Opinion

• Letters

  Jack Rosenthal: An Appreciation

  I was travelling in Italy when I received an e-mail on May 7 from Jack Rosenthal. The subject line simply said, “Illness” – enough to make me shudder. And sure enough, the first sentence of his message got right to the point: “I’ve just been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.” Fifteen weeks later, Jack was gone….

  By Stephen B. Shepard

  3 min read
• 
  Opinion

  When It Comes To The Middle East, Liberals Need To Be Trump’s Biggest Cheerleaders

  On Wednesday night, Jared Kushner, along with Jason Greenblatt and deputy national security adviser Dina Powell, arrived in Israel ostensibly seeking what President Trump has taken to calling “the ultimate deal” between Israel and Palestine. Liberals may be tempted to mock these efforts at best and to hope they will fail at worst. But these…

  By Abe Silberstein Aug 24, 2017 | 3 min read
• 
  Opinion

  As a Religious Zionist, My First Encounter With A Palestinian Changed My Life

  In a well-lit basement room in the East Jerusalem neighborhood Sheikh Jarrah, a group of kids and adults are standing in a circle tossing a ball. This group is made up of seventh graders — Muslim, Christian and Jewish — all residents of Jerusalem; their parents and counselors are also present. I am in the…

  By Nava Levine-Coren Aug 24, 2017 | 5 min read

Columnists View All

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

  

• Jay Michaelson Being Jewish in America today feels like walking multiple tightropes at once

  

• Rob Eshman A precise, Chekhovian logic guided Israel’s strike on Iran — but chaos could come next

  

• Nora Berman Greta Thunberg’s Gaza flotilla was never going to help Palestinians

  

• Dan Perry Celebrating my daughter’s birthday in a bomb shelter, as missiles struck Tel Aviv

  

• Emily Tamkin Trump’s latest move makes Mahmoud Khalil a Joseph for our times

  

The Latest

• 
  Opinion

  We Need To Start Befriending Neo Nazis

  What I’m about to suggest in this column is something I’m not sure I have the moral fortitude to actually carry out in my own adult life. But before I share this perhaps painfully naive idea, I’d like to tell you a story from my childhood. Riding the bus one afternoon, a girl in another…

  By Bethany Mandel Aug 24, 2017 | 4 min read
• 
  Opinion

  How Your Favorite #NeverTrump Republicans Planted Seeds Of His Rise To Power

  If you have been watching or reading liberal media spaces over the past two years, you’ve seen them: the anti-Trump Republicans. These are folks who were vehemently anti-Obama for the last eight years, and George W. Bush supporters before that, but just could not get on board with Trump. These ostensibly reasonable conservatives have become…

  By Yousef Munayyer Aug 23, 2017 | 6 min read
• 
  Opinion

  The Orthodox Obsession With Being Skinny Has To Stop

  I grew up with parents that loved me, a roof over my head, and everything I needed to be happy. But when I look back at my childhood, one thing overwhelms everything else: the overwhelming shame, hatred, and disgust that I had about the size of my body. Growing up I was told that I…

  By Shira Rosenbluth Aug 22, 2017 | 4 min read
• 
  Opinion

  The One Thing Jews Should Be Doing To Combat White Supremacy

  What did you feel when you heard the neo-Nazis in Charlottesville, Virginia, chant, “Jews will not replace us?” Fear, of course. Bewilderment, perhaps anger. But I bet a lot of Jews felt another emotion, which they’re less likely to articulate in public: snobbery. “Replace you? Where, behind the counter at Wendy’s? We’re successful, industrious, upper-middle…

  By Peter Beinart Aug 22, 2017 | 4 min read
• 
  Opinion

  What Many Jews Misunderstand About The March For Racial Justice

  Welcome back to Jane Looking Forward. If you wish to continue reading this weekly newsletter, subscribe here. A short story about the Jewish actress Mayim Bialik’s criticism of the decision by the March for Racial Justice organizers to hold their protest on Yom Kippur was one of the most read and most shared pieces on…

  By Jane Eisner Aug 22, 2017 | 3 min read
• 
  Opinion

  To The Right And The Left: Stop Comparing Everyone You Don’t Like To Nazis

  Following events in Charlottesville, with Neo Nazis on the American street and President Trump’s abject defense of “Southern heritage,” there have been two types of response. One is from the anti-Zionist left. The other is from the Jewish right. But though the authors of these responses may believe themselves to be radically at odds, they…

  By Zachary Braiterman Aug 22, 2017 | 3 min read
• 
  Opinion

  Make No Mistake: Trump’s Afghanistan Speech Was About Charlottesville

  The majesty of the American presidency dictates that when a president addresses the nation, particularly on a matter as consequential as war, his words receive serious, respectful attention. Donald Trump received that and more when he delivered his prime-time August 21 speech on Afghanistan. It’s a tribute to the strength of our democratic institutions that…

  By J.J. Goldberg Aug 22, 2017 | 3 min read
• 
  Opinion

  4 Reasons Republican Jews Are Still In Denial About Trump

  In a milquetoast statement released on August 16, the Republican Jewish Coalition at last revealed itself to be living in complete delusion. The statement was released after Donald Trump first blamed “many sides” for the violence in Charlottesville, and then issued an aide-written statement condemning racism, only to double down on his original position, stating…

  By Jay Michaelson Aug 22, 2017 | 4 min read