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
Israel Doesn’t Need Liberal Judaism. It Needs Liberalism.
This summer, we wrote an article in these pages in which we argued that Reform and Conservative American Jews should stop importing their brand of Judaism to Israel on the grounds that we already have too much religion. What Israelis need is not softer versions of Judaism, but rather help strengthening our liberalism, which is…
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Opinion Our World Is Falling Apart And I’m Terrified
When I was 13, I was struck with an illogical, almost paralyzing fear of the apocalypse. Alarmist clickbait was circulating the internet, telling of mankind’s extinction via Mayan prophecies of Armageddon. A sensitive and imaginative child who was aware of climate change, I would sometimes wake up in the middle of the night sobbing, because…
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Opinion Stop Looking For The Next Heschel. They Are All Around You.
In this week’s Forward, Editor-in-Chief Jane Eisner looks for “a prophet who will speak out as a Jew.” She looks first for an elected official who will bring moral leadership to Washington, and then reminisces about prominent Jewish leaders from outside of the halls of Congress. “Where is our Abraham Joshua Heschel today?” she asks….
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Opinion Why Federations Funding Canary Mission Shouldn’t Surprise You
This week, a series of exposés by Josh Nathan-Kazis in these pages revealed that an Israeli charity that appears to run the blacklist site Canary Mission received funding from a foundation controlled by the Jewish Community Federations of San Francisco. A second piece identified the Jewish Community Federation of Los Angeles communal fund as a…
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Opinion How The #HimToo Hashtag Restored My Faith In Humanity
Twitter and Trump go together like Jefferson Beauregard Sessions and racism, or Kim Kardashian and Instagram. They exist in a symbiotic relationship, a constantly reinforced feedback loop. Without Twitter, there would be no Trump. And given what we’ve learned about Russian troll farms, there would certainly be no President Trump. But in a way, Twitter…
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Opinion Think All Orthodox Jews Are Zionists? Think Again.
Many non-Orthodox Jews assume that all Orthodox Jews must be fervent Zionists. Given the centrality of Israel in Jewish movements — at least until recently — the natural assumption is that the more religious you are, the more Zionist you must be. Surely if today’s Evangelical Christians are Zionists, the Orthodox must be as well….
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Opinion For Israelis, Zionism Is Patriotism. For Diaspora Jews, It’s White Privilege.
On October 2, an American student with a visa to enter Israel named Lara Alqasem was refused entry because of alleged past involvement with the movement to boycott Israel. She has since been detained by the Israeli authorities, who won’t let her enter Israel. When pressed, Strategic Affairs Minister Gilad Erdan said that if Alqasem…
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Letters We Alumni Of The Diller Teen Foundation Call On The Federation To Do Teshuva
We are writing as alumni of the Diller Teen Fellowship in the San Francisco Bay Area along with dozens of Diller alumni from across the US and Canada. Last Thursday, we were devastated to learn that the Helen Diller Family Foundation — founders and major funders of the Diller Teen Fellows program in which hundreds…
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Opinion Nikki Haley Could Be The First Republican To Win The Jewish Vote For President
Nikki Haley announced her resignation on Tuesday in the presence of Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump, arguably the two most prominent Jewish Republicans in the country. While coincidence is the likely explanation, the image of Jared and Ivanka in the Oval Office still highlighted an important constituency that Haley has done much to woo during…
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Opinion Israel Has Detained An American Student For A Week. But No One Cares, Because She’s Not Jewish.
When I was detained at Ben Gurion airport in August, Benjamin Netanyahu apologized. So why isn’t he apologizing to Lara Alqasem? After all, I was only detained for an hour; she’s been detained for a week. I was allowed into the country; she’s facing deportation. One answer is that while at the University of Florida,…
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Opinion Thank You, Ambassador Haley, For Standing Up For Jews
“I wear heels, but it is not a fashion statement,” U.S. Ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, said at the AIPAC Policy Conference last year. “It is because if I see something wrong, I’m going to kick ‘em every single time.” This is perhaps the most iconic statement made by, arguably, the most pro-Israel U.S….
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