Opinion

• Opinion

  This Day in 1492, Spanish Jews Were Expelled — and Columbus Set Sail

  This date — August 1 on the Gregorian calendar, coinciding with the 9th day of Av 5777 on the Hebrew calendar — marks a very significant juncture in Jewish and world history. It was on this day in 1492 that Jews were expelled from Spain, bringing a dramatic and brutal end to what had once…

  By J.J. Goldberg

  2 min read
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  Opinion

  Jane Looking Forward: To Cuss Or Not To Cuss, JNF And More

  In the one story published by the Forward last week about (now former) White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci, we didn’t cuss. We didn’t have to. The story was about a biblical reference to Cain and Abel that Scaramucci made on CNN, the closest we came to a Jewish angle of the R-rated reality show…

  By Jane Eisner Jul 31, 2017 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Why Are We Still Fasting On Tisha B’Av? Even The Rabbis Of The Talmud Were Over It.

  On the list of Things a Good Jew Should Do, fasting on Tisha B’Av ranks pretty low on my list. Now, before my rabbi has a minor heart attack, I should confess that despite my misgivings, like many observant Jews around the world, I will be refraining from eating, drinking, bathing, wearing leather shoes and…

  By Laura E. Adkins Jul 31, 2017 | 3 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 Israel’s strike on Iran was necessary. But for real change, the US must join the fray

  

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

  

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  Opinion

  No, Jewish Republicans Aren’t About to Join the Alt Right

  In an opinion essay that appeared recently on these pages, my colleague Peter Beinart described the tiff that broke out in mid-July between the Anti-Defamation League and Ohio state treasurer Josh Mandel, a prominent Jewish Republican politician. The tiff revolved around an ADL research report issued July 18. Titled “From Alt Right to Alt Lite:…

  By J.J. Goldberg Jul 31, 2017 | 6 min read
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  Opinion

  8 Jewish Lesbians Who Should Run For Office

  A recent New York Times column by Frank Bruni discussed a surprising finding: lesbian women have surprising electoral success in the United States. The Victory Fund, which supports L.G.B.T. candidates, crunched the numbers and found that lesbians win 70 percent of their races. With the gay future ever so bright, here are several Jewish lesbians…

  By Steven Davidson Jul 31, 2017 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  This Tisha B’Av, Let’s Remember the 2,000 Year History of Women of the Wall

  There is a story in the Talmud about an incident that occurred after the death of Rabbi Meir. His rival, Rabbi Yehuda, declared that Rabbi Meir’s disciples would henceforth be barred from the study house. But one of Rabbi Meir’s students forced his way in, and quoted a teaching about a priest who betroths a…

  By Ilana Kurshan Jul 31, 2017 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Seriously, Mahwah: Opposing An Eruv Is Anti-Semitic

  A debate over some string and plastic strips has laid bare festering anti-Semitism in Mahwah, New Jersey. A recent controversy over an eruv was compounded when Mahwah’s mayor responded to his constituents’ invocations of ancient anti-Semitic tropes like the dirty Jew. The mayor backtracked on the township’s commitment to allow the Jewish community to build…

  By Michael A. Helfand Jul 31, 2017 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  This Tisha B’Av, I’ll Mourn For The Destruction Of Jewish Unity

  When the Israeli government announced its decision last month to halt the construction and planning of a pluralistic prayer space near the Western Wall, the outcry from the Diaspora Jewish community was enormous. The proposed plan didn’t even offer a shared space at the Western Wall; it referred to an area further south by Robinson’s…

  By Avram Mlotek Jul 30, 2017 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Why We Are Spending Tisha B’Av At An Immigrant Detention Center

  Jews know something about the immigrant experience. We know what it means to be a stranger, an unwelcome resident sometimes tolerated but always in danger of being uprooted and forced to become refugees. Whether we’re marking the Jews’ exile from the Land of Israel following the destruction of the Second Temple, or mourning our exile…

  By Rabbi Elliott Tepperman Jul 28, 2017 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  This Transgender Veteran – And Ordained Rabbi – Fires Back At Trump

  WASHINGTON, D.C. (JTA) — On Wednesday, in our offices near this city’s Dupont Circle, the staff at Jewish War Veterans of the U.S.A. were opening the mail when a request came in from a veteran asking that we change her first name on our records from Jaron to Rona. “I just immediately did it without…

  By Anna Selman Jul 28, 2017 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Seriously, Boycotters: If the Goal of Your Visit is to Harm Israel, Stay Home

  Ever since a group of right-wing and centrist lawmakers joined forces to ban foreigners boycotting Israel from entering its borders, Israel’s amendment to its 1952 Entry into Israel Law from anti-Israel activists, it also sparked the ire of many who whole-heartedly support the Jewish state and oppose the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement. Most…

  By Miriam F. Elman Jul 28, 2017 | 4 min read