Opinion

• Opinion

  Stop Calling Millennials the Facebook Generation. They’re The Student Loan Generation

  When I talk to undergraduates about student debt, I always begin with the same question: “How many of you have ever heard your parents talk about paying off their student loans?” Very few hands go up. Then I ask how many of them assume that they, unlike their parents, will still be paying off their…

  By Annie McClanahan

  6 min read
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  Opinion

  We Asked Two College Kids to Debate BDS. Here’s What Happened

  Sami Rahamim is a rising senior at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. Ravil Ashirov is a junior at University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. Sami is against BDS, while Ravil is a supporter. We asked them to debate the merits and demerits of BDS. Sami got us started. SR: The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is deeply complex. Yet,…

  By Ravil Ashirov and Sami Rahamim Aug 7, 2017 | 11 min read
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  Opinion

  What The Left Gets Wrong About Hate Speech

  In my first year editing the opinion section of my college newspaper, myself and a fellow editor published a letter written by a member of the school’s staff that took aim at the atmosphere of political correctness on campus. Using every conservative trope in the book, this Iowa State Dining Systems Support Specialist urged students…

  By Michael Heckle Aug 7, 2017 | 4 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

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  Opinion

  The Azaria Affair: How Israel’s Leadership Betrayed Democracy

  Last week, Elor Azaria’s appeal was rejected. Azaria is the IDF soldier who fatally shot an incapacitated Palestinian who had attacked a fellow soldier with a knife. Azaria’s actions were caught on camera, leaving little room for his defense lawyers to maneuver. The verdict in Azaria’s appeal should have been the final word on one…

  By Amichai Cohen and Idit Shafran-Gittleman Aug 7, 2017 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Why JNF’s Split from KKL Is Actually Good for Everyone

  The relationship between the Jewish National Fund (JNF) and Keren Kayemeth L’yisrael (KKL) was the topic of a recent “expose” in these pages. It seems that direct support by JNF for KKL’s activities in Israel has hit an all-time low of 1%. The article implied that this represents some sort of aberration or departure from…

  By Alon Tal Aug 7, 2017 | 5 min read
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  Opinion

  No, the Anti-BDS Bill Doesn’t Threaten Free Speech. But What It Does Might Be Worse

  There’s an ugly fight going on in Congress over a bill that’s meant to protect Israel from economic boycotts. The bill makes it a federal crime to call for boycotting the Jewish state. Despite initial bipartisan sponsorship, the bill is running into serious opposition — a rarity for a pro-Israel congressional measure — over charges…

  By J.J. Goldberg Aug 4, 2017 | 6 min read
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  Opinion

  The Temple Mount Crisis Seems to Be Over. What Have We Learned?

  Three weeks after the murder of two Israeli policemen on the Temple Mount esplanade by three Israeli Arab Islamists, the crisis appears to be over. There is still a standoff in Israel’s relations with Jordan—a derivative of the Temple Mount incident that involved the shooting by an Israeli security guard of two Jordanians. Then too,…

  By Yossi Alpher Aug 3, 2017 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  19 People Jews Should Worry About More Than Linda Sarsour

  You may be familiar with Linda Sarsour, an activist who rose to prominence as one of the leaders of the Women’s March. Sarsour has a lot of supporters. But she also has her fair share of detractors. Sarsour has been repeatedly isolated as a harbinger of hate and violence, most recently in a New York…

  By Steven Davidson Aug 3, 2017 | 5 min read
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  Opinion

  Orthodox Judge Blames Religious School System for Overdose

  The Orthodox community was rattled last month when 20-year old Malky Klein, daughter of Avrohom and Rifka Klein of Boro Park, died of a heroine overdose. Social media flooded with tearful reflection. A podcast interview with Klein’s father went viral. A video tribute to the young woman got 28,000 views within a week. Over $250,000…

  By Avital Chizhik-Goldschmidt Aug 3, 2017 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  The Rise and Fall of American Jewish Hope

  For six months of this year, from June to November, we Jews will be caught in a symbolically fraught interlude in our history. We are officially betwixt the 50th anniversary of the Six-Day War of June 5, 1967, and the 100th anniversary of the Balfour Declaration of November 2, 1917. They are two events that…

  By J.J. Goldberg Aug 3, 2017 | 6 min read
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  Opinion

  I Wrote About The Opioid Crisis In The Jewish Community. The Response Was Overwhelming.

  Yesterday, I published a piece in these pages on the opioid epidemic and how it has affected the Jewish community. When I shared the piece on social media, I explained what has drawn me to covering this crisis. When I was 19 years old and a sophomore in college, my father committed suicide. We discovered…

  By Bethany Mandel Aug 2, 2017 | 12 min read