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
-
Opinion
What My Sadly Deformed Hamantaschen Teach Me About Aging
Midway into my first batch, as the rolling pin clumsily turned my dough into something resembling a map of Africa after a multi-year drought, I wondered what I could have possibly been thinking when I agreed to this assignment. This was my first attempt at baking hamantaschen, the triangular-shaped cookies we eat especially at Purim,…
-
Opinion How Trump and Democrats Alike Fan Paranoia About Russia
Since paranoia is a defining feature of political life in Russia, perhaps it is only natural that the controversy over Donald Trump’s alleged Russian connections is blurring the lines between paranoia and reality in the United States. Whichever way you look, it’s a vast conspiracy: either to put a Kremlin stooge in the White House,…
-
Opinion Why Israel’s Sudden Baseball Prowess Actually Means Something
No, there are no Sabras on the team. In fact, most Israelis are unaware they even have a national baseball team. Or how the game is played. Unlike American football, which attracts a small but growing fan base, baseball is for Israelis what cricket is for Americans: not a thing. Yet suddenly, the Star of…
Columnists View All
The Latest
-
Opinion Relatively Easy: How To Produce A Hassle-Free Family Reunion
In 1886, a scared 16-year old named Menachem Mendel Lehrman made his way to the Russian border and sneaked into Germany. In Hamburg he took a ship to New York, a trip that left him so sick he couldn’t write home for a year. Back in Belarus, his family decided he was dead and sat…
-
Opinion GamerGate Can Teach Us About Anti-Semitic Attacks
The FBI recently arrested Juan Thompson in connection with eight bomb threats made against Jewish Community Centers. Thompson, a journalist previously fired from The Intercept for fabricating quotes, allegedly made the threats in his ex-girlfriend’s name to harass and intimidate her. Some on the right, who have scoffed at the idea that Trump’s rise has…
-
Opinion Israel Criminalizes Thought By Banning BDS Supporters In Orwellian Twist
Israel often markets itself itself as the “only democracy in the Middle East,” but its controversial new law barring Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions supporters from entering the country means that the Holy Land veers toward Orwellian dystopia. Leaving aside one’s feelings about the strategy of peaceful disengagement from the Israeli economy to pressure it to…
-
Opinion How Trump Has Spawned A Spiraling Constitutional Crisis We Haven’t Seen Since Civil War
Our republic is in the throes of a historic constitutional crisis — arguably the most serious since the Civil War. If that was not clear January 20, it’s inescapable now. It’s a complex, multilayered crisis unfolding so fast that it’s difficult to keep track of its moving parts. It’s important to watch the big picture,…
-
Opinion Kremlin Confidential: What Did Netanyahu and Putin Really Talk About?
Imagine we are a fly on the wall in an opulent office in the Kremlin, the site of today’s important meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Except that our “fly” is a mini drone replete with a high-resolution remote camera and a hyper-sensitive microphone. Every word is being broadcast…
-
Opinion The Jewish Right Is Dead Wrong For Downplaying Anti-Semitism
Even though nearly half of the country’s Jewish community centers have received bomb threats; swastikas have defaced schools, colleges and synagogues, and cemeteries have been desecrated, there still seems to be a question about whether America is really experiencing a surge of anti-Semitism. Mystifyingly, other Jews are asking the question. While those skeptics decry the…
-
Opinion I Support Boycotting Settlements — Should I Be Banned From Israel With My Children?
I have a theory about American Jewish kids and Israel. I’m trying it out on my own children. My theory boils down to “Love first, truth later.” When my kids near adulthood, I’ll encourage them to visit the West Bank. I’ll encourage them to see for themselves what it means to hold millions of people…
-
Opinion Donald Trump’s Cabinet Is A Nightmare For Women
Every four years, our country produces a new administration, and every four years, women wonder what’s in it for us. We want government policies that will protect us against discrimination, help us earn a decent living, ensure that our children are well fed and educated and foster the overall well-being of our families. In an…
Explore
Most Popular
- 1
Fast Forward Unarmed man who tackled Bondi Beach Hanukkah attacker identified as Ahmed al-Ahmed
- 2
Opinion I grew up believing Australia was the best place to be Jewish. This Hanukkah shooting forces a reckoning I do not want.
- 3
Fast Forward Hanukkah shooting leaves at least 15 dead at Australia’s most popular beach
- 4
Fast Forward Father and son suspects in Bondi Beach Hanukkah attack identified as Sajid and Naveed Akram by law enforcement
In Case You Missed It
-
Fast Forward After MIT professor’s killing, Jewish influencers spread unverified antisemitism claim
-
Film & TV Decades after her ancestor was blacklisted from Hollywood, this teenager is bringing her family’s history to light
-
Antisemitism Decoded Some people are learning the wrong lessons from Ahmed al Ahmed
-
Fast Forward At White House Hanukkah party, Trump says Congress ‘is becoming antisemitic’
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
