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
Racist Israeli Hanukkah Video Mocks Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews
Today, November 30, is a special day in Israel. It’s “,” the day that the country commemorates the expulsion of Jews from Arab countries. It’s also supposed to be the day when the Israeli government recognizes its own historic discrimination against Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews. How awkward, then, that today is also the day a…
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Opinion Want To End Israeli Occupation — Without BDS? This New Guide Tells You How.
Israel supporters who are deeply troubled by occupation are often in a bind. If the non-violent tool of BDS (boycott, divestment and sanctions) against Israel is considered treyf by most of the Jewish community, and if many Israel supporters themselves are loath to invoke a blanket boycott on the country, then what can they do?…
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Opinion This Canadian Synagogue Invited Muslims To Pray After Their Mosque Was Fire-Bombed
Finally, some heartwarming news. A Canadian congregation in Ontario to use its synagogue as a place to worship after their mosque was fire-bombed in a suspected hate crime following the Paris attacks. The attack, which caused an estimated $80,000 worth of damage, rendered Masjid al-Salaam mosque — the only one in Peterborough, Ontario — unusable. That’s…
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Opinion What a Syrian Hanukkah Custom Can Teach Us About Refugees
Some Sephardic Jews with roots in Aleppo, Syria, have a special Hanukkah custom. On each of the eight nights of the holiday, they light an extra flame. This custom has been passed down in families whose ancestors were forced to flee Spain as refugees, when the Alhambra Decree of 1492 set in motion their expulsion…
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Opinion 4 Mistakes To Avoid When Talking About Radical Islam
Much of what has been said in the wake of the terrorist attacks in Paris has been sterile — when it has not been obscene. So many of the responses have been so sadly predictable. On one side stand the apologists and wishful thinkers, who insist that the murders have “nothing to do with Islam”;…
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Opinion What Donald Trump Can Learn from Hanukkah
It’s that time of year again. The Thanksgiving turkey carcass is stripped clean. The snow boots are retrieved from the back of the closet. And politicians are renewing their annual complaint that Americans don’t say “Merry Christmas” anymore. Actually, Donald Trump first tackled this issue months ago, campaign visionary that he is, promising that we…
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Opinion Jews From Arab Lands Got Their Refugee Day — But Is It Zionist?
On November 30, the State of Israel will mark for the second time an annual day commemorating the exodus of Jews from Arab countries, otherwise dubbed “Jewish Refugee Day” or “Jewish Nakba Day.” For many Israeli Jews of Middle Eastern descent, this day is a long-sought form of recognition: The Israeli government is finally recognizing…
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Opinion Why Women of the Wall Must Continue — Terror Attacks or No
On Hanukkah we sing, “Banu Hosheh Legaresh” (We came to drive out the darkness), as we remember the unlikely victory of the Maccabees against the Assyrians in Jerusalem. So too, Judith led the defeat of Holofernes, against all odds when the Israelites were in a very dark place of despair, having almost given up hope….
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Opinion Does Hillary Clinton Have a Haim Saban Problem?
Haim Saban, one of Hillary Clinton’s top donors, may be aligned with the Democratic Party. But when it comes to Mideast politics, he’s far from a progressive. That doesn’t set the billionaire Israeli-American entertainment magnate apart from many other Democrats — see, for example, Sen. Chuck Schumer — who are Israel and Mideast hawks, but…
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Opinion Israel Gobbling Up Africa? This Meme’s Anti-Semitic.
As I recently wrote in these pages, American Jews often cry wolf when it comes to anti-Semitism and anti-Israel sentiment. However, even by a generous standard, this meme of Israel, Britain and France prepared to feast on Africa (which I’ve seen a few times circulated among my left-leaning friends on Facebook) is anti-Semitic. Three-quarters of…
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Opinion The Real Difference Between the Two Paris Terror Attacks (John Kerry Wasn’t Wrong)
Secretary of State John Kerry stirred up a hornet’s nest following the Paris terror attacks, trying to describe the difference between the recent carnage and last January’s Charlie Hebdo massacre. The incident turns out to be quite instructive, though not in the way you’d expect. In case you missed it, Kerry gave a controversial talk…
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Fast Forward Unarmed man who tackled Bondi Beach Hanukkah attacker identified as Ahmed al-Ahmed
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Fast Forward First Puka Nacua, now Mookie Betts: Why do sports stars keep getting antisemitic around a Jewish streamer?
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Fast Forward After MIT professor’s killing, Jewish influencers spread unverified antisemitism claim
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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.
In Case You Missed It
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Fast Forward In Reykjavik, Hanukkah offers a chance for Iceland’s tiny, isolated Jewish community to come together
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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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Fast Forward ‘The most Australian name’: Matilda, the youngest victim of the Bondi Beach attack, embodies a nation’s grief
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Fast Forward A Wider Bridge, a pro-Israel advocate in LGBTQ spaces, is shutting down
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