Opinion

• Opinion

  Israel’s Settlement Blocs Block Prospects For Peace

  “Everybody knows,” goes the argument. “Everybody knows that under any future Israeli-Palestinian peace deal, West Bank settlement blocs will be annexed to Israel.” And because everyone knows that, the argument goes, Israel should be allowed, even encouraged, to continue unhindered with settlement construction in the “blocs.” Proponents of construction in settlement blocs argue the following….

  By Ori Nir

  3 min read
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  Opinion

  Is Marwan Barghouti The Palestinian Nelson Mandela?

  In the April 16 New York Times, Marwan Barghouti announced that he and 1,000 other Palestinian prisoners were launching a hunger strike. It’s easy to understand why. West Bank Palestinians are colonial subjects. Even though the Palestinian Authority has some power, it is not a state, and the Israeli military can freely enter the West…

  By Peter Beinart Apr 19, 2017 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  What You Need To Know About Marwan Barghouti

  To some observers, Marwan Barghouti promises a path to peace. To others, he inspires liberation. And to his jailers, he is a mass murdering terrorist. Marwan Barghouti is widely seen as the most popular political figure in Palestinian society, but he is currently serving a life sentence for murder in an Israeli prison. Last week,…

  By Steven Davidson Apr 19, 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 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

  Ivanka And Jared Are Spectacularly Unqualified — And Why That Matters

  In the family business that passes for this White House, Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner have acquired seats at the grown-ups’ table, with offices steps away from the Oval Office, portfolios that seem to grow by the day and unparalleled access to the levers of power. To cite a recent New York Times story, they…

  By Jane Eisner Apr 19, 2017 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Did Jon Ossoff’s Jewish Faith Prevent Him From Winning Outright?

  Democrat Jon Ossoff, who placed first in the special election for Georgia’s sixth congressional district with 48% of the vote but who needed 50% to avoid a runoff, overcame a great deal of adversity. The 30-year-old political neophyte beat back charges that he didn’t live in the reddish district, which previously elected the likes of…

  By John A. Tures Apr 19, 2017 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Look For The #SilverLining

  Most of us in journalism didn’t go into the profession only to write stories about people behaving badly, or only to rail against injustice, or only to point out all of society’s flaws. But too often the magnetic pull of the negative becomes the default definition of “news” and journalism fails to make enough room…

  By Jane Eisner Apr 18, 2017 | < 1 min read
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  Opinion

  Why Conversion Lite Won’t Fix The Intermarriage Problem

  In a recent essay in The Jewish Week titled “Mikveh Can Solve Conversion Problem”, Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove presented a courageous attempt to address arguably the most pressing problem of 21st century American Jewry: intermarriage. Perhaps the most significant aspect of the problem of intermarriage is that for many Millennials, it is not a problem at…

  By Shaul Magid Apr 18, 2017 | 6 min read
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  Opinion

  Fault Lines Season 1, Episode 7

  Israel is at war over the battle for legitimacy. Listen to the lively discussion from Peter Beinart and Daniel Gordis as they unpack these complicated issues. Listen to “Fault Lines” on Spreaker. Let the world know what you think about Fault Lines – rate our episodes, and share your thoughts in a review on iTunes….

  Apr 18, 2017 | < 1 min read
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  Opinion

  Will Birthright Kowtow To Israel’s Right-wing Government?

  This summer, I planned to travel to Israel through Birthright, an organization that offers free 10-day trips to the country for Jewish youths. I had long been looking forward to the voyage. Now, I don’t know whether I’ll be allowed on the trip. I meet all of Birthright’s requirements, and then some; my parents are…

  By Rachael Stryer Apr 18, 2017 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  What’s Behind Recent Eruptions Of Anti-Semitism?

  All western governments oppose anti-Semitism. Yet the old hatred continues. How toxic is it? And are recent eruptions of anti-Semitism expressions of momentary irritation, misunderstanding, or plain ignorance? White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer could, on a kindly view, fall into the last of these categories. His recent remark that Hitler used no chemical weapons,…

  By John Lloyd/Reuters Apr 18, 2017 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Where Is The Jewish Outcry On Chechnya?

  The matzah crumbs are still on the tablecloth on the dining room table. The leftover charoset still sits in the refrigerator. The haggadot from the seder still sit in a corner of the kitchen counter. The text from the haggadah cries out to us: “In every generation, a person must see himself or herself as…

  By Jeffrey K. Salkin Apr 18, 2017 | 3 min read