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
Bernie Sanders Is Right: Money Always Corrupts. Will The Liberal Establishment Listen?
Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders raised eyebrows in mid-April when he launched a significant salvo against the Center for American Progress (CAP), a liberal D.C. think tank. Sanders was incensed by a video produced by the think tank’s weblog, ThinkProgress, that highlighted the senator’s growing wealth following the success of his 2016 book. He responded…
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Opinion The ADL Opposes West Bank Annexation – Because We Are Zionists.
Last week, the ADL joined a number of other Jewish organizations in signing a letter to President Donald Trump asking him to oppose any steps by Israel to annex territory in the West Bank. Signing the letter was for us the ultimate Zionist statement. Israel needs a two-state solution as much as the Palestinians. And…
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Opinion How Can You Ask Us To Be Zionists When Israel Rejects Us As Jews?
As the chasm between American Jews and Israel widens and more and more young Jews renounce Zionism, many assume that Jewish anti-Zionism is based on scorn for Israel’s myriad human rights abuses. They aren’t exactly wrong. Many Jews, both young and old, have rejected Zionism due to their solidarity with Palestinians. But pro-Israel advocates miss…
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Opinion Israel Will Be Liberal Again, One Day.
This is the Bibi-Trump moment. The recent Israeli elections not only reinforced Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ironclad grip on his country’s political life, but affirmed the mutual benefits of the bromance between these two pillars of the global movement of illiberal democrats. Netanyahu’s pro-settlement agenda pumps up President Trump’s evangelical base; and Trump bestows…
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Opinion Forget Orthodox Or Reform. “Just Jewish” Is The Future Of American Jewry
There’s been a lot of hand-wringing about the future of the American Jewish community, both in Israel and in the U.S. A 2013 Pew Research Center found that the largest number of Jews identified as Jews of no religion, or Just Jewish, which launched tens of opeds lamenting disappearing Jews. This is a terrible approach….
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Opinion Accusing Minorities Of Anti-Semitism Will Always Lead To Racism
Donald Trump’s ongoing attacks on Representative Ilhan Omar — including his shameless attempt to twist her words to imply that she was at best apathetic about the 9/11 attacks — should provoke some soul-searching among US Jewish leaders and opinion formers. WE WILL NEVER FORGET! pic.twitter.com/VxrGFRFeJM — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 12, 2019 As…
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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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Culture Inside the ancient Christian theology driving modern antisemitism
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