Opinion

• Opinion

  Don’t Worry, Bernie — Being Jewish Won’t Hurt You in Iowa

  As one comedian online, if Hillary Clinton loses the Iowa caucus February 1 to an underdog, it will be the most shocking thing that’s happened — since it happened eight years ago. In 2008, the pundit class was united in the opinion that Clinton was clearly next in line for the Democratic nomination and that…

  By Ari Paul

  3 min read
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  Opinion

  ‘Crazy Ex-Girlfriend’ Is Jewish Comedy for the Truly Enlightened

  The opening credits of the musical sitcom “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend,” now entering its second season, perfectly sum up the show. And it’s not just because they recap the story — Rachel Bloom’s character sings about leaving a job at a fancy New York law firm for West Covina, California, which “happens to be where Josh lives,…

  By Lior Zaltzman Jan 25, 2016 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Wishing Your Opponents Dead Is Not Good for Israelis or Palestinians

  This column is not about the recent anti-Israel , which partially shut down a reception featuring Israeli LGBT activists. It’s about the ugly, angry way we talk about such things. And as usual, I’m going to call out both the right and the left. As journalists and Internet trolls “discussed” the events at the conference…

  By Jay Michaelson Jan 25, 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 Americans keep getting killed in the West Bank. Here’s how the US could fight that awful trend

  

• Nora Berman First Camp Auschwitz, now Alligator Alcatraz — why the right is obsessed with commodifying brutality

  

• Dan Perry What exactly is going on between Israel and Syria — and is the prospect of peace dead?

  

• Emily Tamkin Zohran Mamdani’s victory proves it: The ‘gotcha’ mode of fighting antisemitism has to go

  

The Latest

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  Opinion

  How the Left’s ‘Yes, But’ Mourning for Slain Israelis Actually Hurts Palestinians

  The horrifying murder of Dafna Meir, an Israeli who was stabbed to death on January 17 while fighting off a Palestinian assailant in her West Bank home, posed a moral and political test to both the right and the left in Israel. Judging from my social media feeds and email inbox, it was a test…

  By Eetta Prince-Gibson Jan 25, 2016 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  The Right-Wing Tactic All Jewish Leftists Should Be Stealing

  In the early 1990s it felt as if the Israeli Left had won. In 1992, the first election I ever voted in, Meretz won 12 Knesset seats. A year later Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin signed the Oslo agreements. At that time, my IDF unit was working on a just and fair distribution of water resources…

  By Maya Haber Jan 24, 2016 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Ditch JNF Tree-Planting and Reclaim the Real Roots of Tu B’Shvat

  Baruch she-p’tarani m’eytz zeh! Blessed is the One who has freed me from the responsibility of this tree!” This time last year, I exclaimed this improvised blessing under the starry skies in the Jerusalem forest — as I burned branches of pine. What was a Jewish environmentalist doing burning branches on Tu B’Shvat, the holiday…

  By Sarah Chandler Jan 24, 2016 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Donald Trump Retweets Creator of Pic Showing Bernie Sanders Sent to Gas Chamber

  Donald Trump’s presidential campaign has been littered with odd moments, but this one takes the cake. This Friday, Trump’s official Twitter feed retweeted this Tweet that takes a jab at GOP rival Jeb Bush. It shows a photoshopped image of Bush in front of the Trump Towers, holding up a “Vote for Trump” sign. Seems…

  By Lior Zaltzman Jan 22, 2016 | < 1 min read
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  Opinion

  Why Most Jewish Environmentalism Is Useless — on Tu B’Shvat and Every Other Day

  Tu B’Shvat, the Jewish “new year of the trees,” comes again on Sunday, January 24. In recent years, the holiday has become a much-needed day for thinking about, and taking action on, environmental issues. Too bad most of those actions will be counterproductive. For an illustration, consider the Aliso Canyon methane leak, which you probably…

  By Jay Michaelson Jan 22, 2016 | 5 min read
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  Opinion

  First Step to Reflecting Jews’ Real Values? Focus Less on Israel.

  If it’s not American Jewish liberals who have betrayed Israel, but our organizations that have betrayed us — — then that leaves us with a question: What would a genuine Jewish public agenda look like? Here’s a quick recap of how we got to where we are: When the main American Jewish advocacy organizations arose…

  By J.J. Goldberg Jan 22, 2016 | 5 min read
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  Opinion

  Who’s To Blame for Jewish Group Getting Booted from Gay Conference?

  It’s been a busy week for the National LGBTQ Task Force. Jewish accusations of exclusionary behavior, silencing, anti-Semitism, being too harsh on Israel, being too easy on Israel — all this and more inundated the Task Force, and all because of a single event at the Creating Change Conference in Chicago. First the Task Force…

  By J.E. Reich Jan 21, 2016 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Boycott the West Bank? Nope. Label Settlement Products? Well, OK.

  The Israeli government’s intention to maintain the status quo in the territories it has occupied since 1967 is facing two new challenges. The Europeans want products made in the settlements to be labeled as such. And Human Rights Watch is calling for companies to stop doing business in the settlements altogether. Both moves are tactics…

  By Jane Eisner Jan 21, 2016 | 4 min read