Opinion

• Opinion

  Don’t Fence Me In

  Okay, so first of all I have to acknowledge to myself that the schedule was a little extreme. To keep alert and open to a range of different people talking with me, to wander all over Manhattan to meet them, and then to expect myself to be sufficiently awake to write any thoughts other than…

  By Robbie Gringras

  2 min read
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  Opinion

  Why Your JNF Donation Might Be Used for Settlements

  Ask any American Jew what the Jewish National Fund does, and they will most likely answer, “It plants trees in Israel.” But the reality is much more complicated. Even a close reading of JNF-USA’s tax forms and website does not reveal how much of the $100 million dollars American Jews donate each year flows to…

  By Jill Jacobs Dec 16, 2015 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  3 Ways Sheldon Adelson Could Handle Donald Trump

  (JTA) — For months, Republican Party insiders have speculated who Sheldon Adelson, the pro-Israel billionaire, will back in the GOP presidential primary. Now there’s a follow-up question: How does Donald Trump’s continued perch atop the polls scramble the casino magnate’s calculations? In 2012, Adelson and his wife, Miriam, backed Newt Gingrich to the tune of $40…

  By Ron Kampeas Dec 15, 2015 | 3 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 A new humanitarian outrage is unfolding in the Middle East. It’s not in Gaza

  

• Nora Berman The left is turning on AOC over Israel — and imperiling its own agenda

  

• Dan Perry Actually, Trump made things between Israel and Iran way worse

  

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

  

The Latest

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  Opinion

  VIDEO: Extremists Incite Witch Hunt Against Israeli Human Rights Advocates

  If this isn’t incitement, I don’t know what is. Im Tirtzu, the Israeli extreme right-wing organization that has ties to the Likud and Yisrael Beitenu parties, just posted a horrific video on social media, accusing four Israeli human rights activists of being “foreign operatives” who help facilitate Palestinian terror attacks. The video ad is meant…

  By Lior Zaltzman Dec 15, 2015 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  Number One!

  You know when you have a hunch, an idea, and you dare to go with it? Set out on an adventure on the wings of a whim? And then find out that you’re an idiot? So I have a silly idea. (In fact, it’s an idea that emerges from the stable of Makom, the Israel…

  By Robbie Gringras Dec 15, 2015 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  Why Liberals Gave Samantha Power the Cold Shoulder — and the Point They Missed

  One thousand Jewish liberals gathered in New York on December 13 for what was billed as a “new Israeli American discussion” about Israel and its future, sponsored by the liberal Israeli daily newspaper Haaretz together with the New Israel Fund. The event was a day-long seminar, addressing such hot-button Israeli issues as Palestinian rights, religion…

  By J.J. Goldberg Dec 15, 2015 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  3 Questions About the Salary Survey — and Answers

  The Forward salary survey, now in its seventh year, is an unparalleled collection and analysis of important data about who is leading the big national Jewish charities in America and what they are earning. It’s also put together by humans. That means the process is laced with endless judgment calls — especially since, as far…

  By Jane Eisner Dec 14, 2015 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  I’m 13 Years Old and Israel’s Chief Rabbi Is Wrong About My School

  On December 1, Israeli Minister of Education Naftali Bennett visited my school, Solomon Schechter School of Manhattan (SSSM). During his visit, me and a couple of other fortunate middle-schoolers got to meet with him and ask him a couple of questions. Minister Bennett was very interested to learn about how our school teaches Judaism. Shortly…

  By Amnon Scharia Dec 14, 2015 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Why I Disagree With My Cousin, the Israeli Chief Rabbi

  The other day, I woke at the crack of dawn to finish studying halachic rulings in time for my Jewish Law class at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York. But as I was plugging in, social media alerts from several sources alerted me that just minutes ago the Israeli Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi David Lau…

  By Amichai Lau-Lavie Dec 14, 2015 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  What Ayman Odeh Teaches Us About the Limits of Open Dialogue

  Arab Israeli MK and Joint List leader Ayman Odeh’s decision not to meet with the Conference of Presidents this week in New York — because the meeting was to be held in Jewish Agency offices — was the right move. As Odeh , “I came here to represent the Arab public in Israel to American…

  By Mairav Zonszein Dec 14, 2015 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Time To Crack Down on Newtown ‘Truthers’ Who Tarnish Memory of Noah Pozner

  It’s been three years since we last embraced our precious little boy, Noah. At six-years-old, he was the youngest child murdered at the Sandy Hook Elementary School. While our family may have managed to live through this tragedy, the passage of time has nowhere near dimmed the vivid memory of that day nor made it…

  By Veronique and Lenny Pozner Dec 14, 2015 | 4 min read