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
Jewish Women Should Join Us At The Women’s March, Despite Our Mistakes
Shirley Chisholm, the first black woman elected to the U.S. Congress in 1968 and the first black candidate on a major party’s presidential ticket in 1972, once famously quipped, “If they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair.” Representing the voices of women that have been marginalized at the decision-making…
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Opinion I’m a Sephardic Latina With An Intersectional Identity. That’s Why I Oppose The Women’s March.
This coming Saturday, thousands of women across America will be marching in the 2019 Women’s March. But unlike the first march, many Jewish women have pledged not to attend this year, thanks to the March leaders’ ties to the anti-Semitic head of Nation of Islam, Louis Farrakhan, and other reports of anti-Jewish sentiment. Still, social…
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Opinion Why Is The Pro-Israel Right So Threatened By Black Jews?
One of the responses to the horrific massacre of 11 praying Jews this fall was a call for more firearms in synagogues. From Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams to New York State Assemblyman Dov Hilkind to President Trump himself, many called for an increased presence of armed guards at Jewish places of worship. But not…
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Opinion Why Do Jews Keep Tearing Down Black Leaders?
Tamika Mallory. Marc Lamont Hill. Alice Walker. Angela Davis. Every week seems to bring with it another black leader running afoul of the Jewish community — and an angry, effective response. Mallory’s refusal to denounce the notorious anti-Semite Louis Farrakhan, a man she had previously praised, led Jewish activists to call for her to resign…
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Opinion In Praise Of Dual Loyalty
Jewish social media is abuzz about dual loyalty following a controversy involving Congresswomen Rashida Tlaib. Accusation and counter-accusation have followed, with various defenders arguing that various dual loyalty charges are false and slanderous. I want to argue something different: The charge is true, but so what? Dual loyalties are good, natural and widespread. I write…
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Opinion Enough With The Hysterics. Anti-BDS Laws Are Perfectly Constitutional.
The Constitutionality of laws penalizing the boycott of Israel, known as BDS, is being called into question by elected government officials as the Senate considers the Combating BDS Act in Senate Bill 1. As Senator Dianne Feinstein put it, “This Israel anti-boycott legislation would give states a free pass to restrict First Amendment protections for…
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Opinion Religious Women Are Consumed With Our Appearance. That’s How We Get Heard.
Appearance is a source of excruciating anxiety for me. In both Orthodox and secular settings, I find myself wasting so much time and money on what I look like — and then resenting myself for it. And it’s not about halakha. Far beyond Orthodoxy’s laws of modesty are the social cues that we inevitably message…
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Opinion Trump’s Shutdown Settles It: His Base Is About Racism, Not Jobs
Last night, President Trump spent a handful of minutes spewing falsehoods about the dangers of illegal aliens. He seemed somewhat deflated, not his usually Mussolini-esque self, as he drearily delivered the usual Stephen Miller-composed, combatively factless diatribe with a self-righteousness that can only be described as a classic in the genre of moral turpitude. The…
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Opinion Angela Davis Is Not A Human Rights Hero
The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, the Alabama museum and research center dedicated to the history of the Civil Rights Movement, has rescinded a prestigious award to activist, academic and Birmingham native Angela Davis, canceling the February gala at which it was to be presented. The news has sparked protests, and Birmingham mayorRandall Woodfin and the…
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Opinion The Shameful Misuse Of Jewish Power
In 1908, New York police commissioner Theodore Bingham wrote an extended piece for The North American Review. It was entitled, “Foreign Criminals in New York.” In it, Bingham derided his own city’s immigrants, whom he labeled criminals “of exotic origin.” While Bingham clearly viewed all immigrants with suspicion and contempt, he reserved his most savage…
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Opinion Why Jewish Organizations Should Not Be Tearing Down Angela Davis
On Sunday, the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute announced that it was rescinding the 2019 Fred Shuttlesworth Human Rights Award it previously planned to grant to Black Power icon Angela Davis, and cancelling the annual fundraising gala where it is presented. While the BCRI did not give a specific reason for the decision, local reporting and…
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Culture How an Amish Mennonite school in Arkansas went viral with a song by an Orthodox Jew
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דער בראַזיליאַנער קאַרנאַװאַל וועבט צונויף טראַדיציאָנעלע ייִדישע מעלאָדיעס מיט דער בראַזיליאַנער קולטור.
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Fast Forward Chabad on high alert after false Tucker Carlson and Candace Owens war claims
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Culture The minotaur-slaying, dragon-battling hero of this video game is an old Jewish guy with back problems and an attitude
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Fast Forward Arson at Jackson synagogue jolts Institute of Southern Jewish Life, but its mission persists
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