Opinion

• Opinion

  The Secret Hidden In Mike Pence’s Grin

  Vice President Mike Pence has been noted for his “close-cropped helmet of white hair,” his “folksy Midwestern drawl” and the “devotional gaze” he trains on President Trump. But his most striking feature is surely his smile. It’s not really a smile. It’s actually more of a grin. He brought this very grin to the Israeli…

  By Batya Ungar-Sargon

  6 min read
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  Opinion

  No, Israel Is Not Sliding Into Fascism

  There’s a new meme afoot warning of an existential crisis threatening Israel. According to a growing number of home-bred critics, Israel is no longer a democracy. Nor, according to these people, is Israel in the category of other oppressive regimes, like Saudi Arabia or Iran. Israel has even surpassed merely racist regimes like Apartheid South…

  By Ofir Haivry Jan 24, 2018 | 5 min read
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  Opinion

  Mike Pence’s Israel Trip Was An Affront To Women

  Women were segregated at the Western Wall this week. During Vice President Mike Pence’s visit to the Kotel, female journalists were relegated to the back. The segregation came not during a religious event but rather during a diplomatic visit. And the women who were sent to the back of the pack were not praying women…

  By Elana Stzokman Jan 24, 2018 | 3 min read

Columnists View All

• Alyssa Katz What I learned at a Holocaust survivors’ Purim party

  

• Rob Eshman Trump is backed into a corner on Iran. Get ready for him to start blaming Jews

  

• Dan Perry Viktor Orbán may fall. Netanyahu should be next

  

• Emily Tamkin Hungary is poised to topple an authoritarian leader. American Jews have something to learn

  

• Jay Michaelson Passover’s 4 cups of meaning

  

The Latest

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  Opinion

  No, That Muslim Model’s Tweets Were Not Anti-Semitic

  On Monday, hijabi beauty blogger and model Amena Khan announced that she was voluntarily stepping down from her role in a L’Oreal Paris ad campaign — over some tweets that criticized Israel. In a statement posted to Instagram, Khan apologized for the tweets, which were posted in 2014 during the Gaza War. Her apology and…

  By Talia Lavin Jan 23, 2018 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Democrats Are Turning From Israel – Because It’s Tainted By Trump

  The latest Pew Research Center survey examining the partisan divide between Republicans and Democrats on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict makes for unsurprising but discomfiting reading. The decades-old truism about Israel being a bipartisan issue is on life support, with a 52% gap between Republicans and Democrats on sympathy for Israel over the Palestinians. It’s the biggest…

  By Michael Koplow Jan 23, 2018 | 5 min read
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  Opinion

  Mike Pence’s Love Of Israel Is Dangerous For Jews

  Vice President Mike Pence may have just become the first Christian visitor to Israel not to set foot inside a church. Palestinian Christians boycotted his visit this week, still furious over the Trump administration’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, so Pence never saw Bethlehem, or Nazareth, or the Holy Sepulchre. Instead, like a…

  By Jay Michaelson Jan 23, 2018 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Mike Pence Just Redefined What It Means To Be ‘Pro-Israel’

  Welcome back to Jane Looking Forward. If you wish to continue reading this weekly newsletter, please subscribe here. And spread the word! With his long, formally delivered speech before the Israeli Knesset today, Vice President Mike Pence has dramatically redefined what it means for an American administration to be “pro-Israel.” I’m not a fan of…

  By Jane Eisner Jan 23, 2018 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  How Mike Pence Is Changing The Definition Of ‘Pro-Israel’

  With his long, formally delivered speech before the Israeli Knesset today, Vice President Mike Pence has dramatically redefined what it means for an American administration to be “pro-Israel.” I’m not a fan of the term in any case, because there are many ways to love and support Israel, and no one leader or group should…

  By Jane Eisner Jan 22, 2018 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  Have Your Say: Send Us Your Questions For Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

  On February 1, 2018, the Forward’s Editor in Chief Jane Eisner will sit down with Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg — and she wants to ask the questions our readers want to have answered! Now’s your chance: send them our way. Loading…

  By Forward Staff Jan 22, 2018 | < 1 min read
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  Opinion

  What I Learned About UN Aid To Palestinians Growing Up In Gaza

  Last week, the US announced its decision to start defunding UNRWA, the United Nations Reliefs and Works Agency. If defunded, an immediate catastrophe will surely follow. UNRWA, which provides aid to Palestinians through a combination of food, schools, medical and other services, means life to more than two thirds of Gaza’s two million residents –…

  By Muhammad Shehada Jan 22, 2018 | 5 min read
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  Opinion

  We’re Still Having the Wrong Conversation About Roe v. Wade

  Forty-five years ago today, the United States Supreme Court, in Roe v. Wade, affirmed that a woman’s right to an abortion was protected by the U.S. Constitution. The decision gave total autonomy to women to terminate a pregnancy during the first trimester, and prevented states from interfering in that right. But — and this is…

  By Jane Eisner Jan 22, 2018 | 3 min read