Opinion

• Opinion

  Memo to All Those Who Are Visiting the Tenement Museum To Fight About Immigrants

  As a trustee of the Lower East Side Tenement Museum, I am proud of our 28-year history of celebrating the lives and cultures of immigrants — what brings us together as Americans, not what divides us. This is an apolitical mission; from the museum’s founding, we have neither endorsed a single candidate for public office…

  By Zach Aarons

  2 min read
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  Opinion

  This Hanukkah Version of a Gingerbread House Annoys Me Like Nothing Else

  Like almost every other Jewish Holiday, Hanukkah is a celebration of the fact that non-Jews tried to destroy Jews, but they failed. Also: Let’s eat! At its core, Hanukkah is about a fight against total Jewish assimilation into the prevailing culture of the day. So how do American Jews celebrate this festival that commemorates our…

  By Bethany Mandel Dec 4, 2016 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  REVEALED: The Full Keith Ellison Tape Shows He Was (Mostly) Praising Israel — Not Trashing It

  If you’ve been following the uproar over Congressman Keith Ellison and his run for chairman of the Democratic National Committee, you might recall hearing about a 36-second audio clip containing a snippet of an Ellison speech that, according to his critics, proves he’s anti-Israel and shouldn’t get the job. You may even have listened to…

  By J.J. Goldberg Dec 3, 2016 | 4 min read

Columnists View All

• Jodi Rudoren This is my last column as editor of the Forward

  

• Jay Michaelson American Jews were played — now what?

  

• Rob Eshman I have the answer to Jon Stewart’s toughest question about Israel

  

• Nora Berman ‘Eddington’ is full of conspiracy theories but it’s not about Jews. Or is it?

  

• Dan Perry Recognizing a Palestinian state is a great way to doom Palestinians

  

• Emily Tamkin Is starvation in Gaza really Israel’s fault? The facts are clear

  

The Latest

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  Opinion

  No, the Keith Ellison Tape Isn’t Anti-Israel — and Shouldn’t Torpedo His Democratic Run

  It looks as though opposition is mounting, perhaps approaching a critical mass, against the bid by Minnesota Rep. Keith Ellison to become chair of the Democratic National Committee. A small flood of messages and articles is circulating through the Jewish community and precincts of the Republican right, supposedly documenting his hostility to Israel and support…

  By J.J. Goldberg Dec 2, 2016 | 6 min read
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  Opinion

  It’s Not Just Israel — These 6 Other Countries Offer Birthright Trips, Too

  Birthright isn’t just for Jews anymore. Following the same model, a number of cultural organizations and governments have created programs to connect diasporic communities in North America with their ancestral cultures. 1) Heritage Greece Founded by the National Hellenic Society, Heritage Greece offers Greek-American undergraduate students between the ages of 18 and 26 a two-week…

  By Lana Adler Dec 2, 2016 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  What I Learned About Being Jewish and Chinese on My Birthright Trip to Israel — and to Taiwan

  If you saw me on the street, you probably wouldn’t peg me as Jewish. With my small eyes, thick black hair and high cheekbones, I’m a Jew with some very Chinese characteristics. Growing up, I learned from my father that being Jewish — or at least, New York Jewish — mostly involved cultural quirks, like…

  By Alfred Miller Dec 2, 2016 | 4 min read
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  Letters

  More Shortsightedness From Orthodox Groups on Betsy DeVos

  Rabbi Nathan Diament’s response to my column about Betsy DeVos perfectly reflects the short-sightedness of the Orthodox Union’s approach to this issue. The column in question was roughly 1,200 words long. Only 64 of those words addressed Orthodox organizations. Yet from Rabbi Diament’s response, you’d think the whole piece was an attack on them. In…

  By Jay Michaelson Dec 1, 2016 | < 1 min read
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  Opinion

  Why Do I Suddenly Like Ben Shapiro, Even Though I Hate His Politics?

  The other day I happened to catch an interview with a very conservative pundit, Ben Shapiro, formerly of Breitbart News. He resigned after a Breitbart reporter was aggressively grabbed at a Donald Trump rally and the Breitbart organization, instead of defending its reporter, attacked the reporter for creating an incident that supposedly never happened. The…

  By M.J. Rosenberg Dec 1, 2016 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  President Obama Shouldn’t Go It Alone on Middle East Peace

  As his administration draws to a close, many have wondered whether the president will seek to lay down a permanent marker on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict before President-Elect Donald Trump assumes control in January. In fact, two days ago in the The New York Times, former President Jimmy Carter urged Obama to recognize the state of…

  By Jonathan Greenblatt Nov 30, 2016 | 3 min read
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  Letters

  Orthodox Organizations Have a Right to Support Betsy DeVos

  Jay Michaelson, in his column dated Nov. 28th, slanders Orthodox Jewish organizations for their support of President Elect Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Education — Betsy DeVos — because we dare to support policies promoting “school choice.” We at OU Advocacy have consistently supported funding for quality public schools; we just think fairness dictates that some…

  Nov 30, 2016 | < 1 min read
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  Opinion

  Don’t Just Fear the ‘Alt-Right.’ Stop It.

  The “alt-right” has become thinking America’s bogeyman. I’m not the only one who is scared. Scared of the swift way that this grab bag collection of white nationalists has morphed from a fringe movement largely confined to the internet to a group whose latest annual conference drew significant news coverage. Scared of its encroachment into…

  By Jane Eisner Nov 30, 2016 | 3 min read