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
Inspiring Women | Forcing Her Town To Recognize, Respect And Elect Women
Raya Maysoon is the oldest granddaughter in her family. Where she’s from — Sakhnin, an Arab city in Israel’s Northern District — this is the fact that matters. As the first girl of a new generation, she has completely changed her society, giving marginalized women a place at the table and even in government. None…
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Opinion Ignore If Not Now – Birthright Is A Lefty Organization. I Should Know. I Started It.
I must admit that I took it personally when I saw the pictures of members of the anti-occupation group If Not Now last Friday blocking Third Avenue in Manhattan, and then blocking the entrance to the offices of Birthright Israel. They claimed that Birthright, a program that I helped start, is lying to young Jews…
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Opinion Netanyahu Is King Of Israel Now — But Not King Of The Jews
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is now truly melech Yisrael, the King of Israel. Even though his apparent victory was narrow in Tuesday’s election, and his tenure uncertain because of the corruption charges he faces, Netanyahu’s unprecedented fifth term in office solidifies his stature as the leader of 21st century Israel. He has expanded economic growth…
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Opinion The Lesson Of Netanyahu’s Victory: Israel Will Not Change Without Pressure
The lesson of Benjamin Netanyahu’s apparent reelection victory is simple, and old. Frederick Douglass articulated it 162 years ago: “Power concedes nothing without a demand.” For a decade now, commentators have bemoaned the demise of the Israeli left. They’ve attributed the left’s decline to a rising Orthodox population. They’ve attributed it to the legacy of…
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Opinion Israeli Elections May Show How Right Wing Young Israelis Are
We will know soon enough whether Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s shocking declaration in favor of extending Israeli sovereignty into the West Bank will motivate enough voters in Tuesday’s election to propel him to an unprecedented fifth term in office. But we already know this: He’s got one segment of the population in his electoral pocket…
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Opinion I’m Palestinian. Neither Candidate In The Israeli Election Gives Me Hope.
Despite wall to wall news coverage, Israel’s election this Tuesday isn’t much of a choice at all. The election comes down to whether Israelis will renew the term of the corrupt, divisive and fear-mongering Benjamin Netanyahu — who shamelessly boasts that under his leadership, the country is no state for its non-Jewish citizens — or…
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Opinion Jews Broke Guinness World Record In Sandwich-Making, And More News To Make You Smile
Everyone loves the ole Hillel quote — “If I am not for myself, who will be for me? If I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now, when?” So profound! So snappy! It’s less popular to quote the words a few lines down from Hillel’s frenemy, Shammai, who said, “Greet every…
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Opinion Dear White Nationalists: Our Solidarity Is Stronger Than Your Hate
We began writing this a few weeks ago, before the terror attack in Christchurch, before our communities found ourselves responding in a familiar way. The Muslim community triaging pain, fear, anger; the Jewish community checking in, showing up, answering a call for solidarity. Just a few months ago, after the shooting in Pittsburgh, our roles…
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Opinion It’s Not Just Steinhardt. Jewish Organizations Keep Sacrificing Women
In the wake of a New York Times article outlining a pattern of sexual harassment by Jewish philanthropist and billionaire Michael Steinhardt, two of the women named in the article have written about their experiences. Rachel Sabath and Sheila Katz both wrote about feeling belittled and disrespected by Steinhardt’s sexual comments and propositions to them…
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Opinion I’m An Arab Citizen Of Israel. I’m Boycotting The Election.
As Israeli voters spent last month preparing to head to the polls on April 9, Benjamin Netanyahu took to social media to remind them that “Israel is not a state for all its citizens: According to a basic law we passed, Israel is the nation-state of the Jewish people, and the Jewish people only.” He…
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Opinion Why Netanyahu Is Going To Win. Again.
Why would any sane person vote for Benjamin Netanyahu? It’s a question one hears a lot, particularly from dovish American Jews. Bibi is corrupt, they say. He is racist. He’s been in power too long. He’s ruined relations with the U.S. and turned Israel into a partisan issue. He has transformed the wonderful old Israel…
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