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
Kotel Controversy Shows That U.S. Jewish Groups Don’t Represent The Orthodox
What are we, chopped liver? The question, from my Orthodox corner of the American Jewish world, is born of the recent onslaught of outrage aimed at the Israeli government by representatives of “American Jewry.” The outrage itself, of course, was born of two things. The first was the Israeli Cabinet’s freezing of a resolution aimed…
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Opinion There’s No Easy Answer To The Debate Over Intermarriage
The debate over intermarriage — once again erupting across the Jewish community — has too easily slipped into a binary equation. Opinions are shared, statistics are drawn as weapons and institutions often double-down. Sides are chosen, often reduced to a simple yes or no: “No, never; Jewish Law forbids this.” (Or “no, never; it will…
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Opinion Trump’s CNN Tweet Evoked The Nazis
Last week I was at Foehrenwald, the site of a former refugee camp where I grew up. Located in southern Germany, near Munich, next to the town of Wolfratshausen, it was once a refugee camp for displaced persons in the U.S. zone of occupation. There, under the auspices of United Nations relief agencies, 5,000 Holocaust…
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Letters LGBTQ Jewish Pride, Flags And The Call To Resistance
This year, Congregation Beit Simchat Torah was invited to join 17 other organizations in the Resistance Coalition that led the LGBTQ Pride March on June 25 in New York City. Our goal was to bring a clear and consistent message of resistance to the Trump administration’s threats to American democracy, and tochechah — reproach —…
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Opinion Our Three Faiths Tell Us That Trumpcare Is A Godless Attack On The Vulnerable
If you are a person who looks to your God for wisdom and inspiration when making the most important decisions in your life, you are surely feeling a great unease in this moment, as we are. As Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders, we are privileged to guide religious life in a country whose political leaders…
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Opinion What ‘If Not Now’ Got Wrong About The Dyke March
When people ask what gives me hope that the American Jewish community will one day defend freedom and justice for Israelis and Palestinians, rather than defending Benjamin Netanyahu, I answer: “If Not Now.” A Millennial-powered movement, speaking in an authentically Jewish idiom, which challenges American Jewish leaders to meet the moral responsibilities of power, is…
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Opinion How The Holocaust Helps Us Understand Independence Day
One day 241 years ago, John Hancock led a group of patriots in signing a document that quickly became the banner of democracy across the world. As with most holidays, the significance of this anniversary has evolved over time, and today the principles to which those 56 men ascribed their names is often lost amid…
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Opinion NC Pride Excludes Jews By Scheduling Event On Yom Kippur
Like many in the Jewish community, I was deeply troubled to see that the Chicago Dyke March kicked out three women for carrying pride flags adorned with the Star of David. The star, a proud symbol of Judaism, reportedly made some marchers feel “unsafe.” One ejected marcher told the Chicagoist, “Being removed from this march…
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Opinion Jane Looking Forward: July 4th In Yiddish, Trumpcare And More
Happy July 4th Weekend! I’m sending this latest Jane Looking Forward newsletter from Virginia, where I am visiting family and thinking about Independence Day. It feels different this year, and not only because I no longer live in the suburbs and therefore can’t host our traditional July 4th party. Starting with a backyard barbecue with…
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Opinion On This Fourth Of July, Trump Must Protect Our Public Lands
More than half a dozen U.S. presidents have come from New York, including Theodore Roosevelt and Donald Trump. Some have compared the two due to their populist stances. One of Roosevelt’s biggest domestic priorities was focusing on the need to balance development with conservation. This led him to support and sign into law the Antiquities…
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Opinion The Real Wall Problem: When Will Diaspora Jews Fight For Palestinians?
The North American Jewish establishment is furious with Israel – and has just let loose an astonishing fusillade of collective protest. The President of the Union for Reform Judaism, Rabbi Rick Jacobs, accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of an “unconscionable insult” and vowed not to be “still or silent.” The Executive Director of the Conservative…
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Opinion The real reason for the US war with Iran may have nothing to do with Israel
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