In the Forward’s opinion section, you’ll find analysis and essays from diverse corners of the Jewish world.
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Opinion
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Opinion
The Paradox Of Jared Kushner, A ‘Man Without Qualities’
Seventy-five years ago, Robert Musil died in Switzerland. The Austrian writer had taken refuge there in 1938 with his Jewish wife Martha, and as the war progressed, he spent his time trying to make ends meet and to complete his novel, “The Man Without Qualities.” Neither effort was successful: Musil’s life ended in poverty when…
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Opinion How 23andMe Fell For Anti-Semitic ‘Khazar’ Canard
For geneticists, like me, genetic testing has always been a game of trust. We can test people’s DNA to learn about their ancestries, relatives, disease predispositions and crimes. We geneticists do genetic testing after providing counseling that explores the process and outcome. In turn, we request consent to proceed. One of my common questions is,…
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Opinion Netanyahu Claims Israel-Arab Relations Are At An All-time High. Is He Right?
“What is actually happening with [the Arab states] has never happened in our history,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at an Israel Foreign Ministry Rosh Hashanah toast September 6. Netanyahu, who is also Israel’s foreign minister, called this a “breakthrough.” He may have a point. Yet the picture is not nearly as straightforward, nor as…
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Letters Issa Amro’s Arrest Hurts Palestinians And The International Community Alike
It has been almost a week now that Palestinian nonviolent activist Issa Amro has been imprisoned by the Palestinian Authority (PA). Issa’s crime was a Facebook post criticizing the PA for their arrest of journalist Ayman Qawasmi. Before submitting himself for questioning and likely detainment, Issa prepared a statement: “My arrest will not affect my…
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Opinion Human Rights Watch Tweet Exposes Decades-Old Anti Israel Bias
A few weeks ago, Kenneth Roth, the executive director of Human Rights Watch (HRW), tweeted about Israel. “Many rights activists condemn Israeli abuse & anti-Semitism,” wrote Roth. “Some white supremacists embrace Israel & anti-Semitism.” The tweet then included a link to an article boasting an image of Israeli and Confederate flags on the same flagpole….
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Opinion Why Every Jew Should Call For This Palestinian To Be Freed
The first time I met the Palestinian human rights defender Issa Amro, it was just a few weeks after a terrorist attack in Jerusalem that had left three rabbis dead. “I feel sorry, really,” Amro told me, an open palm against his chest and a look of pain on his face. “I feel that civilians…
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Opinion Steve Bannon Loves Israel And The Jews — Really
I am a child of Holocaust survivors, born in a displaced persons camp in Germany, and lost most of my aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents to the evil horror of the Nazis. I’ve spent decades fighting against anti-Semites and Israel-haters of every stripe, from Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan to Ku Klux Klan Grand…
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Letters No, David Myers Is Not A Radical. He Is The Embodiment Of The Center
We were deeply distressed to read the articles in Arutz Sheva and The Jewish Press as well as in a blog of the Algemeiner calling upon the Center for Jewish History to terminate David Myers as President and CEO of the Center for Jewish History on account of his views concerning the State of Israel….
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Opinion Want To Defend Ivanka Against Sexist Language? Start With ‘Daddy’ Donald.
First, I defended Ivanka Trump against what I considered was the use of sexist, insulting language about her in a New York Times story. Then, her father the president used nearly the same words in a speech in North Dakota. And she clearly didn’t mind. What’s a feminist to do? As the chain of events…
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Opinion The One Weird Thing That Birthright And JVP Have In Common
When you get down to it, Jewish Voice for Peace, the pro-Palestinian gadfly, probably doesn’t get enough credit from the mainstream Jewish community. The activist group does more than just about any other presence on the American scene to get young Jews passionately engaged with Israel. It’s not necessarily the sort of Israel engagement that…
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Opinion My Father, Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, Was A Dreamer, Too
I cannot bear the word “deportation.” My father, Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, was living in Frankfurt, Germany, in October 1938 in a rented room from a Jewish family in the leafy suburb of Eschersheim. My father was born and raised in Warsaw, Poland, the child of great Hasidic rebbes, and had gone in 1927 to…
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