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
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Opinion
That ‘Israel Lobby’ Controversy? History Has Proved Us Right
Ten years ago, John Mearsheimer and I published a controversial article and subsequent book examining the impact of the “Israel lobby” — that is, a loose coalition of pro-Israel individuals and organizations like the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the Anti-Defamation League, the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and Christians United for Israel, just…
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Opinion North Korea Has Exposed The Left’s Weakness For Dictators
Several weeks ago, I was honored at a gala for an organization called Liberty in North Korea. The organization rescues North Korean refugees living in hiding in China, and resettles them in South Korea or the U.S. to prevent them from being forcibly repatriated to North Korea. Over the course of the last five years,…
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Opinion How NFL Players’ #TakeAKnee Protest Ultimately Helps Trump
Those athletes you’ve watched kneeling during the national anthem have lit a political fire of a sort not seen in professional sports in years. By bending a knee to protest racial injustice, they’ve electrified liberals and progressives, forged new bonds between team owners and players, elevated the sport beyond a mere game and exposed yet…
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Opinion Should Jews Be Afraid Of Germany’s Far Right Party?
In post-war Germany, the tiny Jewish community felt protected over many decades by the American military presence, a divided country, a stable democratic political system, and a general consensus to not repeat the sins of its recent history. The troops are gone, the country is reunited, and the political stability seemingly belongs to the past….
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Letters Achvat Amim: We Will Not Be Silenced By The Jewish Agency
Two weeks ago, MASA Israel officially withdrew their support of Achvat Amim, an educational and volunteer program that engages young adults with the complex realities of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This decision was made based on false allegations brought up by the extreme right wing NGO, Ad Kan. In response to these events and in the…
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Letters Don’t Knock Yiddish For Dogs Until You’ve Tried It!
While I was excited to see The Forward follow The New York Times in covering our Yiddish for Dogs program, it was disappointing that the author missed the point of the event—and, more importantly, seemed confused about the new Workmen’s Circle and what we’re about today. With that in mind, I suggest that we zitz…
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Opinion How Obama Was Our Most Jewish President — And Trump Our Least
As a young White House speechwriter – and a veteran of eight years of Hebrew school – I once tried to help Barack Obama pronounce the hard “CH” sound in “chag sameach.” At the risk of understatement, it didn’t go well. I tried to use “happy holidays” after that. But there was another, far more…
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Opinion Is It Anti-Semitic To Schedule Something On Yom Kippur?
Have Your Say is your chance to tell us what you think. This week, we asked you if it’s anti-Semitic to schedule something on Yom Kippur. Here are some of your answers: “If there is a significant specific population and if the event is likely to be of interest or concern to that population, then…
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Opinion Yom Kippur Made Me An Atheist
Yom Kippur made me an atheist. Or at least it confirmed for me that I already was one. By age 10, it was clear to me that the persona of a God that punishes the wicked and rewards the good — and the corresponding High Holiday liturgy — was a false explanation of how the…
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Opinion The Secret Friendship Behind Israel’s Support Of Kurdish Independence
“We have no friends but the mountains,” is an old Kurdish saying. No friends but the mountains — and Israel — is the reality. There is a deep affinity between Israel and the Kurds. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was alone among world leaders when he endorsed Kurds preparing to vote in an independence referendum….
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Opinion I Spent The Past Year Bailing People Out Of Jail. This Is My Prayer
The journey to “The Boat” — a prison barge floating in the East River of New York City — is long. The Bx6 bus winds through the most industrial parts of Hunts Point. I get off at the head of a road flanked on either side by a wastewater treatment facility and the fish market….
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Opinion The Gaza hostage crisis could forever change how American Jews relate to Israel — but it’s not too late to fix that
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Yiddish ווידעאָ: היסטאָריקערין וויווי לאַקס באַשרײַבט געשיכטע פֿון לאָנדאָנער ייִדישער פּרעסעVIDEO: Historian Vivi Laks tells history of the London Yiddish Press
שבֿע צוקער פֿירט דעם שמועס מיט וויווי לאַקס און ביידע לייענען פֿאָר עטלעכע פֿעליעטאָנען פֿון יענע צײַטן.
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Yiddish World Puppet Monty Pickle is guest on the Forward’s ‘Yiddish Word of the Day’
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Culture We tried to fix Hallmark’s Hanukkah problem. Here’s the movie we made instead
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