Opinion

• Opinion

  Trump’s Meeting With Abbas: Should We Laugh Or Cry?

  “Mr. President, with you, we have hope.” So said Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas during his joint press conference at the White House on Wednesday. As with so much in the Donald Trump era, it’s hard to know whether to laugh or cry. Hope? Trump’s Ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, believes West Bank Palestinians —…

  By Peter Beinart

  4 min read
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  Opinion

  These Are The Two Most Common Kinds Of Anti-Semitism

  Fifty years ago, responding to growing tensions between Blacks and Jews following the Civil Rights movement, James Baldwin contributed an op-ed to the New York Times titled “Negroes are Anti-Semitic Because They are Anti-White.” “In the American context, the most ironical thing about Negro anti-Semitism is that the Negro is really condemning the Jew for…

  By David Weinfeld May 3, 2017 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  How Important Is Trump’s Meeting With Abbas?

  Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas will soon meet with President Trump at the White House for the first time. After strongly proclaiming support for Israel throughout his presidential campaign, Trump now has an opportunity to reach out to Benjamin Netanyahu’s counterpart. Here’s what top Middle East hands say about the critical summit. Aaron David Miller,…

  By Steven Davidson May 3, 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 doctor in the midst of the Boulder attack: ‘This did not come out of vacuum’

  

• Nora Berman For new parents, the aid crisis in Gaza is hitting hard

  

• Dan Perry Don’t be grateful two hostages’ bodies were recovered. Be furious.

  

• Emily Tamkin The two things I fear most after the horrifying attack on Jews in Boulder

  

The Latest

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  Opinion

  Netanyahu’s Latest Move To Undermine Abbas Before Trump Meeting

  Israel’s Prime Minister has a problem with the fact that the Palestinian social affairs department pays monthly benefits to support families of prisoners. In a Facebook video timed to reach the widest possible viewership on the eve of the Abbas-Trump White House meeting, Benjamin Netanyahu called on Palestinians to stop supporting families of prisoners. Netanyahu…

  By Daoud Kuttab May 2, 2017 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Is Trump Visiting Israel To Praise Bibi — Or To Bury Him?

  When Donald Trump visits Israel later this month, as he reportedly will do, he faces much to potentially gain and little to lose. The reverse is true of his host, Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. For Trump, it’s an opportunity to show some statesmanship and gravitas — qualities he’s not widely associated with — in…

  By J.J. Goldberg May 2, 2017 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Fans And Foes Debate Radiohead’s Upcoming Concert In Israel

  Donald Trump. George Bush. Tony Blair. The World Trade Organization. Factory Farms. Spotify. Tibet. Radiohead singer Thom Yorke has taken a stand against quite a few political figures and issues over the years. Is Israel next? It increasingly looks unlikely — for now. Radiohead is scheduled to perform in Tel Aviv on July 19 as…

  By Steven Davidson May 1, 2017 | 3 min read
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  Letters

  Blame Palestinian Leaders For The Plight Of Their People

  Jane Eisner recent editorial asks an important question: “Should We Celebrate the 50th Anniversary of The Six Day War – Or Despair? Ms. Eisner, why should we despair? Israel has done nothing wrong. She offered to withdraw from most of the territory she liberated (while, as you note, defending her people from planned genocide) in…

  By Toby F. Block May 1, 2017 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  REVEALED AFTER 50 YEARS: What Elie Wiesel Wrote About The Six Day War

  To mark our 120th anniversary, the Forward hunted through its archives for journalistic treasures. Here we present excerpts of a column by a former Forverts staff writer, the late Elie Wiesel, published Monday, June 12, 1967 — a heady time following Israel’s shocking Six Day War victory. Future generations will probably never believe it. Teachers…

  By Elie Wiesel May 1, 2017 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Why The Forward Is Launching Digital Subscriptions

  Dear Friend of the Forward: If you’re here, you care about independent Jewish journalism. That’s why we want to share some important news. To continue providing the award-winning coverage you love, Forward.com is becoming a subscription site. Visitors will pay for content after viewing 10 stories. Keeping your connection to the Forward is easy. For…

  By Rachel Fishman Feddersen May 1, 2017 | < 1 min read
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  Opinion

  BDS: Netanyahu’s Favorite Boogeyman

  Fifty years have passed since the Six-Day War in 1967 and the beginning of Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and Gaza. For those of us who support the two state solution, and who work toward an end to the occupation, this anniversary is an opportunity for reflection and renewed focus. Fifty years of occupation…

  By Daniel Sokatch May 1, 2017 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Forget The ‘Not My President’ Signs, Here’s The Right Way To Protest Trump

  Dear friends posting social media screeds against Trump, This is my challenge to channel your anger, energy and intelligence into constructive actions that will actually make a difference. I understand that the election of Donald Trump represents a nightmare, and we’re trying to wake up from it. But angry posts, signs, and marches are the…

  By Mark Lavie May 1, 2017 | 3 min read