In the Forward’s opinion section, you’ll find analysis and essays from diverse corners of the Jewish world.
To pitch an opinion piece, email our Opinion Editor, Talya Zax.
Opinion
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Opinion
Paris Attack Is a Game Changer — and Proves Just How Wrong We Were About ISIS
The most important thing to realize about the Paris terror attacks is that they’re a game-changer, in the most literal sense, in what we call the war on terror. They show us in a blinding flash of clarity that the campaign we’ve been pursuing has suddenly become something else. They force us to rethink each…
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Opinion Believe It or Not, What Happened in Paris Was Not About the Jews
Like so many others, I was glued to the Internet during the first hours of Friday night’s terrorist attacks. Like so many others, I was trying to contact friends in Paris. Like so many others, I was scrambling to follow the attacks as they unfolded, jabbing at the keyboard when my networks could not keep…
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Opinion No, Israel, You Are Not Paris
On Saturday night in Jerusalem, out of solidarity with the French Republic, the walls of the Old City near the Jaffa gate were illuminated in blue, white and red. In Tel Aviv, thousands of Israelis flocked to Rabin Square to stand in support of the French people. The response of the global community, Israel included,…
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Opinion A Peaceful Paris Shabbat — Then, Terror at My Doorstep
Shabbat at my grandparents’ place, last Friday. They live in a house near Paris, in this troubled area known as la banlieue (the suburbs) where I grew up as a child, as a Frenchman, as a Jew. This is home, my happy childhood’s landscape. We are just a few miles away from Le Stade in…
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Opinion Numbers Don’t Lie in My Take On Palestinian Public Opinion
In I examine the views of West Bank and Gaza Arabs regarding Israel, Jewish and Palestinian claims to the land, and the use of violence against Israelis, as reflected in 350 polls since 1993. While I was pleased the Forward devoted space to examining my findings, all three claims in Dahlia Scheindlin’s critique are demonstrably…
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Opinion A Jewish Cartoonist Goes Viral After Paris Attacks — With an Important Message
Like many artists, Joann Sfar’s way of interacting with the world and processing his reality is drawing. The Jewish artist is incredibly prolific. Those who have met Sfar in passing have told me that it’s hard to find him not drawing. Which is why, when the attacks in Paris happened this past Friday, his response…
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Opinion Best Way To Stop Islamic Terrorism? Reach Out to Muslims.
When the editor of this paper asked me whether I wanted to share my thoughts about the tremendous tragedy in Paris, I responded by saying, “What is there to say except, Oy lanu, woe is unto us.” In the hours since then I have decided to modestly add my thoughts. I say modestly because so…
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Opinion Rubber Band Experiment Taught Me How Wrong Gay Conversion Therapy Is
“And Thou Shalt Love” disturbed me. It’s about Ohad (Uri Lachmi), an Israeli Yeshiva student who struggles with his homosexuality. Released in 2008, the film uses few words and many strong images. A young man immerses himself in the mikveh, the ritual bath; He says psalms, hoping for a cure, while hiding it from his…
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Opinion In Aftermath of Paris Attacks, a Lesson from the Holocaust
As media attention focuses on the question of whether any of the Paris attackers entered Europe as refugees, I offer a few thoughts. First, it is important to recognize there is a risk that a small number of extremists might infiltrate refugee flows. Advocates for generous asylum policies — of which I am one —…
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Opinion If Temple Mount Provocation Is Bad, What About Women of the Wall?
With the worst (one hopes) of the recent spate of stabbings in Israel in the rearview mirror, it’s time to reap the benefits of hindsight. One benefit, as disturbing as it is undeniable, is the realization that violence lies just beneath the surface of at least a portion of Palestinian society. All that’s needed for…
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Opinion Hope and Foreboding for Jews on Streets of Paris
I have visited Europe many times, but last week I looked at it through a new lens in my first trip as CEO of the Anti-Defamation League. I undertook the trip after an invitation to address the annual meeting of the CRIF, the representative body for the French Jewish community and a valued ADL partner….
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