In the Forward’s opinion section, you’ll find analysis and essays from diverse corners of the Jewish world.
To pitch an opinion piece, email our Opinion Editor, Talya Zax.
Opinion
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Opinion
I’m a statistician. Closing camp because of corona is a huge mistake
When the Reform movement announced that it would be shutting its camps for the summer, a rabbi friend broadcast on Facebook that he thought the decision, while regrettable, was nevertheless “prudent.” I disagree. A considered, well thought out decision has to think through both risks and rewards. It must grapple not just with possibilities but…
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Opinion American Jews: You are desperately needed in the fight against annexation.
The most serious setback to peace in the Middle East has taken place under the cloud of the coronavirus and the internal Israeli political scene. A chance, however, still exists for a unified Arab coalition with action by American Jews to create a firewall that will help preserve a chance for Israeli-Palestinian peace. As part…
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Opinion COVID exposed America as a failed state. How can I honor the military oath I swore?
“I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same…_” I spoke these words for the first time in the summer of 1997 when I entered basic training at the United States…
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Opinion Anne Frank is being called a ‘Becky’. But here’s what that tweet got right
Last week, a tweet about Anne Frank — the beloved memoirist of “The Diary of Anne Frank” through which most American children learn about the Holocaust — went viral. The tweet referred to Anne Frank as a “Becky” and lamented the lack of education in America about genocides besides the Holocaust. A “Becky” is a…
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Opinion Eulogy | ‘He was always chopping vegetables:’ Remembering Fred Pressman
Fred Pressman was a giant in the Jewish world. A giant you probably never heard of. He didn’t hold power positions in major organizations, didn’t donate millions of dollars to causes. He was a giant wisp of a man, an aging hippie in saggy jeans with a stringy gray ponytail under a Bukharan kippah, a…
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Opinion America’s Jewish institutions were failing. Coronavirus hastened their demise.
Borrowing from Tolstoy, one might say that every economic boomtime is alike in its happiness, while every economic crisis is unique in the misery it brings. And the particular economic crisis facing the United States in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, which economists fear could culminate in the worst economic downturn since the Great…
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Opinion We canceled camp. We’re crying, too.
I let myself cry today. For weeks during the shelter in place, I’ve been emotionally stuck in turmoil. You see, I’m an overnight Jewish camp director. This was to be my eighth summer on staff at Camp Newman and my 16th overall at Jewish camp. On May 31, we were to begin training staff for…
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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…
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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…
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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,…
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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…
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Culture ‘My mayor Muslim, my bagel Jewish’ — the Knicks chant capturing New York’s soul
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Opinion It’s time for Jews who love Israel to give up on Zionism
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Opinion Israeli and diaspora Jews live in different realities. The Israel Day parade proved it
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