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
My Fellow Orthodox Jews: Admit You Were Wrong About Trump
For two years, I have been grappling with how to relate to those of my fellow Orthodox Jews who, for reasons utterly mystifying to me, cannot see Donald Trump for what he is. I first tried logic, I tried appeals to truth, then justice, then facts, then emotion. That last one was particularly painful. It…
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Opinion Trump’s Blindness to Moral Truth: This Cannot Stand
America was shamed on Tuesday as we have never been shamed before. We were debased as a nation by the words of a president who stood before the world and defended the honor of Nazis. He reduced himself in an instant from alarming buffoon to dangerous villain. We who elected him stand disgraced, humiliated. But…
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Opinion It’s Time To Put A Stop To Purity Tests. Jewish Values Contradict Each Other
There’s a new move floating around discussions of Jews and Israel that’s as effective as it is pernicious. You’ll recognize it immediately, as it has become all too pervasive in the blood sport we call public discourse. It consists of posing questions like “Is the Jewish State truly committed to Jewish values?” “Do Jewish values…
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Opinion For Shame
There is a moral vacuum at the head of the republic. After three days of reflection about the events of Charlottesville, Virginia, Donald Trump reiterated at a press conference Tuesday afternoon that there was “blame on both sides.” This he followed up with the claim that there were “very fine people” on both sides of…
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Opinion I Am A Rabbi — And My Place Was In Charlottesville
(JTA) — I was in Charlottesville on Saturday. I felt called to go because white supremacy is a hateful ideology that has murdered millions throughout history and continues to kill. I went because my family and ancestors suffered at the hands of anti-Semites throughout history, because I bear their scars on my DNA, because the…
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Letters The Forward Misunderstood The RCA’s Response to Charlottesville
We accept criticism when warranted. In the case of Avital Chizik Goldschmidt’s “Why Won’t Orthodox Leaders Condemn Trump’s Ties to White Supremacists?” it is not. In that article Ms. Chizik Goldschmidt writes, “The Rabbinical Council of America mourned “violence and bigotry”, but not our leader’s failure to condemn it.” Even though Ms. Chizik Goldschmidt does…
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Opinion California Holds The Secret To Uniting The Democratic Party
Recent events have exposed deep, lingering rifts in the California Democratic party. An election for leader of the Democratic Party has pitted Eric C. Baum, a gay Orthodox Jew and party insider, against Kimberly Ellis, a woman of color who voted for Clinton in the primaries but has since gained the support of Bernie Sanders….
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Opinion Stop Outing Nazis. Your Rights Depend On Theirs
This week my friend Emily learned an uncomfortable truth about a former law school classmate. It turns out he’s a white nationalist, one who believes that her interacial marriage makes her a race traitor (she’s white and her husband is Asian). This personal reveal came just after the white supremacist rally-turned-riot in Charlottesville this weekend,…
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Opinion Freedom Means Freedom For Everyone — Including Nazis
The white supremacist onslaught in Charlottesville, Virginia, last weekend was a horrifying, emblematic and possibly historic moment in our contemporary political culture. But among the many important truths it communicates, among the most important, and challenging, is its reminder that the only cultural and political freedom that is truly meaningful is the freedom to be…
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Opinion Why Won’t Orthodox Condemn Trump’s Ties to White Supremacists After Charlottesville?
Over the past two days, we have been flooded with horrifying images of the largest white supremacist demonstration in decades. We’ve also been met with President Trump’s shameless failure to condemn the white supremacists. A president who has no qualms condemning journalists for doing their jobs, or retailers for not carrying his daughter’s handbags, could…
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Opinion Charlottesville Shows That Nazis Have More Rights Than Black People
It took me a while to figure out what exactly was most upsetting about the weekend’s events in Charlottesville. Beyond the fact that a person was killed and many were injured by a group of white supremacists, and beyond the fact that there are Nazis marching in the streets of America in 2017, something was…
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