Opinion

• Opinion

  Actually, Steve Bannon Is Not An Anti-Semite. He’s Something Worse.

  Last week in The New York Times, columnist Bret Stephens did something brave: He called the Zionist Organization of America’s decision to host Steve Bannon at its gala “a disgrace.” Stephens’s condemnation was brave because ZOA enjoys considerable support in the hawkish Zionist circles in which he travels. Its gala featured, in addition to Bannon,…

  By Peter Beinart

  4 min read
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  Opinion

  We Asked Readers If They Thought Franken Should Resign. Here’s What They Said.

  As Democratic leaders grapple with what to do with Senator Al Franken following accusations of sexual misconduct, Forward readers are polarized on the question of whether he should resign or not. In a poll conducted on the Forward’s Twitter account, 51% of Forward’s followers said Franken should resign immediately. 23% believed Franken shouldn’t, with another…

  By Steven Davidson Nov 21, 2017 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  Was Charles Manson The Forefather Of The Alt Right?

  Charles Manson, the cult leader who convinced his followers to murder nine people in 1969, died this week in prison. The shocking brutality of the Manson Family murders seemed to signal an end of an era, destroying the illusion of 1960s counter cultural idealism and highlighting its darker side. The murders have been a subject…

  By Jacob Richardson Nov 21, 2017 | 3 min read

Columnists View All

• Jodi Rudoren This is my last column as editor of the Forward

  

• Jay Michaelson We must face reality — the Gaza war is now a war of annihilation

  

• Rob Eshman This Shavuot, fill your blintz with lox

  

• Nora Berman For new parents, the aid crisis in Gaza is hitting hard

  

• Dan Perry Netanyahu is at a crossroads: Endless war, or peace?

  

• Emily Tamkin Even if the Capital Jewish Museum shooter ‘did it for Gaza,’ his actions were antisemitic

  

The Latest

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  Opinion

  I Hid From Neo-Nazis In Poland. But They Found Me Online

  On November 11th, 60,000 protesters assembled in Warsaw to commemorate Polish Independence Day. The march was organized in part by two self-described “radical nationalist” youth movements, both of which draw their names from anti-Semitic leagues of the 1920’s and 30’s. The protest featured torches, chants of “Sieg Heil” and “Ku Klux Klan,” and banners reading…

  By Sam Rubin Nov 21, 2017 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  A Trans Woman Was Just Kicked Out Of A Jewish Facebook Group For Women

  Yesterday was Transgender Day of Remembrance. It’s a day to mark the violence against the Transgender community. Unfortunately, in one Jewish Facebook group, it was marked by cruelty instead. Facebook groups have evolved over the last few years from groups of a few dozen people from your high school class to thousands of people with…

  By Elisheva Sokolic Nov 21, 2017 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Black Friday And The American Shabbat

  Thanksgiving and Black Friday come every year, in good economic times and bad. Forward editor-in-chief Jane Eisner explained in 2011 why Americans should not be cajoled into working on a day that’s supposed to be all about family. Macy’s flagship store in New York’s Herald Square and the more than 800 branches around the country…

  By Jane Eisner Nov 21, 2017 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  We Asked 27 Rabbis: What Is The One Lesson Jews Today Need To Learn From The Talmud?

  As a part of our Rabbi Roundtable series, we brought together leading rabbis from all corners of the Jewish world to offer their thoughts on the big questions. This week, we asked our rabbis, “If there is one lesson Jews today should learn from the Talmud, what is it?” Here are their responses: Avram Mlotek,…

  By Forward Staff Nov 21, 2017 | 11 min read
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  Opinion

  Al Franken Shouldn’t Resign — Yet

  All weekend I read about Al Franken and pondered whether the 2006 groping incident for which he has apologized was severe enough to cause him to resign his U.S. Senate seat from Minnesota. I woke up yesterday morning convinced that this particular punishment did not fit that particular crime. Then, later in the morning, another…

  By Jane Eisner Nov 21, 2017 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  The Murky Question Of Al Franken’s Sexual Misconduct: Should He Resign?

  Welcome back to Jane Looking Forward. If you wish to continue reading this weekly newsletter, please subscribe here. And spread the word! Should Al Franken resign? The answer becomes murkier by the moment. A lively and sometimes anguished debate erupted after the Democratic (and very Jewish) senator from Minnesota acknowledged that he groped and belittled…

  By Jane Eisner Nov 20, 2017 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Israel Just Decided To Expel African Refugees. So Much For ‘Never Again’

  In 1939, my grandmother left Vienna with her sister, parents and the few belongings they could carry and headed by ship, east to Shanghai. They were among tens of thousands of Jewish refugees fleeing the violence of Naziism who would make the city their home for the next several years. They lived in a single…

  By Russel Neiss Nov 20, 2017 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  No, The Orthodox Don’t Hate Muslims

  Last year, a Hassidic rabbi and son of Holocaust survivors did something noble. He dedicated his presidential election vote to the American Muslim soldier Captain Humayun Khan — who was killed in combat and about whom his father Khizr spoke movingly at the Democratic National Convention. I’m an Orthodox Jewish Immigrant My vote is private….

  Nov 20, 2017 | 3 min read