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
Unquestionably, Ernest Hemingway was anti-Semitic. Studded throughout his letters are nasty remarks about Jews. But Hemingway felt his prejudice had a place in his fiction as well, most notably in “The Sun Also Rises,” his classic 1925 novel about a group of Paris expatriates at the bullfights in Pamplona. Hemingway routinely describes Robert Cohn, introduced…
President Trump’s recent trip to Israel did not matter. He wants to broker the “ultimate deal” — Israeli-Palestinian peace — and thinks the Saudis, who share Israel’s fear of Iran, can help. But the Saudis can’t make Palestinians endorse their own subjugation. Peace requires freedom for the millions currently living under Israeli control without citizenship,…
President Trump recently released his full budget proposal, which he titled “The Foundation for American Greatness.” It is an understatement to say that this budget comes nowhere close to living up to its grandiose title. In truth, it presents a dark vision for America, one at odds with all this country has stood for since…
Before my mother died, I didn’t think about her aesthetic vision, though I always loved her fantastical photographs (1980s–2000s) and large abstract paintings (1970s) that filled our family’s brownstone in Manhattan’s West Village. But at her funeral, Rabbi David Adelson, dean of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion and a family friend, delivered a eulogy…
As leaders of an organization deeply involved in pro-Israel advocacy in France and other key European countries, we are writing to report that the people of France have elected a potentially strong friend of Israel, Emmanuel Macron, as president. When Macron, then France’s Minister for the Economy, made his highly successful official visit to Israel…
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…
(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…
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,…
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…
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…
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…