Opinion

• Letters

  What To Do After Expelling a Rabbi

  To The Editor, Over the past week we have worked with Paul Berger and The Forward to respond to questions for his article, We are pained to see any abuse or misconduct in our community. Eric Siroka’s actions are completely unacceptable to us, and we are fully committed to the sanctity, safety and security of…

  By Steve Fox

  2 min read
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  Opinion

  How Much Does Your Kid Really Know About Israel?

  How much do Jewish kids know about Israel? According to a new report, very little. A team of researchers from Brandeis University created a multiple-choice test for measuring Israel literacy. Like so many multiple-choice tests of literacy conducted over the last century, this one found that kids don’t know enough. While most students knew that…

  By Jonah Hassenfeld Nov 2, 2015 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Why My Jordanian Students Thought I Was Lying About Judaism

  “So, wait, Miss — there is a difference between Jews and Israelis?” Coming from a seventh-grade Jordanian of Palestinian origin, this question was a breakthrough in my classroom. As a foreign teacher in a private Jordanian school, I need to be careful what I say in front of my students. I am not allowed to…

  By Elena Habersky Nov 2, 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

  

The Latest

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  Opinion

  What Would Yitzhak Rabin Think of Today’s Violence?

  “A gun that appears in the first act will be shot in the third.” I thought about this phrase often after the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin. Many of those around me argued that the writing was on the wall and that all you had to do was look to see what was coming. And I…

  By Efrat Duvdevani Nov 2, 2015 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  The Wesleyan Debate on Free Speech — and What It Means for Israel

  A debate over race and free speech is roiling my beloved alma mater, and in it I find unmistakable parallels to the fraught conversation about Israel that is the subject of so much Sturm und Drang — and so much communal spending — on college campuses across the country. The analogy isn’t exact. The harassment…

  By Jane Eisner Nov 2, 2015 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Even Amid Spreading Violence, Time Mostly Stands Still in Mixed Yaffo

  Translated by Jessica Cohen Not far from where I write, in my rented apartment in Yaffo, a bus was stoned last week. The driver said he was on his route in the evening when he saw a group of masked young men waving Hamas flags. And then the windows were shattered. But there were no…

  By Moshe Sakal Oct 31, 2015 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  ‘Red Oaks’ Proves That the Prurient Male Gaze Is Alive and Well

  Amazon, the e-commerce behemoth that is coming ever closer to eliminating the time between desire and fulfilment, is not satisfied with being merely the world’s biggest bazaar. Over the years, it has become a content generator of its own, buying newspapers, publishing books and, apparently, producing Jewish-themed television shows. The latest in the oeuvre —…

  By Elissa Strauss Oct 30, 2015 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  How Yitzhak Rabin’s Assassin Succeeded in Killing Historic Push for Peace

  Few events in Jewish history have been more shattering than the assassination of a Jewish prime minister in the Land of Israel. Over and over our memories replay the horror in slow motion as he’s accused of collaborating with the enemy, then cut down by a fellow Jew who imagines himself the true heir and…

  By J.J. Goldberg Oct 29, 2015 | 5 min read
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  Opinion

  How the Temple Mount Obsession Could Destroy Judaism

  The shocking upsurge in deadly attacks in Israel cannot be disconnected from efforts of some Jewish organizations to dramatically change the Temple Mount status quo, backed by inflammatory statements and actions of leading politicians. To be sure, not all Jews yearn to abolish the fragile status quo of the holy site. Several prominent Jewish leaders,…

  By Hillel Ben Sasson Oct 29, 2015 | 3 min read
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  Letters

  Tax the Jewish Community to Pay for Jewish Day School

  In response to JJ Goldberg’s October 19 piece Dear Forward, It is time to “tax” the Jewish community to pay for Jewish day school. [The document] should also say that every Jewish professional should be protected from being fired if they advocate Jewish day school vehemently from their perch, bimah or position. I also thought…

  Oct 28, 2015 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  What Americans Don’t Know About the Middle East Conflict and Why

  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu knows better than anyone else that if we Palestinians are permitted to engage non-violently, odds are we will expose Israel’s military occupation for what it is, a system of modern-day apartheid or worse. This is why, following his March election victory, Netanyahu assembled an extreme right-wing cabinet that would work…

  By Sam Bahour Oct 28, 2015 | 4 min read