Opinion

• Opinion

  Why Democrats Must Ditch The Word ‘Resistance’

  Check the calendar: Is this World War II? You might think so if you read the political press. “Democratic Donors Plot Trump Resistance,” USA Today shouted on Barack Obama’s last day as president. “We plan to fight back with everything we have,” right-winger-turned-Clintonista David Brock promised à la Winston Churchill. The R-word is everywhere you…

  By Ted Rall

  4 min read
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  Opinion

  Need To Know Basis: An Analysis Of Holocaust Remembrance Day

  Here is a brief look at some of the topics prominent writers and thought leaders are discussing related to Holocaust Remembrance Day, which is marked on April 24. Elon Idan, Haaretz: “Is It Okay To Watch A Sports Game On Holocaust Remembrance Day?” “Coercion and bans may compel “the masses” to imbibe what the state…

  By Steven Davidson Apr 24, 2017 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Sheryl Sandberg’s New Book ‘Option B’ Earns Praise

  Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg has published her latest book, “Option B: Facing Adversity, Building Resilience, and Finding Joy.” Structured as part memoir and part how-to, Sandberg describes her and her family’s efforts to overcome her husband Dave Goldberg’s unexpected death last year and how people can cope with loss and help bereaved friends. In a…

  By Steven Davidson Apr 24, 2017 | 2 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 The righteous rabbis protesting those immigration raids in Los Angeles

  

• 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

  The Global Climate Forecast: Apocalyptic

  This past weekend we stared down the Apocalypse. It’s not yet clear which side came out ahead, but we’re still breathing, which is pretty good. In France, the first round of the two-part presidential election ended with first place going to the only plausible candidate in the 11-person field. The first-place winner, banker Emmanuel Macron,…

  By J.J. Goldberg Apr 24, 2017 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  What Macron’s Victory Says About French Jews

  The vast majority of French Jews are celebrating Emmanuel Macron’s first-round victory in the presidential runoff. He is a globalist with a social conscience, a convinced European who will not lock France into a populist straightjacket. French Jews, like most of their compatriots. feared the possible presence of two other candidates in the second round:…

  By Diana Pinto Apr 24, 2017 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  5 Perplexing Things About ‘Secular Orthodoxy’

  The arrival of Passover brings about the need to outline the guiding principles of what was – and may still be – the largest Jewish denomination in Israel: orthodox secularism. This comes in spite of the fact that over the years this denomination hasn’t bothered others (and for the most part not even its own)…

  By Rami Livni (Haaretz) Apr 24, 2017 | 7 min read
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  Opinion

  Friendly Fire: Why Do Some Fellow Jews Scorn The Ultra-Orthodox?

  Among the responses to my critique of CNN’s Reza Aslan’s portrayal of Israeli haredim as a threat to the country, two stand out. One was public, civil and reasoned; the other private and, well, otherwise. The latter, from E. S. (he signed his full name), a self-described Conservative-turned-Reform Jew, characterized haredim as “an abominable blight…

  Apr 23, 2017 | 4 min read
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  Letters

  The Kushner Theory of Relativity

  My last name – Kushner – wasn’t a big deal until the election of President Trump. Now everyone wants to know if I’m related to Jared Kushner. Aviya Kushner of the Forward apparently gets this question, too. Her response: “The short answer: no.” That’s what she wrote in her recent article “Why It’s So Hard…

  By Malcolm Kushner Apr 23, 2017 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  This Week In Anti-Semitism: Troll Attacks And Hitler’s Birthday

  The Forward regularly monitors the surge of anti-Semitism across the country and around the world. The mission of this column is not to unduly alarm, but rather to raise awareness of a disturbing trend that, from some vantage points, can prove difficult to spot. 1. French-Jewish philosopher Bernard-Henri Levy was inundated with anti-Semitic attacks online….

  By Steven Davidson Apr 20, 2017 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  How ‘Moderate’ Ultra-Orthodox Aid And Abet Extremism In Israel

  In his recent article, “How CNN’s ‘Believer’ Smears Israel’s Ultra-Orthodox As Intolerant ‘Black Peril’” published in the Forward, Rabbi Avi Shafran takes issue with CNN religion reporter Reza Aslan’s portrayal of Haredi Jews in Israel as “bent on creating an oppressive theocracy.” Shafran, who believes Aslan’s piece maligned the Haredi, used his op-ed to depict…

  By Shoshanna Keats-Jaskoll Apr 20, 2017 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  It’s Time For Conservative Jews To Embrace Sexual Fluidity

  “Homosexuality, Human Dignity and Halakhah” was approved by the Rabbinical Assembly’s Committee on Jewish Law and Standards (CJLS) on December 6, 2006, representing a watershed moment for the Conservative Movement. Rigorous scholarship, moral clarity and rabbinic courage provided a compassionate religious response to a complex matter, epitomizing the ethical and redemptive power of halakhah. However,…

  By Rabbi Adina Lewittes Apr 20, 2017 | 5 min read