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
Neither Ashkenazi Nor Sephardi, Italian Jews Are A Mystery
One often hears about two main cultural groups of Jews: Ashkenazim and Sephardim. Some also speak of a third group, Mizrahim, for the Jews who lived in modern Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Iran, Georgia and Uzbekistan. But these groupings can be more complicated than they at first seem. There are three main ways of approaching the…
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Opinion Why Corbyn’s Definition Of Anti-Semitism Is Actually What Jews Need
Over the past two weeks, Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of Britain’s Labor party, has faced renewed accusations of anti-Semitism. This latest escalation of the seemingly irresolvable brouhaha comes in the wake of a new code of conduct and definition of anti-Semitism that Labor has taken on to address protests from Jewish groups. But far from…
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Letters Why It’s Necessary To Break Bread With Trump Supporters
On July 9, Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg concluded in this magazine that progressives do not have to engage Trump supporters. In her article, she argues that Trump is so pervasively evil that talking will do no good — or take so long that engaging with Trump is a waste of time. Rabbi Ruttenberg here falsely compares…
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Opinion I’m A College Student Who Opposes BDS — And Finds Canary Mission Reprehensible
In a recent article in these pages, Josh Nathan-Kazis exposed the growing efforts of right wing actors targeting American pro-Palestinian student activists, particularly those urging their universities to divest from Israeli and Israel-supporting businesses. Students who show support for the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement may wake up the next day to find their name…
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Opinion Israel’s Nation State Bill Shamed The Minorities Who Give Us Pride
I had the privilege of serving as the spokesperson of the first Druze Major General, Yousef Mishleb. I once tried to convince him to do an interview in Arabic on Al Jazeera because I thought it would send a positive message to the Arabic speaking world. “Peter,” the General told me when I asked him…
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Opinion Can You Be Racist Against White People (Like Sarah Jeong)? Ask The Jews.
Can you be racist against white people? A recent New York Times hire has ignited a polarizing debate around this topic. Last week, The Times announced it had hired Sarah Jeong, a tech writer for the Verge, to join its Editorial Board. The internet very quickly unearthed tweets Jeong had written in 2014 that seemed…
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Opinion What Jeremy Corbyn Can Learn From Linda Sarsour
One of the most important questions facing Jews on the Left today is whether there is a difference between anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism. It gets at the heart of dual, sometimes-paradoxical commitments: on the one hand, to be a member of a once persecuted and sometimes still persecuted minority; on the other hand, to use what…
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Letters Israel Was Right To Define Itself As A Jewish State
Dear Editor, I must, with respect, differ from my friend Alan Dowty, who argued against defining Israel as a Jewish State. While I strongly disagree with much of the recently Knesset-passed Nation-State Bill, especially its denigration of the role of the Arabic language in Israel and its claim that a united Jerusalem is the capital…
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Opinion I’m A British Jew. Jeremy Corbyn Is Not A Threat To Us.
Last week, the three Jewish newspapers in Britain made a point of publishing the same front page editorial to highlight the “existential threat to Jewish life” that a Jeremy Corbyn-led government would pose to British Jews. I am a life-long Labour supporter, a 52-year-old British Jew, born and bred in the outer suburbs of London…
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Opinion Like NFL Stars, Arab Israeli Athletes Should Take A Knee
Israel’s newly-passed law defines Israel as a nation-state solely for the Jewish people. It anchors Israel as a Jewish, non-democratic state, declares Hebrew as the sole official language, and deprives Palestinian Israelis of the rights to equal citizenship and self-determination. The means that, even though Palestinian citizens of Israel are one-fifth of the total population,…
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Opinion Jeremy Corbyn Purports To Defend Minorities. What About Jews?
Since Jews are so notoriously argumentative and Jewish communities notoriously fractious, the joke is that for every two Jews you need three synagogues. So a unified statement from a community citing an “existential threat” to Jewish life in a Western democracy is really news. Even in Britain, a community once noted for its surprising unity…
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Opinion Why war with Iran puts the US-Israel alliance at risk
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Opinion During WWII, a heroic Jewish lawyer warned against the dangers of a dual state — is it coming true in Trump’s America?
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News Ronnie Eldridge was one of NYC’s toughest political minds
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