Opinion

• Opinion

  The Socialist History That Explains Bernie Sanders’ Jewishness

  Since launching his first campaign for the candidacy for the Democratic nomination, there’s been no shortage of ink spilled debating Bernie Sanders’s Jewishness. Scrutiny — often unfair — hinging on Sanders’s criticism of Israel, disinterest in synagogue, and non-Jewish spouse — has turned into an exercise in exclusion. Yet elsewhere, the senator has been seized…

  By Joshua Meyers

  5 min read
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  Opinion

  No, Israeli Democracy Is Not ‘Fine’

  Last week, Bret Stephens penned a New York Times column entitled, “Israel’s democracy is doing just fine.” With their “rebuke” of Benjamin Netanyahu at the polls, Stephens declared, “Israelis showed that demagogy doesn’t work.” This week, Israeli President Reuven Rivlin gave Netanyahu the opportunity to form Israel’s next government. Netanyahu could fail to do so,…

  By Peter Beinart Sep 26, 2019 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  As Anti-Semitism Rises, Can We Still Criticize Our Own?

  As anti-Semitism continues to rise in our streets and Jewish identities are being stolen by white supremacists intent on stoking division, many in the Jewish community are calling for unity. But an insidious infighting of a new sort has begun to take shape over whether we are allowed to criticize Jewish groups at a time…

  By Frimet Goldberger Sep 25, 2019 | 4 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

  The Summary Of Trump’s Ukraine Call Proves Pelosi Was Right To Wait For Impeachment

  Speaker Nancy Pelosi made the right choice at the right time. In announcing the intention of the House of Representatives to pursue an impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump, Speaker Pelosi made an important statement on protecting constitutional norms and the nation’s institutions. By striking at the right time, rather than rushing into an impeachment…

  By Abe Silberstein Sep 25, 2019 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Can I Forgive The Man Who Beat Me And Terrorized My Kids If He Won’t Say Sorry?

  Here’s what I’ve learned this year. Apologizing is easy. Forgiveness is harder. Nearly a year ago, our family home was broken into by a man with a knife. We’ve spent many months grappling with how, and if, our lives should change as a result. With the days of repentance approaching, my thoughts turn towards forgiveness….

  By Leah Bieler Sep 25, 2019 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  This High Holiday Season, Commit To Joining The Fight Against Climate Change

  The high holidays are a time of personal and communal reckoning. These are the sins we have committed, we recite. Before the beginning of Yom Kippur, even before Kol Nidrei, the prayer leader or shaliach tzibbur recites “with the consent of God … we allow ourselves to pray with transgressors.” We are in this together….

  By Yonatan Malin Sep 25, 2019 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  For Years, I Opposed Lawsuits Against My Abuser. I Was Wrong.

  Following the arrest of my conversion rabbi, Barry Freundel, I was certain I wouldn’t sue. Freundel had secretly videotaped me in the preparation room of the mikveh, the ritual bath, both when I took a “practice dunk” in October 2010 and then again on the actual day of my conversion in June 2011. But though…

  By Bethany Mandel Sep 24, 2019 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Critics Of Haredi Schools Are Not Liars. But The Research Shows They Are Wrong.

  Last week I wrote an essay arguing that secular education in Hassidic schools is not as bad as it is frequently portrayed. I argued that critics are actually unhappy with Hassidic culture, rather than education. The response from anti-Yeshiva voices and activists — including a letter from a Yeshiva-graduate — has been as ferocious as…

  By Moshe Krakowski Sep 24, 2019 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  American Jews: Ayman Odeh is Not About You

  American Jews woke up to history being made on Sunday as Ayman Odeh, the leader of a technical bloc of four Arab-Israeli parties known as the Joint List, recommended tasking General Benny Gantz and the Kachol v’Lavan Party with forming the next government of the State of Israel. Writing in the New York Times, Odeh…

  By Sara Hirschhorn Sep 23, 2019 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Letter | I Was Denied An Education At My Hassidic School

  Dear Editor, I am contacting you regarding Moshe Krakowski’s recent opinion piece, The Truth About Secular Studies In Haredi Schools. This piece is a classic example of how propaganda functions in public debate. Here we have an academic who has “studied Haredi schools in-depth for many years,” and he is just flat out wrong about…

  By Chaim Widger Sep 23, 2019 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  This Year, We Jews Must Put Aside Our Differences And Stand As One Against Anti-Semitism

  If two Jews have three opinions, how many opinions might six million American Jews have? We’re a boisterous, disputatious bunch, as we should be. We’re also remarkably good at dividing into tribes of those who dress or think as we do. But what if identifying first and foremost (and even only) with such subgroups is…

  By Melissa Langsam Braunstein Sep 23, 2019 | 3 min read