In the Forward’s opinion section, you’ll find analysis and essays from diverse corners of the Jewish world.
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Opinion
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Opinion
Under Trump’s First Step Act, Thousands Have Been Released From Prison. Much More Is Still Needed.
Earlier this summer, 3,100 people were released from federal prison ahead of schedule under a new criminal justice reform bill signed into law late last year. Many will find jobs and housing, transitioning back into their communities. It’s an important step in the ongoing fight for criminal justice reform. But it hardly fixes America’s over-incarceration…
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Opinion This Is The Least Important Israeli Election Ever
When you have seen as many Israeli elections as I have, patterns repeat. Every party spends a few months feeling out their electorate, dramatically overplaying the dangers of their opponents, and fighting internal battles for leadership. In the final month, you get TV ads, building-sized posters, overblown and suspiciously timed leaks, dramatic yet empty policy…
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Opinion What We Can Learn From The Jews Of The NAACP About Intersectional Organizing
You may know that the NAACP was formed in the wake of the 1908 Springfield, Illinois race riots, a horrific event that left nine African Americans dead and countless injured or homeless from arson. But you may not know that American Jews made several important contributions, lending organizational, legal, political and financial weight to this…
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Opinion Benjamin Netanyahu Is BDS’s Best Recruiter
Standing next to an easel bearing a large map of Israel stands Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Pointing to the map, Abbas declares that, if re-elected, he would annex one third of Israel. The Palestinian state’s new borders would include some of the most valuable parts of Israel, such as Tel Aviv and Haifa, and maybe…
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Opinion A Plea To My Israeli Brothers And Sisters, From A Palestinian Who Can’t Vote
In his latest, brazen campaign promise on Tuesday, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that, if elected, he would annex the Jordanian Valley. This action, which would cede about 30% of the West Bank to Israel, would essentially render the peace process moot, with a viable Palestinian state being virtually impossible under such conditions. The…
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Opinion Can My Jewish Culture Survive My Intermarriage?
I’m reading Tzivia a book about Rosh Hashanah, about a community pitching in to help a little girl experience her favorite holiday tradition. “Max told Abby, who told their teacher, who told the principal, who told the rabbi — ” “Wait, what’s a rabbi?” My Jewish five-year-old doesn’t know what a rabbi is? “Oh, you know…” Her…
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Opinion Netanyahu Just Promised To Annex The Jordan Valley. Good.
On Tuesday morning, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged that if reelected, he would annex the Jordan Valley and perhaps “other areas” of the West Bank. Good. Critics will say that by calling for annexation, Netanyahu is killing the two-state solution. But he’s been doing that for a decade. He’s been doing it by subsidizing…
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Opinion What Bernie Sanders Is Saying When He Won’t Talk About Being Jewish
You might think that as American Jews are suffering the worst anti-Semitic violence in the history of the United States, they would be taking comfort in the fact that, for the first time, there is a Jewish candidate for president with a non-negligible chance of success. They’re not. It turns out that Jews don’t like…
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Opinion To Counter Israel’s Racism, Every Israeli Jew Should Vote For The Arab Joint List
It happens in every election cycle: After beating the drum of the threat Iran poses to Israel, and after attacking the media, flying to Ukraine and England, and touting his special relationship with President Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his nationalist Likud Party always finish off their campaign with one final, racist push…
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Opinion The Idea That Christian Love For Jews Is About Rapture Is A Paranoid Conspiracy Theory
'There is simply no evidence suggesting that large numbers of Christians harbor a terrifying desire for Jesus to slaughter innocent people'
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Opinion New York And Bill DeBlasio Are Working Hard To Fight Anti-Semitism. I’m The Proof.
Dear Editor, In her recent op-ed, Avital Chizhik-Goldschmidt was right to express outrage over the escalation of anti-Semitism directed at Orthodox Jews. The examples of prejudice and discrimination she cites should disturb all New Yorkers who care about religious freedom and pluralistic democracy. The spate of anti-Jewish hate crimes over the past two years is…
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Opinion I grew up believing Australia was the best place to be Jewish. This Hanukkah shooting forces a reckoning I do not want.
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