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  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

  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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• Nora Berman Is Netflix’s new show the most Jewish cartoon ever?

  

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• Emily Tamkin Trump’s attack on George Soros is ludicrous. It also endangers Jews (and everyone else)

  

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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
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  Opinion

  The Germany Yom Kippur Attack Is A New Kind Of Anti-Jewish Terror

  The anti-Semitic motive of Stephan B. could not have been clearer. Dressed in military fatigues, he attempted yesterday to shoot his way into the synagogue and then Jewish cemetery in Halle, Germany, as members of the small, religiously conservative community made up largely of those with roots in the former Soviet Union gathered on Yom…

  By Liam Hoare Oct 10, 2019 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  All Is Not Forgiven Ellen, George W. Bush Is A War Criminal

  This week, a photo of comedian Ellen DeGeneres enjoying a football game alongside George W. Bush sparked an outburst of protests. Many denounced Ellen for legitimizing Bush, a man saddled with a legacy of anti-LGBT positions as well as the Iraq War. Ellen, who appears to have been jarred by the vehemence, responded by releasing…

  By Lev Golinkin Oct 10, 2019 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Angry At Trump’s Syria-Withdrawal? He Learned His Foreign Policy From Obama

  Donald Trump’s decision this week to abandon the Kurds in Syria to Turkey’s authoritarian leader Recep Erdogan is a warning to America’s friends facing dangerous enemies. Trump could abandon you in a New York minute. And so could Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, and even Joe Biden if one of them ends up as the next…

  By Mark Dubowitz and Tzvi Kahn Oct 8, 2019 | 5 min read
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  Opinion

  This Yom Kippur, Jewish Institutions Must Take Responsibility For Enabling #MeToo Abuses

  Jewish experience turns on vulnerability: So much of our communal discourse and action flow from Jewish fears about assimilation, anti-Semitism, the fate of Israel. Yom Kippur adds the dimension of also being vulnerable before God. Thinking of God’s power to write you into the book of death is meant to inspire a feeling of being…

  By Jennifer Thompson Oct 7, 2019 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Have Your Say | What Are You Atoning For This Yom Kippur?

  Have Your Say is your chance to tell us what you think. Comment below or on Facebook and let us know what you think about the question posed in the headline. We’ll incorporate your answers in a story later in the week!

  By Forward Staff Oct 7, 2019 | < 1 min read