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
Capitol Hill Clash Pits Israel’s Army Vs. Knesset, Sidelining AIPAC
The United States Senate is putting the last touches on an anti-terrorism bill that’s opened a new era in Washington’s pro-Israel politics. It’s a rare case of a pro-Israel bill that stirred intense partisan debate, at least in its initial version. Even more unusual, the fight over the bill didn’t pit Israel against its critics,…
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Opinion CNN Was Wrong to Fire Jeffrey Lord
How does one add the word “former” to the job description “CNN commentator?” For the network’s earliest Donald Trump supporter, it only took one tweet. This week, Jeffrey Lord was shown the door after he tweeted the Nazi salutation — “Sieg Heil!” — while embroiled in a battle with a liberal activist. No one likes…
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Opinion Why Every Lefty Should Hope Netanyahu Is Cleared of All Charges
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is tough to love. Hell, he’s tough to like. This is not just true for lefties like me, who think he stands in the way of reaching a modus vivendi with Palestinians and uses the country’s resources to service the rich rather than help the poor. Even those who share Netanyahu’s…
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Opinion Hate On The Far Left Is Just As Dangerous As Hate On The Far Right
In his Forward column outlining “19 People Jews Should Worry About More Than Linda Sarsour,” Steven Davidson says that with so many other dangers lurking, he is confounded by the Jewish community’s seeming obsession with the controversial Palestinian-American feminist activist. I share Davidson’s horror at the presence of figures such as Steve Bannon and Sebastian…
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Opinion Senator Kirsten Gillibrand: Where I Stand On Israel, BDS And The First Amendment
Over the past few weeks, a divisive debate has erupted that is pitting defenders of the First Amendment against supporters of Israel. This is a false choice, and many New Yorkers who care deeply about both Israel and free speech are finding themselves caught in the middle of an argument where people aren’t listening to…
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Opinion When It Comes To College Admissions, Asians Are The New Jews
Last week, the New York Times revealed that Attorney General Jeff Sessions is investigating a civil rights complaint against Harvard University. The complaint, filed by a coalition of 64 Asian-American organizations in 2015, alleges a pattern of bias against Asian Americans. “Over the last two decades, Asian-American applicants to Harvard University and other Ivy League…
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Opinion Former Shin Bet Director: Anti BDS Bill Hurts Israel
As Israelis committed to the future of our country as the secure, democratic home of the Jewish people, we wish to underscore, expand and add perspective to a critical point J.J. Goldberg makes in his August 4th column about the anti-BDS bill now before the U.S. Congress. The bill proposes to criminalize explicit boycotts of…
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Opinion The Day My Hasidic Father Visited Me At Wellesley
Walking around the leafy campus in his black hat and long black coat, my father looks like a historical figure from another era. Fascinated by the elaborate architecture, he points to a poster on Wellesley’s Science building. “What is the meaning of science?” he asks. I’m caught off guard. “Science explains how our world works,…
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Opinion Jane Looking Forward: Opiate Addiction In Our Community — And More
A few weeks ago, Bethany Mandel, a Forward columnist, called me to discuss a provocative idea for a column: The opioid epidemic that is sweeping like a plague across America was growing among Jews, too, especially the Orthodox. As an Orthodox Jew herself, Bethany was most familiar with the heart-breaking number of deaths caused by…
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Opinion If You Thought The Mooch Was Bad, Wait Until You Meet Stephen Miller
It’s a wonder the White House hasn’t yet installed a popcorn machine in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room. Between former press secretary Sean Spicer’s bumbling tenure and former communications director Anthony Scaramucci’s profanity-laden foolishness, the White House briefings became must-see TV. But with Scaramucci’s firing last week, the position of communications director has…
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Letters Relying On Jews to Do The Right Thing Is Hardly The Same As Beseeching
Dear Ms. Eisner: Thanks for the attention by the Forward to my column about the Times review of the Eichmann exhibit. I appreciate it. There is however one factual error that I would appreciate your correcting. You write “he ends his piece by beseeching his readers to cancel their Times subscriptions.” In fact nowhere did…
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Opinion I discovered anti-Zionism at the University of Michigan. I’m glad it lives on there
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Opinion An alarming new battleground in campus fights over Israel
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Looking Forward My artist grandmother nearly made aliyah. I don’t know what she’d think of Israel today
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Holy Ground A Jewish farmer broke ground on a synagogue in an Illinois cornfield. His neighbors showed up to help.