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
5 Perplexing Things About ‘Secular Orthodoxy’
The arrival of Passover brings about the need to outline the guiding principles of what was – and may still be – the largest Jewish denomination in Israel: orthodox secularism. This comes in spite of the fact that over the years this denomination hasn’t bothered others (and for the most part not even its own)…
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Opinion Friendly Fire: Why Do Some Fellow Jews Scorn The Ultra-Orthodox?
Among the responses to my critique of CNN’s Reza Aslan’s portrayal of Israeli haredim as a threat to the country, two stand out. One was public, civil and reasoned; the other private and, well, otherwise. The latter, from E. S. (he signed his full name), a self-described Conservative-turned-Reform Jew, characterized haredim as “an abominable blight…
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Letters The Kushner Theory of Relativity
My last name – Kushner – wasn’t a big deal until the election of President Trump. Now everyone wants to know if I’m related to Jared Kushner. Aviya Kushner of the Forward apparently gets this question, too. Her response: “The short answer: no.” That’s what she wrote in her recent article “Why It’s So Hard…
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Opinion This Week In Anti-Semitism: Troll Attacks And Hitler’s Birthday
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. 1. French-Jewish philosopher Bernard-Henri Levy was inundated with anti-Semitic attacks online….
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Opinion How ‘Moderate’ Ultra-Orthodox Aid And Abet Extremism In Israel
In his recent article, “How CNN’s ‘Believer’ Smears Israel’s Ultra-Orthodox As Intolerant ‘Black Peril’” published in the Forward, Rabbi Avi Shafran takes issue with CNN religion reporter Reza Aslan’s portrayal of Haredi Jews in Israel as “bent on creating an oppressive theocracy.” Shafran, who believes Aslan’s piece maligned the Haredi, used his op-ed to depict…
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Opinion It’s Time For Conservative Jews To Embrace Sexual Fluidity
“Homosexuality, Human Dignity and Halakhah” was approved by the Rabbinical Assembly’s Committee on Jewish Law and Standards (CJLS) on December 6, 2006, representing a watershed moment for the Conservative Movement. Rigorous scholarship, moral clarity and rabbinic courage provided a compassionate religious response to a complex matter, epitomizing the ethical and redemptive power of halakhah. However,…
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Opinion Israel’s Settlement Blocs Block Prospects For Peace
“Everybody knows,” goes the argument. “Everybody knows that under any future Israeli-Palestinian peace deal, West Bank settlement blocs will be annexed to Israel.” And because everyone knows that, the argument goes, Israel should be allowed, even encouraged, to continue unhindered with settlement construction in the “blocs.” Proponents of construction in settlement blocs argue the following….
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Opinion Is Marwan Barghouti The Palestinian Nelson Mandela?
In the April 16 New York Times, Marwan Barghouti announced that he and 1,000 other Palestinian prisoners were launching a hunger strike. It’s easy to understand why. West Bank Palestinians are colonial subjects. Even though the Palestinian Authority has some power, it is not a state, and the Israeli military can freely enter the West…
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Opinion What You Need To Know About Marwan Barghouti
To some observers, Marwan Barghouti promises a path to peace. To others, he inspires liberation. And to his jailers, he is a mass murdering terrorist. Marwan Barghouti is widely seen as the most popular political figure in Palestinian society, but he is currently serving a life sentence for murder in an Israeli prison. Last week,…
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Opinion Ivanka And Jared Are Spectacularly Unqualified — And Why That Matters
In the family business that passes for this White House, Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner have acquired seats at the grown-ups’ table, with offices steps away from the Oval Office, portfolios that seem to grow by the day and unparalleled access to the levers of power. To cite a recent New York Times story, they…
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Opinion Did Jon Ossoff’s Jewish Faith Prevent Him From Winning Outright?
Democrat Jon Ossoff, who placed first in the special election for Georgia’s sixth congressional district with 48% of the vote but who needed 50% to avoid a runoff, overcame a great deal of adversity. The 30-year-old political neophyte beat back charges that he didn’t live in the reddish district, which previously elected the likes of…
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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.
In Case You Missed It
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Yiddish ווידעאָ: היסטאָריקערין וויווי לאַקס באַשרײַבט געשיכטע פֿון לאָנדאָנער ייִדישער פּרעסעVIDEO: Historian Vivi Laks tells history of the London Yiddish Press
שבֿע צוקער פֿירט דעם שמועס מיט וויווי לאַקס און ביידע לייענען פֿאָר עטלעכע פֿעליעטאָנען פֿון יענע צײַטן.
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Yiddish World Puppet Monty Pickle is guest on the Forward’s ‘Yiddish Word of the Day’
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Culture We tried to fix Hallmark’s Hanukkah problem. Here’s the movie we made instead
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Fast Forward Holocaust survivor event features a Rob Reiner video address — recorded just weeks before his death
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