward article on Zioness piqued my interest because I was an early and enthusiastic supporter of the group. The timing of their launch was perfect. In recent years, several of my Temple Sinai students have returned from college shell-shocked by the virulent anti-Semitism masquerading as anti-Zionism they faced on campus. Israel, they…

  By Michael A. White

  3 min read
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  Opinion

  A Year Since The Pittsburgh Massacre, What Have We Learned? A Q&A With Abe Foxman

  We are approaching the one year anniversary of the Tree of Life shooting in which Robert Bowers murdered 11 Jews at prayer. For the Yahrzeit, we will be rolling out a series of pieces reflecting on the tragedy, and what we’ve learned in the year since, beginning with an interview with Abe Foxman, the former…

  By Forward Staff Oct 16, 2019 | 8 min read
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  Opinion

  Dear Jewish Supporters of Donald Trump: What More Evidence Do You Need?

  Dear Jewish Supporters of Donald Trump, The last few weeks have been deeply troubling ones for our country. There is, of course, the ongoing impeachment drama involving an American president who, in an act of remarkable audacity, appears to have recruited foreign allies to join in attacking his political rivals at home. This is profoundly…

  By David N. Myers Oct 16, 2019 | 3 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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  Letters

  Letter to the Editor: I Was Misrepresented in Column About Protest at Bard College

  On Sunday, instead of building our family sukkah, instead of preparing for my daughter’s upcoming Bat Mitzvah, instead of doing the work that I needed to catch up on after traveling last week to present at the Hannah Arendt Center Conference on Racism and Antisemitism at Bard College, I spent the day fielding calls, texts,…

  By Shahanna McKinney-Baldon Oct 15, 2019 | 4 min read
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  Letters

  Letter to the Editor: Ungar-Sargon Chose to Leave Bard Conference

  To the Editor, As the assistant director of the Hannah Arendt Center for Politics and Humanities at Bard College, I read Batya Ungar-Sargon’s recent column with dismay. She wrote: “But not one of my fellow speakers said a word. Two days later, I have not received a single note acknowledging what happened, which leaves me…

  By Samantha Hill Oct 14, 2019 | 2 min read
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  Letters

  Letter to the Editor: I Organized the Bard Conference, and Batya Ungar-Sargon Misrepresented What Happened

  To the Editor: I am the person who invited Batya Ungar-Sargon, the Opinion Editor of The Forward, to participate in a recent conference hosted by the Hannah Arendt Center at Bard College, a conference where she contends in a column published Oct. 12 that she was protested for being Jewish and, as a result, “couldn’t…

  By Roger Berkowitz Oct 14, 2019 | 5 min read
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  Letters

  Letter to the Editor: I Was at the Bard Anti-Semitism Panel, and Saw Deep Disagreement, not Singling Out of Jews

  This article is a response to an article one published on Saturday night by Batya Ungar Sargon, Opinion Editor of The Forward. You can read the original article here. Forty-eight years ago, as a first-year student at Bard College, I saw graffito in a bathroom stall: “If I didn’t believe it with my own mind,…

  By Kenneth S. Stern Oct 13, 2019 | 5 min read
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  Opinion

  ‘Oh My God, Why Are They Doing This?’ Northeastern Syrians Await Their Fate

  A massive humanitarian crisis is unfolding in Syria. Over 130,000 civilians have been displaced in a once relatively stable region. Dozens of civilians have been killed or injured. Horrific videos showing field executions by Turkish-backed armed factions have begun to circulate on social media. The fate of the area, home to over three million people,…

  By Elizabeth Tsurkov Oct 13, 2019 | 8 min read
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  Opinion

  I Was Protested At Bard College For Being A Jew

  When I was asked to speak at last week’s conference on racism and anti-Semitism at Bard College’s Hannah Arendt Center, I think my heart actually skipped a beat. Arendt, the German-born political philosopher who fled the Nazis in the 1930s and eventually settled in New York, is the thinker who has most deeply influenced me,…

  By Batya Ungar-Sargon Oct 13, 2019 | 7 min read
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  Opinion

  Leviticus 18: Don’t Shy Away From Wrestling With The Torah’s Tough Texts

  In most traditional synagogues in the United States, the Torah reading for Yom Kippur afternoon is Leviticus 18, a chapter that speaks about sexual sins, supposedly committed by the inhabitants of Canaan, that we Jews should avoid. For generations, the Reform Movement—and, more recently, many Conservative congregations— have chosen to read instead Leviticus 19, which…

  By Rabbi Marc Katz Oct 11, 2019 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Celebrate Sukkot With The Legendary Ushpizata

  Sukkot, or shall we call it sukes: that’s the holiday with those DIY huts reminiscent of our wandering through the desert. It’s got a touch of glamping, festive hosting, sweet foods and upbeat singing, even mystical guests called Ushpizin. Traditionally, these guests are ancient, and all male: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Aaron, Joseph and David….

  By Chana Pollack Oct 10, 2019 | 5 min read