In the Forward’s opinion section, you’ll find analysis and essays from diverse corners of the Jewish world.
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Opinion
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Opinion
Why Do Jewish Leaders Keep Ignoring Ultra-Orthodox Education Crisis?
The New York State Legislature is currently considering two bills, one introduced by Assemblywoman Ellen Jaffee in early May, the other by Sen. David Carlucci and Assemblyman Kenneth Zebrowski in January, to strengthen existing legislation requiring nonpublic schools to meet the state’s minimum education standards. But Jewish leaders and groups who are usually very vocal…
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Opinion The Outrageous Jewish Hypocrisy of Ivanka Trump — Not To Mention Donald and Melania
What is it about Ivanka Trump? If Donald’s daughter were the one running for president, there would probably be far fewer Republicans declaring “Never Trump” as we watch the election unfold like a slow-motion train wreck. She is, simply, everything her father is not. Soft-spoken, a thoughtful listener, a self-proclaimed feminist, naturally beautiful and gentle…
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Opinion Inside the Western Hemisphere’s Only Romaniote Synagogue — and Its Greek Jewish Festival
Most of the year, the stretch of Broome Street between Allen and Eldridge Streets, on the Lower East Side in New York City, is fairly quiet. The majestic Kehila Kedosha Janina overlooks Chinese restaurants and repair shops as cars and motorbikes speed by on Allen Street’s southbound branch. But this Sunday, the block was crowded…
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Opinion How Netanyahu Showed the Army Who’s Boss by Handing the Keys to the Far Right
There are many ways to describe the Israeli cabinet shakeup that brings arch-nationalist Avigdor Lieberman into the Netanyahu government as defense minister. It’s a broadening and firming of a shaky coalition. It’s a lurch to the right. It’s a settling of scores. Most consequentially, though, it might be called a military coup in reverse. That…
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Opinion First They Came for the Transgender People…
The hysteria over transgender bathrooms is reaching such a fever pitch that even Americans who aren’t transgender are getting hurt by it. A Connecticut woman alleged earlier this month that she was harassed by Wal-Mart shoppers because, with her boyish appearance, she was mistaken for a transgender person headed for the women’s bathroom. “You are…
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Letters How Bend the Arc Is Fighting Donald Trump
Many Jewish organizations have tried to find a way to fight back against the terrible rhetoric of Donald Trump, but Nathan Guttman’s story of May 20 lionizing the efforts of the Anti-Defamation League and other groups missed some of the most important work happening on this issue — and a crucial player: Bend the Arc. This…
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Opinion Hillary and Bernie, Don’t Hand Election to Donald Trump on a Silver Platter!
Throughout this campaign year the smart money was saying that of all the Republican contenders, Donald Trump was the least electable. He’s the one the Democrats hoped to face in the fall. Given his epic unpopularity and profound unsuitability for the job, it’s been assumed that only a miracle could land him in the Oval…
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Opinion On Airport Security, America Should Take a Lesson from Israel
Airport security is back in the news this year, with passengers and the Transportation Security Administration alike anticipating longer lines than ever as the summer travel season begins. Yet for all the handwringing and occasional proposing of solutions, few are addressing the central issue: that the system itself is ineffective, inefficient and just plain dumb….
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Opinion How I Crowdsourced My Way To Testifying as an Expert on Jewish Abortion Ethics
When I got a call from the Rev. Laura J. Young, head of the Ohio Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, asking me if I could testify before an Ohio state Senate committee about Jewish views on abortion, I did what rabbis have done for hundreds of years: I crowdsourced. With only a short time to…
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Opinion What Avigdor Lieberman Can Learn From the Last Non-General To Be Israel’s Defense Chief
(JTA) – He was an outspoken politician with little military experience, appointed by a rival and promising to bring a new approach. Current and former officials at the Defense Ministry called his appointment an “enigma,” fretting that “it will take some time until he understands how things work” and that “he’ll have to undergo basic…
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Opinion Adelson’s Money Puts Us All in Bed with Trump
Now that Sheldon Adelson, one of the richest Jews on the planet, has endorsed Donald Trump and pledged to spend lots of his considerable fortune to elect the presumed Republican nominee for president, how should the Jewish community react? What a silly question, you might say. Why should the Jewish community have a response one…
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