Opinion

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  What New York’s Subway Lines Taught Me About Jewish Identity

  I confess that I was taken aback by the popularity of my last piece for the Forward, In that article, I used some seat-of-the-pants social science and mapping to figure out which line of the New York City Subway served the greatest number of Jews — which turned out to be the “F.” I had…

  By Jonathan Paul Katz

  3 min read
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  Opinion

  5 Signs That Benjamin Netanyahu’s Split With Israel Security Chiefs Is a Crisis

  As Israel’s current wave of terrorist violence enters its third month, long-simmering tensions between the country’s political leadership and its security branches are escalating and approaching what feels like a crisis level. True, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his allies have clashed with Israel’s defenders repeatedly — on Iran, the Palestinians, the Obama administration —…

  By J.J. Goldberg Dec 6, 2015 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Ben Carson and the Dollar Bill’s ‘Star of David’

  Donald Trump stumbled at the Republican Jewish Coalition conference when he said he didn’t want the tribe’s money and was simpatico because, like “you folks,” he too is a good haggler. He wasn’t the only one who made some boneheaded remarks. Ben Carson, brain surgeon, also had some notable slip-ups. If you could get past…

  By John A. Oswald Dec 4, 2015 | 2 min read

Columnists View All

• Jay Michaelson What can really be done to prevent antisemitic attacks like Bondi Beach?

  

• Rob Eshman Australia shooting terrifies Jews worldwide — and strengthens the case for Israel

  

• Nora Berman Did crypto-Jews invent the modern tarot deck?

  

• Dan Perry The 3 responses to the Bondi Beach Hanukkah attack that could make Jews safer

  

• Emily Tamkin The fundamental miscalculation behind the GOP’s antisemitism crisis

  

The Latest

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  Opinion

  Why Do Activists Connect Israel to Campus Rape? Intersectionality 101

  If you care about Israel’s status on college campuses, you need to know about intersectionality. Coined by black feminist scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw in 1989, “intersectionality” refers to the way social identities and forms of oppression overlap and intersect. For Crenshaw, it was impossible to understand her black identity without also understanding her female identity, and…

  By Jay Michaelson Dec 3, 2015 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Want a Jewish Response to San Bernardino Mass Shooting? Scream Bloody Murder.

  This time, it was at a social services center for the disabled, in San Bernadino, California. Two people went on a shooting spree. They killed at least 14 people, and they wounded 17 others, before they were killed as well. Earlier the same day, there had been a shooting in Houston. Not to mention a…

  By Jeffrey K. Salkin Dec 3, 2015 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  9 Questions Republican Jews Want Answered

  It’s going to be a long Thursday. The Republican Jewish Coalition is holding a forum for GOP presidential candidates, and everyone’s invited. Well, everyone in the race. Even candidates who register as barely a blip on the national radar will get 30 minutes to make their case to an audience of hundreds of Republican Jews….

  By Ron Kampeas Dec 3, 2015 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Stop Asking If James Deen Was a Feminist — Ask If He’s Guilty

  It’s been only a few days since James Deen — a man formerly referred to as a variation of the boy-next-door, nice-Jewish-boy, and even “feminist hero” of pornography — was accused of sexually assaulting several women, including his ex-girlfriend. The Internet can’t seem to get enough of Deen, even (especially?) when he has been accused…

  By Emily Shire Dec 2, 2015 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Do Feminists Put Too Much Emphasis On Sex — at Religious Women’s Expense?

  Sexual empowerment has long been a big part of the women’s movement, or at least a big part of how that movement has played out in popular culture. From Heley Gurley Brown’s Cosmopolitan, to HBO’s “Sex and the City,” to Miley Cyrus’s free love naked shtick, the message has been “Feel less shame — and…

  By Elissa Strauss Dec 2, 2015 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Why Israel Is Failing Green Test

  There is a Jewish blessing when one is in the rare presence of a national leader. But what is the blessing when the single largest gathering of world leaders in history — 150 in one day — come together outside Paris with soaring rhetoric and promises to fight the devastating effects of climate change? Paris…

  By Yosef I. Abramowitz Dec 1, 2015 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Why I Am Pro-Life and Support Planned Parenthood

  I am one who believes that women ought to be able to access safe and legal abortions in accordance with the graduated restrictions built into Roe v. Wade, still the law of our land. I also consider myself pro-life. This is not a contradiction, nor a semantic jujitsu. It is a studied opinion supported by…

  By Jane Eisner Dec 1, 2015 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Why I Hired a Belgian Butcher to Circumcise My Son

  (JTA) — They warn you that parenting means doing a bunch of stuff you never imagined yourself doing. I had always assumed this applied to saying to children things like, “You watch your tone of voice, young lady” or, “Let’s not eat things we find in our underwear.” But in my case, the moment came…

  By Cnaan Liphshiz Nov 30, 2015 | 4 min read