In the Forward’s opinion section, you’ll find analysis and essays from diverse corners of the Jewish world.
To pitch an opinion piece, email our Opinion Editor, Talya Zax.
In the Forward’s opinion section, you’ll find analysis and essays from diverse corners of the Jewish world.
To pitch an opinion piece, email our Opinion Editor, Talya Zax.
Opinion
Last week, the Islamic State published a video that appeared to show the execution of a Hamas militant. Meanwhile, Israel has been fending off rocket attacks from the Gaza strip, to the tune of 30 rockets since President Donald Trump’s announcement that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel. But these two episodes reveal long-simmering tensions…
I am a Palestinian living in Hebron. I live stateless with no rights. I have no rights to general assembly, no rights to free speech, to due process or to freedom of movement. I get 10% of the water illegal settlers living next to me get. I am not allowed to walk down the streets…
I’m probably known to the Jewish community as a co-founder, along with my dear friend Michael Steinhardt, of Birthright Israel, a remarkable program that has seen 600,000 participants exercise their birthright via an educational visit to Israel. However, since I was 17 I’ve been involved in the Jewish world. My parents led the way, as…
Dear Jane, I am a Philadelphian who has admired your journalism and writing for many years. I read with great interest your piece in the January Forward magazine about your Encounter trip in the West Bank this past November. I agree positive recognition is deserved by Palestinians who dissent and protest non-violently. When you report,…
Dear Editor, Thankfully, we have begun a conversationas to how communities can deal with sexual abuse allegations against Shlomo Carlebach. The sound of his gorgeous music may be an integral part of Jewish life, but the pain of those abused by him is too loud to ignore any longer. Here are two suggestions that would…
Last month, Israeli soldiers invaded the home of 16-year-old Ahed Tamimi in the middle of the night and carted her off to detention in handcuffs. The teenage activist, from the West Bank village of Nabi Saleh, has lived every day of her life under the brutal boot of Israeli military occupation. She has witnessed settlers…
The sight of a young, unarmed woman standing up to heavily armed soldiers will always be a powerful one. This was certainly the case with a recent video seen around the world — that of Ahed Tamimi, the teenaged Palestinian girl who stood against the mighty IDF and was subsequently arrested. Who could resist the…
Israeli authorities rang in the New Year by turning to a tool of repression fit for the social media age: locking up Palestinians for Facebook posts. On January 1, Israeli military prosecutors indicted Nariman Tamimi, a mother and activist famous for leading the village of Nabi Saleh’s struggle against Israeli military occupation and land confiscation….
16 year old Ahed Tamimi has now been indicted on five charges of assault for slapping and kicking an Israeli soldier. In the pages of outlets like Ha’aretz, +972, Mondoweiss and Al Jazeera she has been hailed as a brave rebel, courageously saying “No!” to the occupying Israeli military. In the meantime, “pro-Israel” organizations and…
As with many aspects of Jewish culture, religion, genetics and heritage, the origins of Jewish last names are ensconced in more myth than fact. There are many explanations out there attempting to explain the origins of Jewish surnames from Eastern Europe. Some see in them “Sephardic” roots, while others see a putative link to Antiquity…
Dear Editor, I am delighted that an eminent legal scholar has responded to my piece, but I am baffled by most of his criticisms. Mr. Dane seems to think that I am arguing against the idea of the Christian Bible as a crucial text in the history of the American experiment. But I didn’t write…
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