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
BDS’s Roots Are Steeped In Anti-Semitism
The spectacle of boycotters being outraged about getting a dose of their own medicine makes it tempting to enjoy a moment of comic relief – after all, it’s a bit like one of those delightfully absurd Ephraim Kishon stories: there are characters that devote enormous energies to preventing artists and academics from going to a…
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Opinion Israel Is Right To Boycott Its Boycotters
This weekend Israel published a list of 20 mainly European and U.S.-based pro-BDS (boycott, divestment, and sanctions) organizations whose senior members will be automatically barred from entering the country. The list is a follow up to Israel’s decision last March to amend its 1952 Entry Into Israel Law so that foreign nationals who support a…
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Opinion Jane Looking Forward Returns: The Israeli Blacklist, Soulful Music and More
Welcome back to Jane Looking Forward. If you wish to continue reading this weekly newsletter, please subscribe here. And spread the word! Every country in the world is allowed to decide who gets to visit. So the government of Israel was within its rights when it announced over the weekend that it would deny entry…
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Opinion Israel’s Deplorable Boycott Of BDS Supporters Is Just The Beginning
Over the weekend, in a decision redolent of the repressive policies of the old Soviet Union, the Israeli government blacklisted 20 international organizations, officially barring entry to these groups’ officials and activists expressly for their peaceful opposition to the Israeli government’s policies. It would be bad enough – for all who cherish progressive democratic values…
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Opinion I Oppose BDS But Still Think This Blacklist Is a Dumb Idea
Every country in the world is allowed to decide who gets to visit. So the government of Israel was within its rights when it announced over the weekend that it would deny entry to senior leaders and high profile activists from 20 organizations that support the movement to boycott, divest from and sanction Israel. Personally,…
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Letters Letter: More Efforts Should Be Made To Normalize Relations Between Jews and Palestinians
Dear Ms. Eisner: I very much enjoyed your piece about your West Bank trip and Palestinian non-violent resistance on January 3. It stimulated a couple of reactions, and since mine are different from those of Judge Djerassi whose opinion was published on January 6, I am writing now. I do think it is wonderful that…
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Opinion Why Ending Cash Bail Is A Jewish Issue
Last week, New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo announced his intention to end cash bail for all misdemeanor and nonviolent felony cases across New York State. In his State of the State address, Cuomo acknowledged that the cash bail system, in which someone arrested for a crime awaits trial at home in exchange for money…
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Opinion Steve Bannon Used Israel As An Anti-Semitic Tool Against Jared Kushner
Jared Kushner, presidential son-in-law and senior adviser, believed anti-Semitism was the main driver behind then-chief strategist Steve Bannon’s White House turf war against Kushner and his wife, Ivanka Trump. That’s the biggest takeaway from Michael Wolff’s bombshell best-seller, “Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House.” That is not how the press has covered the…
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Opinion What Happens To Israel When There Are More Muslims In America Than Jews?
Since the 1990s, American presidents have provided Israel the military capacity and diplomatic immunity to control millions of Palestinians who lack basic rights. Yet, at the same time, American presidents have insisted that Palestinians deserve those basic rights — that, in the words of George W. Bush, “it is untenable for Palestinians to live in…
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Opinion Israel Made Itself A Pariah By Barring Me And My Fellow Activists
As a Jewish mother, one of the most important things to me is to instill in my children a sense of Jewish identity and values. For my now 15- and 16-year-old children, this has over the years included Tot-Shabbat at our synagogue, Hebrew school, Jewish summer camp and even Jewish youth group trips to Israel….
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Opinion I’m A Jew And A Member Of JVP. Israel Just Banned Me.
In 2011, I visited the land of Israel on a trip for American Jews, organized by an Orthodox yeshiva — kind of like Birthright, only more religious. I remember how holy it felt to pray at the graves of the matriarchs and patriarchs in Hebron, to dunk in the mikvah (ritual bath) used by the…
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Exclusive Mahmoud Khalil wants to reassure you
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Culture 70 years ago, this Jewish choreographer predicted our epidemic of loneliness and isolation
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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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