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
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Opinion
What The GOP Health Care Bill Says About A Sick Country
It’s all too easy to understate the harm done to America by the House of Representatives on May 4, when the House narrowly passed the so-called American Health Care Act. The cobbled-together bill, the Republicans’ first concrete step toward unraveling Obamacare, won’t end up becoming law. Unfortunately, considerable damage has already been done — to…
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Opinion Jewish College Students Aren’t Losing Their Religion
In a recent analysis of U.S. religious groups, the Pew Research Center reported that the most educated American Jews are also the least religious. In considering these findings, it’s tempting to think that secular education leads to assimilation among American Jews (I want to be clear that Pew, a leading source of data on contemporary…
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Opinion Trump’s Lying About Comey And Russia — Ask Anyone In The Shtetl
A Jewish folk tale recounts a dim-witted bandit who stole something from a stall in a busy market in the shtetl, before disappearing into the crowd. Then some genius came along and shouted “Oyfn ganef brent dos hitl” – “the cap on the thief’s head is burning” – upon which our dopey crook gave himself…
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Opinion Linda Sarsour’s CUNY Speech: A Moral Disaster
One can have visions of shenere un be sere velt, a better and more beautiful world, as prophesied by the Workmen’s Circle, when reading the delusional praise of Linda Sarsour in the Forward by New York City Councilmember Brad Lander. Alas, his naive ilk bears historical precedence in bad Jewish outcomes. Before getting to the…
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Opinion Armed And Dangerous: After Firing James Comey, Trump Will Weaponize The FBI
It’s clear what Donald Trump got rid of in his “midnight massacre” firing of FBI Director James Comey: an investigation into his ties to Russia that is somewhere between pesky and a prelude to impeachment. Less well observed is what he gained: the weaponization of the FBI, soon to be headed by a Trump loyalist,…
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Opinion Remembering Deborah Cotton, Who Lived To Forgive The Men Who Took Her Life
While covering the Mother’s Day second line parade in New Orleans — a festive tradition in the city — on May 12, 2013, two young brothers sprayed bullets into the crowd. The shooting wounded 19 people, including reporter Deborah Cotton, a longtime correspondent for the local alt weekly Gambit and a cultural writer for Nola.com….
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Opinion The Bible Is Packed With Tough Guy Jews
This article was originally published in the Forward on August 8, 1997. In his eagerness to embrace what he terms Judaism’s “sissy heritage” (“Deconstructing the Jewish Man,” June 27), Daniel Boyarin seems to deliberately ignore another, equally valid side of the Jewish heritage that happens not to fit his ideology. The Zionist “tough guy” machismo…
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Opinion The Complicated Relationship Between Jews And Tattoos
This article originally appeared in The Forward on July 4, 1997. The first tattoo, speculates Peter Trachtenberg, was the mark of God placed on Cain “lest anyone finding him kill him.” In other words, muses the author of “7 Tattoos,” “From the very beginning tattoos were associated with wrongdoing.” but that was not their only…
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Opinion The Time For Peace With The Palestinians Was After The Six Day War
On Friday, June 10, 1967, when the enormity of Israel’s stunning victory in the Six Day War became clear, I presented a memo to Israel’s foreign minister, Abba Eban. Now was the time, I argued, for Israel to propose a bold initiative to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. My recommendation was that we use the dramatic…
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Opinion Don’t Force-Feed Palestinian Hunger Strikers
The Jewish Voice for Peace Health Advisory Council expresses its support for over 1600 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails who have embarked on a hunger strike in protest of the dehumanizing conditions of their incarceration. We also affirm their right to conduct a hunger strike without the threat of force-feeding by Israeli authorities. We applaud…
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Opinion Jews Should Emulate Scientology To Recruit Celebs
This article originally appeared in the Forward on March 5, 1999. If Gwyneth Paltrow wanted to belong, who would kick her out of any club? Given her long rabbinical lineage, you’d think the Jews would be happy to have the Oscar-nominated blond bombshell as a member of the tribe. Ah, but the rabbis come from…
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