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
This Canadian Synagogue Invited Muslims To Pray After Their Mosque Was Fire-Bombed
Finally, some heartwarming news. A Canadian congregation in Ontario to use its synagogue as a place to worship after their mosque was fire-bombed in a suspected hate crime following the Paris attacks. The attack, which caused an estimated $80,000 worth of damage, rendered Masjid al-Salaam mosque — the only one in Peterborough, Ontario — unusable. That’s…
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Opinion What a Syrian Hanukkah Custom Can Teach Us About Refugees
Some Sephardic Jews with roots in Aleppo, Syria, have a special Hanukkah custom. On each of the eight nights of the holiday, they light an extra flame. This custom has been passed down in families whose ancestors were forced to flee Spain as refugees, when the Alhambra Decree of 1492 set in motion their expulsion…
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Opinion What Donald Trump Can Learn from Hanukkah
It’s that time of year again. The Thanksgiving turkey carcass is stripped clean. The snow boots are retrieved from the back of the closet. And politicians are renewing their annual complaint that Americans don’t say “Merry Christmas” anymore. Actually, Donald Trump first tackled this issue months ago, campaign visionary that he is, promising that we…
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Opinion 4 Mistakes To Avoid When Talking About Radical Islam
Much of what has been said in the wake of the terrorist attacks in Paris has been sterile — when it has not been obscene. So many of the responses have been so sadly predictable. On one side stand the apologists and wishful thinkers, who insist that the murders have “nothing to do with Islam”;…
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Opinion Jews From Arab Lands Got Their Refugee Day — But Is It Zionist?
On November 30, the State of Israel will mark for the second time an annual day commemorating the exodus of Jews from Arab countries, otherwise dubbed “Jewish Refugee Day” or “Jewish Nakba Day.” For many Israeli Jews of Middle Eastern descent, this day is a long-sought form of recognition: The Israeli government is finally recognizing…
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Opinion Why Women of the Wall Must Continue — Terror Attacks or No
On Hanukkah we sing, “Banu Hosheh Legaresh” (We came to drive out the darkness), as we remember the unlikely victory of the Maccabees against the Assyrians in Jerusalem. So too, Judith led the defeat of Holofernes, against all odds when the Israelites were in a very dark place of despair, having almost given up hope….
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Opinion Does Hillary Clinton Have a Haim Saban Problem?
Haim Saban, one of Hillary Clinton’s top donors, may be aligned with the Democratic Party. But when it comes to Mideast politics, he’s far from a progressive. That doesn’t set the billionaire Israeli-American entertainment magnate apart from many other Democrats — see, for example, Sen. Chuck Schumer — who are Israel and Mideast hawks, but…
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Opinion Israel Gobbling Up Africa? This Meme’s Anti-Semitic.
As I recently wrote in these pages, American Jews often cry wolf when it comes to anti-Semitism and anti-Israel sentiment. However, even by a generous standard, this meme of Israel, Britain and France prepared to feast on Africa (which I’ve seen a few times circulated among my left-leaning friends on Facebook) is anti-Semitic. Three-quarters of…
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Opinion The Real Difference Between the Two Paris Terror Attacks (John Kerry Wasn’t Wrong)
Secretary of State John Kerry stirred up a hornet’s nest following the Paris terror attacks, trying to describe the difference between the recent carnage and last January’s Charlie Hebdo massacre. The incident turns out to be quite instructive, though not in the way you’d expect. In case you missed it, Kerry gave a controversial talk…
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Letters ‘Women’s Ordination Would Have Been Unthinkable Without Pioneering Halachic Critique’
To the Editor: The assertion that thirty years ago, traditional leaders of the Conservative movement employed a “sociological argument masquerading as a halachic argument” when they opposed rabbinic ordination for women is patently false . In fact, today’s Open Orthodox endorsement of women’s ordination would have been unthinkable without the pioneering halachic critique and template…
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Opinion How To Talk About Refugees at Your Jewish Thanksgiving Table
I think it’s safe to say that a lot of U.S. governors — 31 at last count — have very different Thanksgiving dinner conversations than I do. “Guess who’s coming to dinner? Not Syrian refugees!” It’s enough to make me think we should have a national holiday celebrating the rescue of refugees fleeing religious persecution,…
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