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
Israel-Palestine Partisan Rhetoric Is Like Mad Libs
Comment boards for any article pertaining to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict can prove perilous. No matter who is badmouthing who as a bloodthirsty, racist terrorist, the partisans on both sides, while repeating tired lines ad nauseam, ironically employ the same exact rhetoric — with the exception of a few words and phrases. It’s a lot like…
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Opinion Jewish Commentators Analyze The Comey Hearings
As the dust settles following James Comey’s highly-anticipated Senate hearing, many commentators are trying to decipher the content of Comey’s testimony and what it foretells about the investigation into the Trump campaign’s links to Russia. Here is what some prominent Jewish writers have said so far. Andrew Rosenthal, New York Times: “‘Lordy, I Hope There…
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Opinion During Six-Day War, Israeli Leaders Were Divided About Capturing Old City
Cabinet ministers driving up to Jerusalem late on the afternoon of June 5, the first day of the Six-Day War, to attend a meeting in the Knesset found their cars incongruously mixed in with an armored column heading for battle. A few miles before Jerusalem, the traffic sorted itself out — the tanks and half-tracks…
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Opinion Elie Wiesel’s Son Remembers His Father’s Love And Compassion
As the first anniversary of the death of Elie Wiesel approaches, his only child, Elisha Wiesel, reflected on the gifts his father left for him in an essay published by Jewish Week. The essay, in which Wiesel also revealed his conflicts with the acclaimed writer (and former staffer of the Forverts) and Holocaust survivor as…
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Opinion This Week In Anti-Semitism: Arson, Slurs, And A Weaponized Basketball
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. In the UK, the 16-year old daughter of a Jewish chaplain…
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Opinion Common Ground: Jews And Muslims Join Together In These Touching Photos
On a recent Friday, members of Congregation Beit Simchat Torah (CBST) arrived at the Islamic Center at New York University in ponchos and rain boots. They dried their laminated signs that read, “Jewish New Yorkers support our Muslim neighbors,” and greeted worshippers attending the weekly Jummah Prayer. Since the first Friday after the election of…
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Opinion How The Forward Introduced Jews To W.E.B. Du Bois
First published in the Forverts on May 8, 1923 To mark this publication’s 120th anniversary, The Forward hunted through its archives for journalistic treasures. Here we present excerpts of an interview with W.E.B. Du Bois, the sociologist, writer and co-founder of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) first published in 1923….
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Opinion How The Qatar Crisis Could Wreck Years Of Quiet Diplomacy— And Hurt Israel
There are three ways to explain the recent crisis that suddenly erupted in the Sunni Arab world when Saudi Arabia and a group of allies abruptly broke relations with the oil-rich Persian Gulf emirate of Qatar. One explanation is strategic: that the rift is a Saudi-led bid to rein in the maverick Qatar, end Qatar’s…
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Opinion Ban On Partisan Pulpits Is Key to Protecting Religious Freedom
(JTA) That small little law known as the Johnson Amendment, which prohibits electioneering by houses of worship and other charities and which President Trump has vowed to repeal, is exceptionally important to preserve. Even if it is not widely enforced, the permission it grants to the Internal Revenue Service to pursue violators is critical to…
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Opinion The Big Tent: What Camping Can Teach Us About Israelis And American Jews
Every year for the past six, I’ve spent an early summer weekend camping with several dozen Jewish parents (mostly fathers) and their elementary-school-age kids. We all live in the New York area, but roughly one-quarter grew up in Israel. The other three-quarters hail from the United States or other parts of the Diaspora. Over the…
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Opinion Shame On You, Jewish Voice For Peace, For Targeting Pro-Israel Gays
I’m going “on record” condemning Jewish Voice for Peace’s tactics at the Israel Day Parade. Protesting the parade, even from inside, is something I totally respect. And I have never marched in the parade myself, since I consider it to be overly nationalistic and jingoistic, as well as needlessly confrontational. However, JVP also endangered the…
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Fast Forward Unarmed man who tackled Bondi Beach Hanukkah attacker identified as Ahmed al-Ahmed
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Opinion I grew up believing Australia was the best place to be Jewish. This Hanukkah shooting forces a reckoning I do not want.
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Fast Forward Hanukkah shooting leaves at least 15 dead at Australia’s most popular beach
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Fast Forward Father and son suspects in Bondi Beach Hanukkah attack identified as Sajid and Naveed Akram by law enforcement
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