Opinion

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  Ben Carson and the Dollar Bill’s ‘Star of David’

  Donald Trump stumbled at the Republican Jewish Coalition conference when he said he didn’t want the tribe’s money and was simpatico because, like “you folks,” he too is a good haggler. He wasn’t the only one who made some boneheaded remarks. Ben Carson, brain surgeon, also had some notable slip-ups. If you could get past…

  By John A. Oswald

  2 min read
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  Opinion

  Why Do Activists Connect Israel to Campus Rape? Intersectionality 101

  If you care about Israel’s status on college campuses, you need to know about intersectionality. Coined by black feminist scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw in 1989, “intersectionality” refers to the way social identities and forms of oppression overlap and intersect. For Crenshaw, it was impossible to understand her black identity without also understanding her female identity, and…

  By Jay Michaelson Dec 3, 2015 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Want a Jewish Response to San Bernardino Mass Shooting? Scream Bloody Murder.

  This time, it was at a social services center for the disabled, in San Bernadino, California. Two people went on a shooting spree. They killed at least 14 people, and they wounded 17 others, before they were killed as well. Earlier the same day, there had been a shooting in Houston. Not to mention a…

  By Jeffrey K. Salkin Dec 3, 2015 | 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

  

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  Opinion

  9 Questions Republican Jews Want Answered

  It’s going to be a long Thursday. The Republican Jewish Coalition is holding a forum for GOP presidential candidates, and everyone’s invited. Well, everyone in the race. Even candidates who register as barely a blip on the national radar will get 30 minutes to make their case to an audience of hundreds of Republican Jews….

  By Ron Kampeas Dec 3, 2015 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Stop Asking If James Deen Was a Feminist — Ask If He’s Guilty

  It’s been only a few days since James Deen — a man formerly referred to as a variation of the boy-next-door, nice-Jewish-boy, and even “feminist hero” of pornography — was accused of sexually assaulting several women, including his ex-girlfriend. The Internet can’t seem to get enough of Deen, even (especially?) when he has been accused…

  By Emily Shire Dec 2, 2015 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Do Feminists Put Too Much Emphasis On Sex — at Religious Women’s Expense?

  Sexual empowerment has long been a big part of the women’s movement, or at least a big part of how that movement has played out in popular culture. From Heley Gurley Brown’s Cosmopolitan, to HBO’s “Sex and the City,” to Miley Cyrus’s free love naked shtick, the message has been “Feel less shame — and…

  By Elissa Strauss Dec 2, 2015 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Why Israel Is Failing Green Test

  There is a Jewish blessing when one is in the rare presence of a national leader. But what is the blessing when the single largest gathering of world leaders in history — 150 in one day — come together outside Paris with soaring rhetoric and promises to fight the devastating effects of climate change? Paris…

  By Yosef I. Abramowitz Dec 1, 2015 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Why I Am Pro-Life and Support Planned Parenthood

  I am one who believes that women ought to be able to access safe and legal abortions in accordance with the graduated restrictions built into Roe v. Wade, still the law of our land. I also consider myself pro-life. This is not a contradiction, nor a semantic jujitsu. It is a studied opinion supported by…

  By Jane Eisner Dec 1, 2015 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Why I Hired a Belgian Butcher to Circumcise My Son

  (JTA) — They warn you that parenting means doing a bunch of stuff you never imagined yourself doing. I had always assumed this applied to saying to children things like, “You watch your tone of voice, young lady” or, “Let’s not eat things we find in our underwear.” But in my case, the moment came…

  By Cnaan Liphshiz Nov 30, 2015 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Racist Israeli Hanukkah Video Mocks Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews

  Today, November 30, is a special day in Israel. It’s “,” the day that the country commemorates the expulsion of Jews from Arab countries. It’s also supposed to be the day when the Israeli government recognizes its own historic discrimination against Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews. How awkward, then, that today is also the day a…

  By Sigal Samuel Nov 30, 2015 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  Want To End Israeli Occupation — Without BDS? This New Guide Tells You How.

  Israel supporters who are deeply troubled by occupation are often in a bind. If the non-violent tool of BDS (boycott, divestment and sanctions) against Israel is considered treyf by most of the Jewish community, and if many Israel supporters themselves are loath to invoke a blanket boycott on the country, then what can they do?…

  By Mira Sucharov Nov 30, 2015 | 3 min read