Opinion

• 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

  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

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

  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
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  Opinion

  Democrats must demand Joe Biden respond to the sexual assault allegation

  On the merits, the substance, Tara Reade had no case. That is until a former neighbor of Reade’s went on record saying Reade told her in 1993 that Joe Biden had sexually assaulted her. That doesn’t mean Biden is lying when he says the allegation is false, just that Reade’s story seems more plausible today…

  By Issac J. Bailey Apr 28, 2020 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  I own a kosher restaurant. The community is rallying around us.

  “How are you guys doing?” It’s a question I get asked a lot lately. It’s not an unusual question during a pandemic. But I’m a small business owner. My wife and I own and operate Holy Chow, Washington, D.C.’s only certified glatt kosher Chinese restaurant. In normal times, we are one of the handful of…

  By Ami Schreiber Apr 28, 2020 | 6 min read
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  Opinion

  Coronavirus flipped the power dynamics between Israel and the Diaspora

  For the first time in Israel’s now 72 years, we are living at a moment in which both the Jewish people and the nation-state are fighting the same global threat. Also for perhaps the first time, Israel’s answer to the challenges of world Jewry cannot be to offer itself as a safe-haven — at least…

  By Tracy Frydberg Apr 28, 2020 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Can we celebrate Yom Ha’atzmaut with the threat of impending annexation?

  On Tuesday night, Israel’s 72nd Independence Day will commence. These are not the easiest of times for those of us who love Israel and who believe that a love of Israel is a cornerstone of our contemporary American Jewish identity. The past year has been hard to watch. Three elections cycles were waged over the…

  By Ariel Ilan Roth Apr 28, 2020 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  In an era of social distancing, Yom Ha’atzmaut is an opportunity for connecting across the divide

  Two years ago, standing on a stage in the middle of Times Square, surrounded by a crowd gathered to celebrate Israel’s 70th anniversary, we watched a beautiful display about Israel on the enormous screens. This year, the screen will be slightly smaller; I will be watching the celebrations from my 15-inch laptop. 2020 has not…

  By Almog Elijis Apr 27, 2020 | 4 min read