Opinion

• Opinion

  Who’s Afraid of Jeremy Corbyn? No, Not All British Jews.

  As a British Jew who supports Jeremy Corbyn, I was a little surprised to read Liam Hoare’s piece “.” It is disorientating to hear a group of which you are a member described as being univocal, particularly when the description fails to match your lived experience. Hoare’s tendency to present the British Jewish community to…

  By Joseph Finlay

  4 min read
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  Opinion

  The More Polite Brand of Greek Anti-Semitism

  As Greeks voted on Sunday in their third election this year, my wife and I hiked up the stunningly beautiful Mount Hymettus. When we reached the top, we were rewarded with a panoramic view of Athens. But we also found a large red swastika, painted alongside other graffiti. Later that evening, we learned that the…

  By Jonathan Zimmerman Sep 23, 2015 | 3 min read
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  Letters

  Vatican Must Open World War II and Baptism Records

  As Marshall Breger and Jack Bemporad point out in September 22, 2015, the Vatican has come a long way in healing the wounds it has inflicted on Jews and Judaism. But perhaps Jews haven’t responded because there is a great deal more to be done if the Vatican really wants to establish its bona fides:…

  Sep 22, 2015 | < 1 min read

Columnists View All

• Jodi Rudoren This is my last column as editor of the Forward

  

• Jay Michaelson Being Jewish in America today feels like walking multiple tightropes at once

  

• Rob Eshman My brother-in-law’s kibbutz weathered Oct. 7. Then came the Iranian missile strikes

  

• Nora Berman Greta Thunberg’s Gaza flotilla was never going to help Palestinians

  

• Dan Perry Celebrating my daughter’s birthday in a bomb shelter, as missiles struck Tel Aviv

  

• Emily Tamkin Trump’s latest move makes Mahmoud Khalil a Joseph for our times

  

The Latest

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  Opinion

  Why Haven’t Jews Responded to Vatican II After 50 Years?

  The arrival of Pope Francis in America and the 50th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council’s landmark declaration, Nostra Aetate, have allowed us, as Jews, to marvel at the revolutionary developments in our relations with the Catholic Church in the past half-century. But while the church has taken great strides in re-examining the way it…

  By Marshall Breger and Jack Bemporad Sep 22, 2015 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Why This Hasid Was Right To Flip the Bird to Kapparot Protester

  As Forward readers know, I have, on several occasions, criticized ultra-Orthodox/fundamentalist Jewish leaders for abuses of power, toleration of bigotry, failures to protect or educate their own communities, and selective manipulation of secular law to arrogate power to themselves and squelch the rights of others. So, when a photo circulated this week of a Hasidic…

  By Jay Michaelson Sep 21, 2015 | 5 min read
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  Opinion

  What a Catholic Mom Wants the Pope To Learn from Her Rabbi Daughter

  Pope Francis is the darling of many liberal Catholics and the world expects he will make life easier for congregants who have not been following the letter of Church law for some time. But when the pontiff comes to Philadelphia on September 26 and 27 for the World Meeting of Families, with an enormous entourage…

  By Cindy Skrzycki Sep 21, 2015 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  As Pope Francis Approaches, Look How Far Jewish-Catholic Relations Have Come

  Dozens of medieval churches across Europe are adorned with figures of Ecclesia and Synagoga, representations of the Church and the Jews that depict a triumphant Church and a vanquished Jewish people. At the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris, they can be found on either side of the main entrance. While the details differ from…

  By David Fox Sandmel Sep 21, 2015 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Think France’s Jews and Muslims Are Natural Enemies? Think Again.

  It was late at night in central Paris. A group of Jews were enjoying themselves in their popular meeting spot, the Gamin de Paris, a café in the longtime Jewish quarter of the Marais. At about 11 PM, between 50 and 100 thugs, many of them Muslims, showed up to make trouble. Carrying Billy clubs,…

  By Ethan B. Katz Sep 21, 2015 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  The Problem With Jewish Pope Envy

  Pope Francis is the pope a lot of American Jews wish they had if they had a pope. In the two and a half years since Jorge Mario Bergoglio became the 266th head of the Catholic Church, he has captured hearts and stirred longing well beyond his global flock of more than a billion Catholics….

  Sep 21, 2015 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Yom Kippur Playlist: Hot Tunes for Judgment Day

  We’re back with a Yom Kippur playlist. I’ve tried to follow the order of the day, starting with Kol Nidre, going to the evening and morning services, the cantor’s Hineni prayer (Here I Stand) preceding Musaf and so on. Our guests include Bob Dylan, Moishe Oysher, Chava Alberstein, The Beatles, Eminem, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Al…

  By J.J. Goldberg Sep 20, 2015 | 15 min read
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  Opinion

  When a Syrian Girl Named Halla Melted My Heart in Vienna

  That was some dinner. Good friends, great food. Think I’ll grab this tram and switch to another one in front of the Parliament. OK, here I am on the platform, waiting for my second tram. Midnight. What’s this on the bench? A mother, a sick-looking baby, two children, two men. Obviously Syrians. Oh how sad….

  By Edward Serotta Sep 20, 2015 | 3 min read