In the Forward’s opinion section, you’ll find analysis and essays from diverse corners of the Jewish world.
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Opinion
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Opinion
Stop Calling Me A ‘Black Jew’
I’ve gotten a lot of questions since I started introducing my opinions in these pages. Some have been good questions. Some have been difficult ones. And some I won’t even dignify with an answer. But the most common question I’ve received, and the one I feel compelled to discuss this Martin Luther King Day, is…
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Opinion My Daughter Is A Ghanaian Jew. Trump Just Called Her Shit
My home has two Ghanaian Jews in it: my husband and my baby. When I look at them, I know who they are. They are innately worthy. They are innately beautiful and kind. And according to our president, they are shit. When President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he doesn’t want people from “shithole”…
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Opinion Abbas Is Wrong About Jewish History – But He’s Not Totally Wrong
This week, in response to the Trump administration’s declaration of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas declared in a scathing speech that “Israel is a colonialist project that has nothing to do with Jews.” Abbas did not invent this characterization of Israel; it is a longstanding contention of anti-Zionists. Zionism’s…
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Opinion Shutting Down Young Jews Means Shutting Yourself Out Of The Future
A few weeks ago in these pages, Madi Norman, a student at the University of Chicago, argued that American Jewish institutions had lost sight of what matters to young people. The American Jewish establishment is obsessed with the boycott of Israel, argued Norman, when the truth is, for young people, it’s the occupation of millions…
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Opinion Criticizing Israel While Black Means Losing Your Status As A Jew
Whenever the kids on my block used to see a white person in our neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago, they would always yell out, “Tamar, someone’s looking for you!” In a place where the only white people the kids saw were either teachers or police, it was strange to see random white people…
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Opinion Hating JVP Shows A Lack Of Good Faith
Philosophers have something called “the principle of charity,” which requires interpreting a speaker’s statements to be rational and, in the case of any argument, considering its best, strongest possible interpretation. There ought to be a similar “principle of op-ed charity,” which requires the writer to read the opposition’s statements and arguments in good faith and…
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Opinion Religious Women Are Fighting To Take Back Their Neighborhood From Ultra-Orthodox Extremists
In the 10 years I’ve lived in Beit Shemesh, I have seen things I thought I’d never see. I’ve seen signs telling women what to wear and signs ordering them to walk down a specific staircase. I’ve seen young girls spit on and called shiksas. I’ve been spit on, for trying to protect these girls….
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Opinion American Sanctions Only Give Iran An Excuse
In Iran, the some officials look over their shoulders when before they speak at meetings. They look around them to see if anyone is listening before saying something, and when they have something important to say to each other, they whisper to the other person’s ear. This is how senior Iranian officials serving in the…
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Opinion How American Jews Laid The Foundation For Israel’s Blacklist
This week, the Israeli government announced its plan to ban the entry of key activists from 20 groups who advocate Boycott Divestment and Sanctions of Israel. The move is neither surprising nor new. Israel has for years been barring people from entering the country over their politics – even Jews. In 2010, it denied Noam…
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Opinion JVP’s Anti-Semitic Obsession With Jewish Power
Jewish Voice for Peace, the fringe anti-Israel group that supports the boycott of Israel, is back in the news again now that the Israeli government has officially banned its leaders from entering the Jewish state. Many supporters of Israel are viewing the ban as a sign of weakening democracy in Israel or a deepening divide…
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Opinion Why We Liberal Zionists Need BDS – Even If We Oppose It
This week, Israel placed twenty far-left groups, including Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) and CodePink, on a “blacklist.” Leaders of groups that support the boycott against Israel will no longer be allowed into its borders. This is bad news, no doubt about it. Strong democracies welcome dissent, from citizens and foreigners alike. Only insecure, authoritarian…
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Opinion Trump is backed into a corner on Iran. Get ready for him to start blaming Jews
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Opinion Mahmoud Khalil’s reassurances are bad for Jews but even worse for Palestinians
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Fast Forward Dan Bilzerian wants to ‘kill Israelis’ and thinks Judaism is ‘terrible.’ Now he’s running for Congress.
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Fast Forward After AIPAC-backed primary loss, Tom Malinowski endorses rival who says Israel committed genocide
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Opinion Viktor Orbán may fall. Netanyahu should be next
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Opinion Hungary is poised to topple an authoritarian leader. American Jews have something to learn
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