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
Playing Politics With Birthright? That’s Like Stealing A Free Trip To Israel.
Are Jewish 20-somethings entitled to a free trip to Israel? For decades, the donors behind Birthright Israel have gifted thousands of young Jews from around the world with 10-day immersive experiences in the Holy Land. The heritage and culture trips sometimes center around a particular theme, like Israeli food, Russian culture, or Israel’s LGBTQ commuity….
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Opinion Walking Out On Birthright Was The Right Thing To Do
Last week, five participants of Birthright walked out on the program and straight onto a tour of the segregated city of Hebron with IDF veterans from Breaking the Silence, where they saw what Birthright desperately tried to hide. They saw the checkpoints, the streets Palestinians aren’t allowed to walk on and the caged windows that…
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Opinion Israel’s ‘Nation State’ Bill Isn’t Just Racist. It’s A Slap In The Face To Diaspora Jews.
A bill passing through Israel’s Knesset taking aim at the country’s Arab minority just became law. The bill’s full name is “Basic Law: Israel as the Nation-State of the Jewish People” though it’s more commonly referred to as the “Nation-State bill.” And it sets out to consolidate the Jewishness of the country at the expense…
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Opinion Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Has A Big Israel Problem – On The Left And The Right
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s surprise win over 10-term Rep. Joe Crowley in a congressional primary in New York provoked a predictable response from the right. It wasn’t just her avowedly socialist views. Since the day of her victory, the Republican Jewish Coalition has been trying to smear the candidate as bad for the Jews, thanks to a…
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Opinion What Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Really Thinks About Israel
On Friday night, PBS aired an interview with the upstart socialist candidate for New York’s 14th congressional district Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. The interview was half an hour long, and touched on many of the candidate’s policy issues like free college and free healthcare. But to Monday morning Twitter, it was Ocasio-Cortez’s comments on Israel that were…
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Opinion Have Your Say: Is It Ok To Walk Off Of A Birthright Trip?
Have Your Say is your chance to tell us what you think. Comment below or on Facebook and let us know what you think about the question posed in the headline. In recent weeks, Birthright participants affiliated with both IfNotNow and Peace Now have staged walkouts from their trips, in protest of Birthright’s policy of…
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Opinion Can BDS Target The Occupation Without Being Anti-Israel? The Case Of Ireland
Last Wednesday, Ireland’s Senate approved a bill that will make it illegal to purchase products and services from Israeli settlements if it’s signed into law by President Michael Higgins. The vote was immediately declared a huge success for the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement by the left, and an anti-Semitic travesty by the right. This…
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Opinion The Jewish Case Against Brett Kavanaugh
Trump’s presidency has lived up to his campaign rhetoric by implementing a racist, anti-immigrant, and anti-Muslim agenda. His disgraceful policy of separating immigrant families is just his most recent practice that echoes the worst moments of American history and actions of foreign dictators. In theory, Congress should be serving as a check on any would-be…
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Letters All Nationalism Is Racist
In a recent piece in these pages, Batya Ungar-Sargon argued that there’s a liberal case to be made for nationalism. At turns provocative and frustrating, the crux of her argument lies in this quote: “It’s the fundamental irony of the left today that in our rush to eschew the racism we find in so many…
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Opinion No, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Is Not Bad For The Jews. But 9 GOP Candidates Are
Ever since Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s surprise win over 10-term Rep. Joe Crowley in a congressional primary in New York, there’s been a steady drumbeat of protest from the Republican Jewish Coalition. Unlike many other Republicans, who oppose Ocasio-Cortez’s avowedly socialist views, the RJC has since the day she won tried to smear her as bad for…
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Opinion Criticizing Israel Is The Most Zionist Thing You Can Do
The 9th of Av, on which observant Jews commemorate the destruction of the Second Temple, has never been the most popular Zionist holiday. The ingathering of the exiles and the return of Jewish political sovereignty obviated, for many Zionists, any need to mourn the Temple. Some thought the day should be left to fall into…
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Holy Ground One of America’s first Jewish farms was nearly lost to history. Now these Brooklyn parents are risking everything to keep their family’s legacy alive.
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