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
‘Stalin Spins in Grave’ as Jewish Reporter Spends Hanukkah at the Kremlin
(JTA) — Like many tourists in Red Square, I have often wondered what lies beyond the tall walls that separate this Moscow attraction from the Kremlin, the official residence of Russia’s president and the nerve center of the state. As a journalist long obsessed with Russia, I’ve wanted to take a peek inside the Kremlin for…
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Opinion What Ted Cruz Attack on ‘Crazy’ Neoconservatives Means for the Jews
(JTA) — Ted Cruz wants to make sure you understand: “Republican” and “neoconservative” are no longer synonymous. The Texas senator, inching up to second place behind front-runner Donald Trump in the polls just weeks before the Iowa caucuses, has launched a broadside against the “crazy” movement that not so long ago was inextricable from establishment…
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Opinion Proposed Israeli NGO Law Is Hypocritical Attack on Left
(JTA) — Yet again the Israeli Knesset is considering legislation to single out and punish progressive nongovernmental organizations, particularly the human rights groups that are such a thorn in the side of those who favor the continued occupation of the West Bank. Carefully constructed to evade the inevitable legal challenges it would face if passed,…
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Opinion Unlike New Year’s Eve, Judaism Makes Endings Meaningful
A few months ago, an acquaintance of mine slipped on some rocks while on vacation in Hawaii, fell into a river and drowned, dying tragically at the age of 32. Last week, her mother committed suicide. There’s no adequate response to tragedies like these — no consolations. But at times like these I’m grateful that…
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Opinion Stop Treating Divorced Women Like Second-Class Jews
Standing under the wedding canopy, dressed in a white tulle gown sprinkled with silvery glitter, I laughed in bliss. I felt young, beautiful, loved and admired. My designer gown, my handpicked white calla lilies, my many friends — everything was perfect. As my husband slipped the ring on my finger, taking me as his wife…
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Opinion How Jewish Leaders Can Keep the LGBT Debate Honest
A funny thing is happening in Jacksonville, Florida. In the wake of one of the most dishonest civil rights debates in recent memory — Houston’s cash-soaked, lie-filled controversy over whether to expand its human rights ordinance to protect LGBT people from discrimination — the city of Jacksonville has taken a different route. They’re talking honestly…
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Opinion You’ve Heard About Muslims Getting Profiled. What About Jews?
Trigger warning: This column may offend some readers. It concerns profiling of Muslims (for terrorism) and of Jews (for espionage). The issues aren’t as different as you might wish. Proceed at your own risk. Let’s begin with New York dentist Gershon Pincus. A Brooklyn-born Orthodox Jew, age 62, he applied in 2013 for a part-time…
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Opinion 2015: The Year To Say No to Fear
This was the year when fear had a face, And its own sound, an ugly drumbeat. It flowed right through the presidential race, Relegating all else to the back seat. Fear of the other, fear of the unknown, Seeped straight into the public square. Fear of terror, foreign and homegrown, Left a stench of hate…
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Opinion Can Jews Back Both Israel and Black Lives Matter? Of Course!
Regarding the Forward’s December 21 article “Can Jews Back ‘Black Lives Matter’ and Be Pro-Israel?” we wish to state that the St. Louis Jewish community stands in solidarity with our friend and colleague Rabbi Susan Talve. Though we do not all agree with the opinions that she espouses or the stances that she has taken,…
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Opinion Why Jews Down in Dixie Are Praying in Arabic
The interfaith community of Huntsville, Alabama, has put the “heart” back in the “Heart of Dixie.” For months, we’d listened as our state leaders railed against Muslims in general and Syrian refugees in particular. It was a local attitude as well. We saw an increase in anti-Muslim rhetoric on social media and local talk radio….
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Opinion The Junior Jedi Who Became a Rabbi
On screen, the saga of Star Wars — the epic space opera — has always been rooted in family drama: relationships between fathers and sons, brothers and sisters, orphaned children and wise uncles. Off screen, the films provided real-life families with multigenerational entertainment from the beginning. I was a baby when the first film blasted…
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Opinion I grew up believing Australia was the best place to be Jewish. This Hanukkah shooting forces a reckoning I do not want.
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Opinion When my children decorate for Hanukkah, I don’t just see pride. I see pluralism in action.
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