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
Orthodox Jews Love Trump Not Despite His Views On Women But Because Of Them
President Trump’s popularity in the Orthodox community is well documented. Though he only won 55% of the community’s votes in 2016, his approval since the election has skyrocketed. Many view this support as tied to specific policies, like moving the embassy to Jerusalem and recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan, policies that appeal to the…
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Opinion Think Social Media Should Be Government Regulated? Check Your Privilege
We’re used to hearing people moan about how much time they waste on social media. But recently, there’s been a shift in the focus of the discussions about social media use, from focusing on harm to our productivity to focusing on the damage wrought by social media companies themselves. The massive and systematic violations of…
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Opinion While You Celebrate Eurovision, Don’t Forget Us Palestinians Who Can’t
Ah, the Eurovision contest — that time when so many countries come together in a show of playful competition and unity. It’s Gaza’s cries that the Eurovision songs are competing with. Great effort went into Israel’s preparations to have a perfect Eurovision celebration. Hotels had large discounts to attract visitors, while bars, clubs and restaurants…
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Opinion My Father Tried To Hide The Nakba – But It Found Me.
When 71 years ago this month, the creation of the State of Israel led to a mass Palestinian exodus, only about 150,000 Palestinians out of nearly one million who had lived on the territory managed to remain within the new state. Among them were my grandparents. Palestinians refer to events that unfolded that year as…
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Opinion The Jewish Community Needs to Address Chronic Illness
One Yom Kippur not so long ago, I was in too much pain to stand at Ne’ilah, the closing service. I was sitting near the back of the synagogue sanctuary, holding back tears. Looking around, it seemed that even the most frail of the elderly congregants — people who relied heavily on mobility devices like…
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Opinion I’m A Convert. Do I Deserve To Be Afraid Of Anti-Semitism?
I clearly remember the final step in my conversion to Judaism, moments before entering the mikveh, the Jewish ritual bath. In front of the Beit Din, the Rabbinic Court, my Rabbi looked at me and asked: “If, G-d forbid, Jews were ever persecuted again, would you stand as a Jew?” My answer, without hesitation, was…
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Opinion Rashida Tlaib’s Comments Weren’t Anti-Semitic – They Were Philosemitic
Yesterday, Representative Rashida Tlaib was smeared as an anti-Semite by Donald Trump and company. The accusation is false, but that’s not news. Republicans have been using the anti-Semitism charge cynically for some time. What is new, bitterly ironic, and quite sad, is that not only did Tlaib say nothing at all anti-Semitic, but what she…
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Opinion Michael Oren’s Trainwreck Interview Shows Israelis No Longer Care What We Think
On Saturday, Isaac Chotiner at the New Yorker tried to interview Michael Oren, former Israeli ambassador to the United States. He failed. After a series of tense arguments, Oren hung up, claiming that Chotiner was “not interested in anything I have to say” and asking him to “withdraw” the interview. I am not surprised that…
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Opinion A Muslim Congresswoman Misspoke And The Backlash Was Brutal. Again.
In an interview published on Saturday, Michigan congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, the first Palestinian woman to be elected to Congress, offered a bizarre reading of history. “There’s always kind of a calming feeling when I think of the tragedy of the Holocaust, that it was my ancestors — Palestinians — who lost their land and some…
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Opinion Jews Are Speaking Out Against China’s Ethnic Cleansing Of Muslims. Will It Help?
When a powerful nation interns at least a million Muslims in concentration camps in an effort to eradicate their culture and religion, is that a Jewish issue? And if so, what can and should be done? Because that is happening today. Today, the Chinese government is holding an estimated one to three million Muslim Uighurs…
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Opinion 6 Healing Moments From This Jewish Week
Violence, hatred, terror, disaster. The murder of innocent teenagers, intent on saving their friends. It was another hard week in America, and in the world. Here are a few of the beautiful, hopeful Jewish moments from this week. If you have a tip for a Jewish news story that brought you joy, please send it…
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Fast Forward First Puka Nacua, now Mookie Betts: Why do sports stars keep getting antisemitic around a Jewish streamer?
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Fast Forward After MIT professor’s killing, Jewish influencers spread unverified antisemitism claim
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Fast Forward Father and son suspects in Bondi Beach Hanukkah attack identified as Sajid and Naveed Akram by law enforcement
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News Christians are displaying menorahs in their windows post-Bondi Beach attack. Why some Jews object
In Case You Missed It
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Opinion The Gaza hostage crisis could forever change how American Jews relate to Israel — but it’s not too late to fix that
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Yiddish ווידעאָ: היסטאָריקערין וויווי לאַקס באַשרײַבט געשיכטע פֿון לאָנדאָנער ייִדישער פּרעסעVIDEO: Historian Vivi Laks tells history of the London Yiddish Press
שבֿע צוקער פֿירט דעם שמועס מיט וויווי לאַקס און ביידע לייענען פֿאָר עטלעכע פֿעליעטאָנען פֿון יענע צײַטן.
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Yiddish World Puppet Monty Pickle is guest on the Forward’s ‘Yiddish Word of the Day’
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News Who is Bruce Blakeman, the ‘Almost Orthodox’ Jew running for New York governor?
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