Opinion

• Opinion

  Our Country Is Burning, It’s Time To Act

  ‘You lost me when you spoke about human-caused climate change,” a federation executive offered at the end of my panel. “If you want people in the Jewish community to listen, you better talk about energy efficiency and not climate change.” That was at the 2009 JFNA General Assembly when climate change was too negative, too…

  By Rachel Jacoby Rosenfield

  3 min read
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  Opinion

  One Month After Pittsburgh, This Is How We Mourn

  Years from now, October 27, 2018, may be remembered as an inflection point in the way America regards its Jews, and in the way that Jews regard themselves. The brutal murders of 11 congregants at prayer in the supposed safety of a synagogue demolished any lingering, quixotic notion that anti-Semitism in this country had been…

  By Jane Eisner Nov 27, 2018 | 6 min read
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  Opinion

  Digging Into Jewish Charities On #AccountabilityMonday

  Four years ago, Forward reporter Josh Nathan-Kazis embarked on an ambitious project: a comprehensive survey of the financial workings of the Jewish charitable sector in the U.S. Entitled “$26 Billion Bucks” — the net assets of the Jewish community’s federations, schools, health care organizations and other not-for-profit groups that publicly report their finances — Josh’s…

  By Jane Eisner Nov 27, 2018 | 5 min read

Columnists View All

• Alyssa Katz What I learned at a Holocaust survivors’ Purim party

  

• Rob Eshman Trump is backed into a corner on Iran. Get ready for him to start blaming Jews

  

• Dan Perry An abominable new Israeli law is a death warrant for democracy

  

• Emily Tamkin We must rewrite the rulebook for fighting antisemitism — or conspiracists like Joe Kent will win the narrative wars

  

• Jay Michaelson Passover’s 4 cups of meaning

  

The Latest

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  Opinion

  Dispute Over Airbnb In West Bank Settlements Shows ADL’s ‘Moral Schizophrenia’

  The Anti-Defamation League has a disease. It suffers from an acute — and potentially fatal — form of moral schizophrenia. The ADL was founded 105 years ago during the anti-Semitic conviction and later lynching of Atlanta business owner Leo Frank with a dual purpose. It was created “to stop…the defamation of the Jewish people” but…

  By Peter Beinart Nov 27, 2018 | 6 min read
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  Opinion

  We’re Now Locking Our Synagogue’s Doors. It’s Not Because of Linda Sarsour.

  It’s a decision I prayed we would never make. We’ve talked about for months. But, at this point, even I won’t argue with it. From now on, our shul will keep its doors locked at all times. Even during davvening. A locked door is the last thing a person should find at a synagogue. A…

  By Mike Rothbaum Nov 23, 2018 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Linda Sarsour Blamed The Media – Just Like Donald Trump

  As Linda Sarsour attempts to deflect the calls for her to resign from the Women’s March, she bears an uncanny resemblance to the man she has staked her own legitimacy on opposing, Donald Trump. On paper, the co-leader of the Woman’s March and the 45th President have nothing in common. But their indignant refusal to…

  By Emily Shire Nov 21, 2018 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Legitimate Criticism Of The Women’s March Was Drowned Out By Racism

  It’s undeniable that the Women’s March has made mistakes that are unbecoming of global leaders. Tamika Mallory’s support of Louis Farrakhan is distasteful in its tenacity and its ingratiating nature. Her calling him “The Greatest of All Time,” and responding to her critics by saying she had “the same enemies of Jesus,” has been incredibly…

  By Nylah Burton Nov 21, 2018 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  The Real Message Behind Linda Sarsour’s Apology

  There are two Linda Sarsours. At least, that’s how it often seems to me. There’s the Linda who her Jewish allies know, a fearless woman fighting for the most vulnerable, powerful in her willingness to speak truth to power and constantly beset by horrific threats and disgusting insults, who wages war on those who seek…

  By Batya Ungar-Sargon Nov 21, 2018 | 5 min read
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  Opinion

  Ivanka Trump’s Privilege Blinds Her To Her Own Hypocrisy

  I’m old enough to remember when Ivanka Trump was a feminist Democrat who was going to moderate her father’s racist policies. There was a time when I told myself that the employment of the president’s completely unqualified daughter was actually a good thing. After all, she had been a Democrat for years and so had…

  By Molly Jong-Fast Nov 20, 2018 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Stacey Abrams Lost. But She Brought Blacks And Jews Together Again.

  Stacy Abrams may not be the governor of Georgia, but she has made a significant impact in this cherry red state. Georgia has a history rooted in racial terror, systemic oppression and white supremacy. People of color navigate through a maze of historical racism, injustice and past phobias that still threaten their freedom and safety….

  By Tarece Johnson Nov 20, 2018 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Are Ivanka And Jared ‘Good For The Jews’?

  The two reporters who wrote the story splashed across the cover of the Sunday New York Times Style section asking whether Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner are “good for the Jews” managed to quote only one woman — and 11 men. Sigh. I’m afraid this isn’t the first time the vaunted Times — a news…

  By Jane Eisner Nov 20, 2018 | 4 min read