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
I’m a “yarn bomber,” which means I decorate outdoor spaces with crochet. But I can’t stand “yarn bombing.” The phrase unnerves me, because the word “bomb” obliterates the good will, consciousness-raising and well-meaning mischief-making by those who see the great outdoors as their yarn canvas. So with the advent of “Yarn Bombing Day” on June…
In the spring of 1976, the Democratic presidential candidate Jimmy Carter appointed Zbigniew Brzezinski (March 28, 1928 – May 26, 2017), who was teaching at Columbia University, as his foreign policy adviser. I served at that time as the director-general of Israel’s Foreign Ministry, and I knew that Brzezinski had never visited Israel, so I…
If nothing else, Donald Trump accomplished at least one big thing by withdrawing from the Paris Climate Accord. He gave the world the clearest possible demonstration of something Republicans have been aggressively proclaiming for years: American exceptionalism. With Trump’s June 1 announcement in the White House Rose Garden, the United States officially stands alone among…
What makes a college or university ideal for a Jewish student? Is it the presence of pro-Israel clubs? Kosher food options? Jewish fraternities and sororities? Something else altogether? Whether you are a student, parent, recent graduate or Jewish professional, the Forward wants to hear from you. Tell us what you think: Loading… Laura E. Adkins…
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. Vandals painted anti-Semitic graffiti, including the words “No Jews,” on a…
With the U.S. leaving the Paris Climate Agreement, a cartoonist envisions what happens next.
In the last year, numerous anti-Semitic conspiracy theorists have appeared at left-leaning venues in New York City. As a monitor of far right politics, I keep track of this sort of thing, and I’ve noticed a significant increase in the number of such events. But unlike the other bigots energized in the Trump era, these…
After weeks of debate, Linda Sarsour is finally speaking at CUNY’s commencement. Sarsour, whose profile rose as a co-organizer of the Women’s March held in January, is a Palestinian activist who has made controversial statements about Israel and Zionism in the past. While some view such statements and positions as disqualifying her from speaking at…
Covfefe: innocuous typo by an overworked president after a long day potentially dooming the planet to cataclysmic climate change? A code word to let the Russians know that “despite the constant negative press,” they’re still his boo? Or is it one of those Yiddish words your grandmother always threw out at the end of sentences…
Dear Europe: I fear that you, our European allies, are getting the wrong impression of the United States, or at least of Americans. We are not all like our current president, who seems more at home with autocratic, gilded Middle East royalty than with duly elected leaders of friendly democracies. Donald Trump himself tweeted that…
This column, which I wrote for the festival of Shavuot in May 2010, is one of my favorites. Since Shavuot starts Tuesday night, I thought I’d rerun it. Of all the major Jewish holidays, the least familiar to the general, synagogue-avoiding Jewish public is the festival of Shavuot. In fact, its obscurity is so striking…
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