Opinion

• Opinion

  Hebrew School Isn’t Supposed To Be ‘Fun’

  As a Jewish Soviet immigrant living in a tony New York City suburb, I don’t always fit in. Smalltalk in our WASPy town tends to center around real estate prices, traffic, and sports scores. Even the Jewish moms have impossibly shiny hair and perfect, glossy nails, their toned bodies forever clad in yoga pants. My…

  By Yana Basis

  5 min read
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  Opinion

  My Journey To Find My Mother’s Jewish England — And How It’s Changed

  In late April, my sister and I returned to Yorkshire, in the north of England, for a brief visit to explore what we could of our mother’s roots. She died nearly 13 years ago, and for almost a decade prior, Alzheimer’s disease had progressively clouded her ability to recall much about her life. I regret…

  By Jane Eisner May 28, 2018 | 7 min read
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  Opinion

  Testing The Limits Of Religious Liberty

  I don’t think an eagle has ever danced in The Pierre before. The opulent five-star hotel on the posh southeast corner of Central Park is known more for its lavish decor and indulgence of man’s hedonistic nature than for its embrace of nature itself. This particular eagle, Pastor Robert Soto of the Lipan Apache Tribe…

  By Laura E. Adkins May 25, 2018 | 6 min read

Columnists View All

• Alyssa Katz Class assignment: Get to know your murdered Jewish neighbors

  

• Rob Eshman Liberal Zionists are under attack. A new book proves their work has never been more important

  

• Dan Perry How Israel became a country where teenagers murder each other in cold blood

  

• Emily Tamkin American Jews have a Hasan Piker problem. Solving it is going to hurt

  

• Jay Michaelson Epstein and Iran are an antisemitism mega-crisis. Here’s what Jewish organizations should do about it. 

  

The Latest

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  Opinion

  Why Giving Sermons With Supper Is So Dangerous

  On May 3 — National Prayer Day — President Trump issued an executive order strengthening the role of religion in the affairs of state. The order establishes a Faith and Opportunity Office within the White House. The executive branch will increase its focus on alleged religious discrimination in national life, and President Trump will appoint…

  By Joshua Z. Rokach May 25, 2018 | 3 min read
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  Letters

  Letter: A Dangerous Liaison Between Synagogue And State

  The Trump administration’s odd relationship with American Jews was on full display last week in Jerusalem. There, a multitude of end-times obsessed evangelical politicians gathered at the new U.S. Embassy to fantasize about Kingdom Come. U.S. Ambassador David Friedman and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who, having wantonly chosen politics over their obligations to the founding…

  By Toni L. Kamins May 25, 2018 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Why Do Genesis Prize Oligarchs Keep Popping Up In Trump’s Russia Scandal?

  Few plotlines could be more embarrassing to a gaggle of Russian Jewish billionaires than this: Create a million-dollar “Jewish genius” prize, elegantly named The Genesis Prize. Award it to an A-list movie idol like Natalie Portman. Then find out that she’s boycotting the award ceremony in Jerusalem as a headline-grabbing protest of Israeli politics —…

  By J.J. Goldberg May 25, 2018 | 8 min read
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  Opinion

  Have Your Say: How Is President Trump Handling Nuclear Deals With Iran And North Korea?

  Have Your Say is your chance to tell us what you think. Tell us in the comments below or on Facebook and let us know what you think about the question posed in the headline.

  By Forward Staff May 24, 2018 | < 1 min read
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  Opinion

  24 Yiddish Curses For Jared Kushner Now That He Has A Security Clearance

  Editor’s note: The following is a satirical piece. Dear Jared, Mazel tov on finally getting your security clearance after 18 months of working in the administration and despite myriad conflicts of interest! When I told my bubbe about it, she began to curse in Yiddish — and asked me to translate her thoughts. May every…

  By Talia Lavin May 24, 2018 | 2 min read
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  Letters

  Fort Campbell Proudly Serves Its Jewish Residents

  How do we serve the spiritual needs of our men and women in uniform? As a Navy veteran and a rabbi, it is a question I struggle with every day. When we think about the role of religion in the military we often think of it in the context of death or illness —especially this…

  By Irving Elson May 23, 2018 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  How The Myth Of The ‘Good Jew’ Hurts Us All

  It is a truth universally acknowledged that any conflict between Israelis and Palestinians will be turned into a battle amongst American Jews to prove who is — and isn’t — a “good Jew.” My social media feed is saturated with Jewish friends and colleagues declaring who fits into this category, and it is generally those…

  By Emily Shire May 23, 2018 | 5 min read
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  Opinion

  My Viral Tweet About Muslims Wearing Kippahs Didn’t Show The Whole Truth

  When we see an image that stirs something deep inside of us, we can’t help but share it with the world. There is just something about a man who lets another man fall asleep on him on the subway that is just so utterly sweet and beautiful. It awakens something deep inside of us, deep…

  By Elad Nehorai May 22, 2018 | 5 min read