Opinion

• Opinion

  I’m An Orthodox Rabbi. Too Many People Are Using Religion To Cloak Their Homophobia.

  Recently, a lot of people have been asking me for my thoughts on Torah versus the LGBT community. The reality is that mainstream Orthodoxy will not permit a Rabbi to officiate a marriage for a gay couple, grant Rabbinical ordination to an openly gay man, or claim that Halacha is wrong. Rather, “Kabbolos Ol” applies…

  By Rabbi Levi Welton

  4 min read
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  Opinion

  Bad Holocaust Analogies Ironically Show The Stunning Success Of Holocaust Education

  When Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez referred to detention centers for asylum seekers in the U.S. as “concentration camps”, a controversy rightfully erupted. Some decried AOC for trivializing the Holocaust; others defended her statement as a legitimate image to draw attention to suffering and inhumanity. Others argued the fine points of terminology (she said “concentration camps,” not…

  By Andrés Spokoiny Aug 7, 2019 | 6 min read
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  Opinion

  This Tisha B’Av, We Mourn Injustice In Israel – And Commit To The Fight To End It.

  Many progressive Jews struggle with whether Tisha B’av still has resonance when Judaism has evolved so far beyond Temple service. We wonder whether a full day of mourning for Jewish destruction and exile is still called for when we have a sovereign State of Israel and the accompanying reality of national power. But the sages…

  By Rabbi Ayelet S. Cohen and Rabbi Ephraim Pelcovits Aug 7, 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 How the Oct. 7 aftermath splintered the New York Dyke March

  

• 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

  Social Media Is The New Frontier Of Anti-Semitism

  The 892 anti-Semitic incidents recorded by Britain’s Community Security Trust (CST) between January and June of this year set another unfortunate record. A rise of 10% compared to the same period in 2018, the uptick indicates not only that anti-Semitism in Britain is becoming evermore pervasive, but also that inside the Jewish community there is…

  By Liam Hoare Aug 7, 2019 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  The Dayton Murderer Is Proof We Need To Take Left-Wing Violence Seriously

  Amidst the disturbing trend of political conflict in the United States escalating into violence, it has been a staple of conventional wisdom that the real danger comes almost entirely from the far right. Thus, after journalist Andy Ngo was beaten up by activists from the militant left-wing “Antifascist” movement at a protest in late June,…

  By Cathy Young Aug 6, 2019 | 5 min read
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  Opinion

  White nationalist terrorism only ends when we end it. Will you do your part?

  The ‘replacement’ conspiracy theory underlies not only domestic terrorism but also immigration policy.

  By Tae Phoenix Aug 5, 2019 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  It’s Time To Call Trump And His Team By Their True Name: Idolators.

  On July 25th, Attorney General William Barr directed the federal Bureau of Prisons to reinstate the death penalty. The next day, former White House counsel and witness in Nixon’s impeachment trial John Dean posted a tweet critical of Barr. He wrote that Barr must be an “Old Testament kind of guy” to do such a…

  By Rachel Eskin Fisher Aug 5, 2019 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Jewish Education Must Include Sexual Ethics

  The Jewish Theological Seminary, one of the academic and spiritual centers of Conservative Judaism, recently dismissed a Title IX sexual assault complaint on the grounds that the student’s misconduct happened before he was a student there. It may be that the Title IX process does not cover the sexual assault in this case. But JTS’s…

  By Jennifer Thompson Aug 5, 2019 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Letter | No, AOC’s Support For IfNotNow Isn’t ‘Fringe.’ Most American Jews Oppose The Occupation.

  In a recent piece titled “Why Is AOC Tokenizing A Fringe Jewish Group?” Seffi Kogen, the Global Director of Young Leadership for the American Jewish Committee, argued that Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez committed the “cardinal sin of progressivism” when she voiced support for IfNotNow, the anti-occupation group; the group is not “representative of American Jews,” wrote…

  By Jonah Nelson Aug 5, 2019 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  The El Paso Killer Loved Trump. Do You? Then You’re Responsible, Too.

  At least 20 people were shot dead by a Trump-loving white supremacist in El Paso, Texas on Saturday, placing the 21-year-old suspect’s rampage among the top ten deadliest mass shootings in US history. The shooter’s motive quickly appeared in the form of a manifesto, which two federal law enforcement officers told CNN they were investigating…

  By CJ Werleman Aug 3, 2019 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  ‘Delegitimizing Israel’ Is Code For Pointing Out Truths Israel Doesn’t Want To Admit

  The Anti-Defamation League’s Ken Jacobson wants you to believe that I called Israel racist in my recent article “The Real Reason So Many Republicans Love Israel. Their Own White Supremacy.” “Characterizing Israel as fundamentally racist,” he claims, constitutes one of my “arguments.” But he has a problem. I didn’t call Israel racist because that’s not…

  By Peter Beinart Aug 2, 2019 | 3 min read