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
The Ugly ‘SNL’ Joke You Missed While Chuckling at ‘Bernie Sanderswitzky’
This one went by so fast that most of us seem to have missed it. This past weekend’s Saturday Night Live had not one but two Jewish jokes. One was moderately funny, notable mainly for the fact that it came from the mouth of Senator Bernie Sanders, during a back-and-forth with his doppelganger Larry David….
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Opinion How Americans Enable Israel’s ‘Jewish or Democratic State’ Delusion
American Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro that Israel employs a double legal standard in the West Bank: one for Israelis and another for Palestinians. No one can question Shapiro’s friendship toward Israel. His worrying observation reflects the frustration of many Americans who are true friends of Israel and yet deeply concerned about its future. Their…
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Letters How Both the Right and the Left Get Israel Wrong
My comments are directed to Jane Eisner’s opinion piece of January 7, Chemi Shalev’s article, on which Eisner based her comments, is biased, exaggerated and plays loose with the facts. Unfortunately, the opinion piece repeats some of Shalev’s errors. While there are worrisome trends in Israel, in terms of incitement against the Left, or those…
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Opinion Here’s Why Oscar Nominees Are Getting Free Luxe Trips to Israel
“Can anyone explain why Hollywood’s rich and powerful need $200,000 worth of extravagant goodies?” That’s the question The Daily Beast asks the absurdly luxurious swag bags being given to Oscar nominees this year. The goody bags, which include everything from a $55,000 first-class Israel trip to a $250 vape to a $1900 “Vampire Breast Lift”…
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Letters The Israeli Settler Movement Isn’t What You Think
After reading your January 11 story, by Naomi Zeveloff, I felt compelled to respond. For nearly 40 years, my husband and I have made our home in Kedumim, a community in Samaria. We have raised nine children, five of whom live in neighboring communities. All our children served their country proudly as soldiers in the…
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Opinion No, It’s Not ‘More Practical’ To Choose Hillary Over Bernie
The Democratic near-deadlock in the Iowa caucus was certainly a surprise — and in many ways a loss — for Hillary Clinton, who assumed a coronation once before, back in 2008. Now that she’s barely squeezed out a victory, the primaries ahead will require an extra push from her. That extra push is likely to…
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Opinion Kotel Plan Sends Strong Message to All Israelis — Especially Girls
As a member of Women of the Wall for more than 20 years, and as part of the group’s negotiating team, I believe that the creation of a third section of the Kotel sets a strong precedent in women’s status in Israel: women as administrators of a holy site, women as leaders, women as an…
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Opinion Why Racist Emails at U. of Chicago Frat Made Me So Furious
I grimaced when I heard about the racist and sexist emails exchanged at the Alpha Epsilon Pi Chapter at the University of Chicago, my alma mater. Then I read the emails, and I became furious. They are awful. They are disgraceful. They are racist, sexist, sometimes both, often more. Whoever wrote them is a disgrace…
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Letters Ending Business Activity in Settlements Isn’t ‘Collective Punishment’
In an editorial published on January 21, Jane Eisner opposes Human Rights Watch’s call for businesses to pull out of Israeli settlements because it “would grind economic activities to a halt, hurting ordinary citizens both Israeli and Palestinian,” amounting to “collective punishment.” This assessment doesn’t stand up to analysis. There are two separate economies in…
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Opinion Why Bernie Sanders Needs a Come-to-Jesus Moment
In casting the first official ballots of the 2016 presidential race, Iowa’s caucus voters delivered more questions than they did answers. Chief among them: Who really won the Democratic contest — Hillary Clinton, leading by a fraction of a percentage point, or Bernie Sanders, fighting her to a virtual tie? One historic milestone can be…
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Opinion Does Anyone Really Benefit from ‘Balkanizing’ the Kotel?
Many are celebrating the official setting aside and expansion of a part of Jerusalem’s Western Wall for non-traditional public prayer. I’m not among them. Over nearly 50 years, the Kotel has been the only place in the world where Jews of all sorts — black-hatted and hair-covered Haredim, National-Religious, Reform and Conservative and agnostic —…
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