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.
I usually spend the Sunday following the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas reflecting on all of the amazing new tech products I saw over the previous week. Of course I have a lot on my mind as this was the best CES I’ve experienced yet, but today I will put those reflections…
(CLARIFICATION BELOW) When Haaretz released its recent investigation into the funding of Israeli settlements, revealing that settler groups in East Jerusalem and the West Bank received more than $220 million in tax-deductible donations from U.S. organizations between 2009 and 2013, we were troubled — but not surprised. For the past year, we and our fellow…
Like many Jewish kids, and many more gay kids, I grew up not belonging. I was a nerd and a weirdo. What other kids seemed to know intuitively — how to dress, how to talk — I had to puzzle out somehow, often unsuccessfully. That included sex; I didn’t know I was gay, and the…
Back in 2010, shortly after the first concerted attack on the New Israel Fund and Israel’s human rights community, Israeli analyst Yossi Alpher wrote a seminal article for the New York Times. He pointed out that the ultranationalist settler lobby in Israel had been unsettled in more than one way by the disengagement from Gaza,…
When news broke last night of and its cause was not yet clear, most of us feared the worst: arson. Since then, the smoke has cleared — literally — and a preliminary investigation has been concluded. The Jerusalem fire brigade has announced that the cause of the fire was likely an electrical fault. Although the…
It’s 2016, and on the right and the left, it’s the worst of times. Conservatives see moral decay, loss of American leadership, the dangers of radical Islam. Liberals see environmental catastrophe, the persistence of racism, corporate control of politics, and the wealth gap. Either way, we’re going to hell in a handbasket. But are we?…
(JTA) — Just months after the conclusion of a nuclear deal with Iran that the Obama administration hoped would help defuse a volatile region, the Middle East seems ready to spiral out of control. Protests have erupted across the region this week in the wake of Saudi Arabia’s execution of a leading Shia cleric. In…
When I was a plucky 11-year old, I challenged the biblical account of creation at my Jewish day school in Winnipeg, Canada. Instead of getting punished, I was invited over to the high school wing to continue the debate with the senior Judaic studies teacher. As is befitting a culture of open critique, I felt…
I am not a fan of The Israel Project (TIP) for the simple reason that it suffers from the same delusion that plagues FOX News: the one where you claim to be a “,” but do all you can to misdirect any criticism that might challenge your prejudices and lead to real, lasting dialogue. In…
If you haven’t heard of SSuDEMOP, now is a good time to get acquainted. The odd-looking initials stand for South Sudan Democratic Engagement Monitoring and Observation Programme. South Sudan, which won independence from Islamist-ruled Sudan in 2011, is the world’s newest nation and its most dysfunctional. It ranks No. 1 on ForeignPolicy.com’s Failed States Index….
Naftali Bennett, Israel’s education minister and the head of the Jewish Home Party, decided to ban Dorit Rabinyan’s book, “Borderlife,” from the literature curriculum in schools. The reason? The book depicts a love affair between a Palestinian and a Jew. This, of course, caused quite a backlash. People protested with angry social media posts, and…
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