Opinion

• Opinion

  Peace In Israel Starts With An Apology

  Imagine you have an old beater – say, a 1967 Chevy – that hasn’t really run in years. The tires are flat, it’s riddled with dents, seats are torn out, windshield’s cracked, the fuel gauge constantly malfunctions, and someone just stole your spark plugs and battery. Yet, for reasons you can no longer remember, you’re…

  By Sandy Tolan

  5 min read
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  Opinion

  What Trump Gets Wrong About The Middle East

  (Reuters) In his speech before dozens of Muslim leaders who had gathered in Saudi Arabia on Sunday, President Donald Trump toned down his harsh rhetoric against Islam and urged the leaders to “drive out” Islamic extremists from their societies. Trump even distinguished between the majority of the world’s 1.8 billion Muslims, and the Islamic militants…

  By Mohamad Bazzi May 25, 2017 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  This Week In Anti-Semitism: Conspiracy Theories Abound

  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. While Donald Trump was en route to Saudi Arabia last week,…

  By Steven Davidson May 24, 2017 | 2 min read

Columnists View All

• Jay Michaelson What can really be done to prevent antisemitic attacks like Bondi Beach?

  

• Rob Eshman Australia shooting terrifies Jews worldwide — and strengthens the case for Israel

  

• Nora Berman Did crypto-Jews invent the modern tarot deck?

  

• Dan Perry The 3 responses to the Bondi Beach Hanukkah attack that could make Jews safer

  

• Emily Tamkin The fundamental miscalculation behind the GOP’s antisemitism crisis

  

The Latest

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  Opinion

  ‘Modest’ Ivanka Trump Did Nothing Wrong At Western Wall

  Before President Donald Trump and his family members made their way to the Western Wall speculation was rife, as to whether or not they would obey the gender separation rules and split up to the women’s and men’s sections. One might think that there would be no technical reason for the foursome – the president…

  By Allison Kaplan Sommer (Haaretz) May 24, 2017 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  On JFK’s 100th Birthday, Read His Favorite Biblical Passages

  In the November 28, 1963 issue of the Forverts — only six days after Kennedy’s assassination — editor-in-chief Simon Weber wrote about President John F. Kennedy’s favorite biblical passages. President Kennedy would have been 100 years old on May 29, 2017. I think that what he gave us most was pride. It felt good to…

  By Simon Weber May 24, 2017 | 5 min read
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  Opinion

  Since When Is ‘Countering Violent Extremism’ A Bad Thing?

  Could it be more starkly ironic than this: on Sunday, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, President Trump opened the Global Center for Combating Extremist Ideology, and on Tuesday, he announced his intention to end federal programs that counter violent extremism in the United States. The President’s speech to the leaders of Arab and Islamic nations assembled…

  By Shai Franklin May 24, 2017 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Why The Forward Accepted An Ad From Jewish Voice for Peace

  Dear Forward Reader: We recently published an advertisement from Jewish Voice for Peace in the June 2 print edition of the Forward. The ad gave us pause. It quotes Marwan Barghouti as “Leader of the Palestinian Hunger Strike,” but doesn’t say why he’s in jail. Barghouti was convicted of the murders of five Israeli civilians….

  By Rachel Fishman Feddersen May 24, 2017 | < 1 min read
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  Opinion

  Trump And Foreign Policy: An Arranged Marriage Gone Awry

  If Donald Trump needed a reminder of how tall an order he’s taken on with his bold talk of Middle East deal-making, he got it on Monday night, May 22. As the president was bedding down in Jerusalem, an ISIS suicide bomber blew himself up outside an arena full of teenagers attending an Ariana Grande…

  By J.J. Goldberg May 24, 2017 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Republicans Behind Brutal Budget Cuts Should Read The Book Of Job

  I’m struck by the punitive nature of the new White House budget proposal on the poor — which involves cutting $274 billion over ten years from anti-poverty programs like food stamps, tax credits and welfare, as well as austere reforms on Medicaid and disability insurance while boosting military spending. All of the early quotes commenting…

  By Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg May 23, 2017 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  What I Learned From Alan Mintz

  I was shocked to read Forward,com this morning and find two hespedim for the fine Hebraist and scholar Alan Mintz. I want to share with you my one strong memory of him, not exactly as scholar but in a transformative moment. What I remember goes back to 1973. Alan was the original energizer for calling…

  By Arthur Waskow May 23, 2017 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  When Melania Trump And Sara Netanyahu Bond Over Hating The Media — Be Very Worried

  When Melania Trump chatted with Sara Netanyahu on the tarmac at Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv yesterday, the two women quickly discovered they had a common bond. “You know in Israel all the people like us. The media hate us but the people love us,” Netanyahu, wife of the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin…

  By Jane Eisner May 22, 2017 | 3 min read