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
It’s Time To Dispense With The Vanity Spending In Orthodox Communities
This time of year you might spy me in the supermarket smiling in the direction of the guy stocking the produce bins. If you do, know that I’m imagining what he would think if he knew that a fruit not terribly unlike the 50-cent lemons he’s handling recently commanded up to a couple hundred dollars…
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Opinion No, Columbus Was Not Jewish — And Neither Is Columbus Day
Dear Editor, I was disappointed, shocked, and angered to find an article written in the Forward that attempted to glorify and Judaize Christopher Columbus. Theories do exist that Columbus was Jewish, but there has been no conclusive evidence, and it is one among many theories of the explorer’s origins. In his article “The ‘Mystery’ of…
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Opinion No, Justin Trudeau Is Not a Holocaust Denier
These days, there is plenty in the world to spark outrage. So when a genuine slip-up occurs that is swiftly corrected and others try to make political hay out of it, we call foul. Such is the case with the wild accusations being leveled against Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau regarding the omission of the…
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Opinion The New York Times Just Explained Why The Forward Matters So Much
It’s rare for journalists to be the subject of a news story. We’re usually the ones asking the questions, framing the narrative, finding the edge, telling it our way. So it was with excitement but some trepidation last night that I began to read the online version of a New York Times story about The…
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Opinion The 6 Worst Things We Learned About Jared Kushner From This Expose
In a scathing piece for the Columbia Journal Review, Kyle Pope details his tenure working under Jared Kushner as editor in chief of the New York Observer. Pope, who is now editor in chief and publisher at the CJR, describes Kushner as holding a deep-seated disregard for journalism and its potential use for any purpose…
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Opinion Jane Looking Forward: Two Jews Make (Bad) News, The Forward Gets Into The Gray Lady
Welcome back to Jane Looking Forward. If you wish to continue reading this weekly newsletter, please subscribe here. And spread the word! There were two outstanding pieces of journalism published last week in which the lead characters were Jewish. As a journalist, this made me proud. As a Jew, it left me disgusted. Writing in…
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Opinion Orthodox Women Are Dissatisfied And ‘Checking Out.’ Here’s Why.
Across the spectrum of Orthodoxy, some women are “checking out.” Whatever the baseline of a given community, from the most conservative to the most “open,” there are some women who want more: For some, this might mean that they wish their education had enabled them to help their young sons with Torah homework, while others…
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Opinion Why Engaging With Israel Is Essential
It sounds like an exaggeration, but you know it’s true. You can walk into just about any Jewish gathering place — a synagogue, a social club, a Shabbat dinner — and challenge the very existence of God or the sanctity of Torah, and your religious and ethnic fealty will not be questioned. But dare express…
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Opinion Is Your Opposition to Intermarriage About Fearing the Other?
Recently I gave a presentation at a JCC, the marketing of which included the statement, “Intermarriage is good, period.” One of the newly intermarried couples in attendance came up to me afterwards to confide the difficulty of their situation. One half of the couple was not Jewish, while the other half hailed from a disapproving…
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Opinion Is Hamas Inching Toward Peace — Or Going Rogue?
Is Hamas preparing itself to accept a peaceful Israeli-Palestinian coexistence? There are good reasons to believe so. The Islamist terror group has taken several significant steps in recent months that strongly suggest it’s inching toward accommodation. One is the adoption of a new charter that moderates its positions in several critical ways, most notably tacit…
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Letters Your Focus on Las Vegas Victim’s Beauty Is Offensive
To the Forward, Of course I have every sympathy for the victims of the Las Vegas shooting. But when I read the line about what a young man told his Jewish mother when he met his wife for the first time (“She’s so beautiful, I can’t believe she’s Jewish!”), I couldn’t believe I was reading…
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