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.
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
Reflecting on the Six Day War, many focus on the repercussions of that historical event, namely, the occupation or liberation (depends on where you stand) of territories which, on one hand, are part of the biblical Land of Israel, and on the other are populated with many Palestinians. On its fiftieth anniversary, then, the spoils…
What’s a poor television network to do on a Saturday night when much of the nation will be tuned to NBC to watch “Saturday Night Live” recap the most bizarre week in America’s most bizarre presidency? What could possibly compete? How can you match SNL’s merciless send-up of the Trump-Russia scandal, with its lies, firings…
This is addressed to those American Jews who continue to support President Trump, even after the latest revelation that he likely compromised Israeli intelligence by sharing it with the Russians. When will you start holding him accountable? When will the slights, fumbles, broken promises and extremely serious blunders, like the intelligence leak, add up in…
The care and handling of intelligence information is as much art as anything else. It has been estimated that 70% or more of “finished intelligence” — that is, the reports and analyses that go forward to policymakers — derives from open sources and diplomatic reporting, meaning that much of what a policymaker reads can also…
In this season of final exams, let’s take a brief test on American political history. It consists of a scenario, a question, and four possible answers. If you feel a wave of déjà vu as you proceed, don’t panic. It’s perfectly appropriate. Here we go. You are the president of the United States. You or…
While fighting raged during the Six Day War, I felt compelled to apply to volunteer in Israel — to do work that soldiers would have been doing. The war ended in a miraculous six days, but the Jewish Agency decided to bring us to Israel anyway. I spent a year in three different parts of…
Excerpted from the book “No Country for Jewish Liberals.” This is a political and personal story about Israel, about how over the years it went one way and I went the other. I’m going to start where I live, literally—in the city (actually the sprawling suburban bedroom community) of Modi’in, which is truly a showcase…
The worlds of politics and football (soccer) clashed again. This time, the location was the Bahraini capital, Manama. The two sides of the conflict were the Palestinian Football Federation and the Israeli Football Federation. At stake in the conflict was a resolution submitted by the Palestinian federation demanding that six Israeli clubs based in exclusive…
Before visiting Jerusalem in several days, President Trump will stop in Saudi Arabia for meetings with Islamic leaders to discuss joint efforts against extremism. He may wish to start with Saudi Arabia’s own mixed record on incitement against Israel and the Jewish people. Breathless observers have recently declared that Saudi Arabia and Israel are becoming…
As the 50th anniversary of the Six Day War approaches, it is natural to think about how the war affected me. I was finishing up my freshman year at the University of California, Los Angeles. Like many of my generation, I opposed the Vietnam War. But I was not a pacifist; I thought that we…
We Israelis recently celebrated our country’s 69th birthday. I have lived in Israel for 37 of those birthdays, since making aliyah from the United States in 1980. I have worked extensively in economic development with Jews and Arabs in Israel. The key to fostering sound Jewish-Arab relations and a vibrant country is to look at…
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