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
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Opinion
Hey, Jewish Establishment: BDS Is Not Jews’ Biggest Threat — Occupation Is
For years now, American Jewish institutions have been making a familiar argument: that Jewish students are under threat from the boycott, divest, and sanctions movement. They hold massive conferences and raise impressive sums. Even Netanyahu has joined their efforts. But this enormous transfer of institutional resources serves a phantom threat. The idea that American Jewish…
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Opinion I Am A Jew Of Color. I Think.
I am a Jew of color. I think. I’ve always been confused by this idea, of being “of color.” I’m Sephardic, but I grew up in a white town, and my parents grew up in an Ashkenazi area of Israel, so, culturally speaking, I always felt identified with some degree of whiteness. It was a…
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Letters It May Not Be A Golden Age, But Television Today Has Much To Offer
Dear Mr. Letzler, Many thanks returned for your thoughtful, informative letter in response to my article on Mrs. Maisel. First of all, yes, of course you are correct: It’s a rimshot! I stand corrected. Second, when I see your location is Germany, your thoughts and opinions are all the more meaningful to me. ( As…
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Opinion The Tragedy Of The Liberal Jewish Response To Rubashkin’s Release
The celebrations in Orthodox Jewish communities of President Trump’s commutation of Sholom Mordechai Rubashkin’s prison sentence and the release, after eight years, of the former CEO of the Agriprocessors meatpacking plant in Iowa have subsided. But not before they engendered a rank venting of resentment in other Jewish circles over Mr. Rubashkin’s new freedom. Mr….
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Opinion Lorde’s Canceled Israel Concert Reveals The Hypocrisy Of BDS
Lorde began racking up praise and awards for her debut album, Pure Heroine, before she’d even hit her 18th birthday. Listening to her poetic yet sharp-tongued lyrics, combined with her soulful voice, one reflexively assumed she had spent decades meticulously reflecting on her own passing youth; in fact, she was barely old enough to buy…
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Opinion Trump’s Immigration Agenda Should Outrage Jews
The outrage of the moment has, understandably, been a new Congressionally approved tax overhaul that rewards the wealthy with tax breaks, adding the deficit and leaving the poor and residents of high-tax states with the bill. But released at year’s end is a new White House agenda on immigration that should chill the very soul…
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Opinion Thank You, Lorde, For Standing Up For Palestinian Human Rights
When I heard that the internationally acclaimed singer, songwriter and record producer Lorde was reconsidering a decision to play in Israel I had a gut feeling that she would cancel the show. This weekend, she did just that. “[I]’ve received an overwhelming number of messages and letters and have had a lot of discussions with…
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Opinion Despite My Non-Zionism, I’ve Chosen To Stay In The Jewish Students Union
My recent campaign to be the President of the UK’s Union of Jewish Students attracted a fair bit of attention in the Jewish media, largely because, as Joseph Finlay recently wrote in the Forward, my views are “diametrically opposed to those traditionally taken by UJS,” the British Union of Jewish Students. I am a non-Zionist,…
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Opinion Rubashkin Was Put On Trial – But So Were We
Last Wednesday President Trump unexpectedly commuted the sentence of Sholom Mordechai Rubashkin. Rubashkin had been the executive of Agriprocessors, which was, at one point, the largest Kosher meatpacking plant in the United States. At the time of his commuted sentence, Rubashkin was eight years into a 27-year sentence for financial crimes he committed as he…
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Opinion The Old Boys Club Is Keeping Women Out Of Leadership Roles In The Jewish World
The most recent salary survey of the CEOs of Jewish not-for-profit organizations in the Forward exposed the paucity of women in the highest leadership roles. Because none of the organizations or individuals surveyed have offered an explanation, I offer my own: Women are not seen as experts, particularly in those subjects that much of the…
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Opinion Why Doesn’t Congress Care When Israel Kills American Citizens?
Last March, a Palestinian man fatally stabbed a tourist walking near the Tel Aviv coast. It was five months into the “Intifada of the Knives,” the name given to the spate of Palestinian attacks on Israelis that began in October 2015. By March 2016, these types of near-daily random stabbing acts had become just another…
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