In the Forward’s opinion section, you’ll find analysis and essays from diverse corners of the Jewish world.
To pitch an opinion piece, email our Opinion Editor, Talya Zax.
In the Forward’s opinion section, you’ll find analysis and essays from diverse corners of the Jewish world.
To pitch an opinion piece, email our Opinion Editor, Talya Zax.
Opinion
Whether liberal Zionism is a dead letter or merely on the ropes remains an open question. Jarrod Tanny’s recent piece on “The Loneliness of Liberal Zionism” is the latest salvo in this ongoing debate. Liberal Zionists, Tanny tells us, are attacked from both the anti-Zionist left and the right, “forced to wage war on two…
On March 22, following months of gathering testimonies and public campaigning urging Ramah and other Jewish summer camps to talk about the Occupation and include Palestinian perspectives, we — alumni of six Ramah camps and members of IfNotNow— had the opportunity to sit down with National Ramah Commission Director Rabbi Mitch Cohen to share our…
During the election, the deluge of hate that came my way when I expressed my disapproval of then-candidate Donald Trump was so violent that I purchased a gun. But these days, the vitriol is coming from the other side. Chance the Rapper, for example, was was eviscerated online for suggesting that “Black people don’t have…
On Monday, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced a ruling that would change the course of American asylum policy: the closing of America’s doors to those escaping domestic violence and gang violence. Asylum seekers from Central America and elsewhere else, fleeing desperate conditions and frequently in terror for their lives, are now officially unwelcome. Coupled with…
The American Jewish Committee’s recent survey has already sparked considerable debate over the future of the Jewish people — indeed, whether there even is a single Jewish people. Most concerning to many is the finding that American Jews and Israeli Jews have diverged to the point that while a majority of both groups see the…
Welcome back to Jane Looking Forward. If you wish to continue reading this weekly newsletter, please subscribe here. And spread the word! I am an unabashed fan of 1950s musicals and movies. Growing up, the local New York television station — yes, such a thing existed — ran reruns every weekday afternoon, and that often…
The Trump administration’s treatment of asylum seekers and immigrant communities is filling many Americans with horror and dread. During the dark days of this administration, we are seeing immigrants who have built homes, businesses and lives in America have their legal status arbitrarily revoked by refusals to extend TPS. We are hearing the screams of…
This weekend, the Jewish people came under threat. I don’t mean the people themselves so much as the idea that there is a single unified Jewish people, a concept that thanks to a new poll was revealed to be more of an anachronism than a truism. The idea of Jewish peoplehood has been such an…
Israeli soccer fans were all set to haul out blue-and-white flags again this past weekend. The display of Argentina’s official colors would have celebrated the arrival of that country’s national team and its captain — Europe’s leading scorer, Lionel Messi — for a match against Israel’s all-star squad. But the much-anticipated game was cancelled at…
The honorary doctorate being awarded this week by Krakow’s Jagiellonian University to San Francisco-based philanthropist Tad Taube is noteworthy for two reasons. One speaks to Poland’s recent history, the other to the present political moment. No one has done more during the last 30 years to repair the anguished relationship between Poland and the Jewish…
The Israeli army has declared that Razan al-Najjar, the 21-year-old female medic shot to death June 1 on the Gazan border, “is not the angel of mercy that Hamas propaganda attempts to portray.” Where did the army get this idea? From a Palestinian video clip that shows Najjar tossing a smoke grenade or tear gas…
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