Opinion

• Opinion

  When Israelis Demand Jewish Drivers for Their Taxis

  Have you ever thought about making demands about your taxi driver’s ethnicity or religion? “Hello, car service, I’d like my driver white and Christian, please?” No, you would never. Because that would be, well, racist, right? Apparently, Cinema City — a movie theater complex in Jerusalem — was doing exactly that. For months. A bunch of…

  By Lior Zaltzman

  2 min read
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  Opinion

  Insulting Shlomo Riskin Insults Israelis — and American Jews

  We read with great concern the decision of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel to summon Rabbi Shlomo Riskin to their offices to discuss whether his conversion policy will prevent his reappointment to serve as a Chief Rabbi of Efrat. This is an absolute outrage and reflects an extreme level of disrespect on many levels. First,…

  By Avi Weiss and Shmuel Herzfeld May 27, 2015 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  Why Paid Leave Makes Economic Sense

  I remember the first time I was confronted with an employee’s request for maternity leave. I was in charge of the features department of The Philadelphia Inquirer, and a talented reporter told me she was pregnant and planned on taking leave for several months. On the outside, I expressed the appropriate joy and congratulations. On…

  By Jane Eisner May 27, 2015 | 4 min read

Columnists View All

• Jodi Rudoren This is my last column as editor of the Forward

  

• Jay Michaelson American Jews were played — now what?

  

• Rob Eshman I have the answer to Jon Stewart’s toughest question about Israel

  

• Nora Berman ‘Eddington’ is full of conspiracy theories but it’s not about Jews. Or is it?

  

• Dan Perry Recognizing a Palestinian state is a great way to doom Palestinians

  

• Emily Tamkin Is starvation in Gaza really Israel’s fault? The facts are clear

  

The Latest

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  Opinion

  Sleepy But Awake: My Shavuot Experience

  Some of my readers scolded me via email because I planned to attend a night of Shavuot learning that wasn’t centered around text study. I heard them. But I went anyway. And I hope, for this particular column, we can set aside the debate of whether it’s kosher to include non-Torah-focused discussions on Shavuot –-…

  By Abigail Pogrebin May 26, 2015 | 6 min read
• Opinion

  Let’s Mark Anniversary of 3 Kidnappings With Unity Day

  This piece was written by Iris and Ori Ifrach, Rachelli and Avi Fraenkel, and Bat-Galim and Ofer Shaer, the parents of Eyal Ifrach, Gil-ad Shaer and Naftali Fraenkel. (JTA) — One year ago, our families were thrust into a nightmare beyond anything we could have ever imagined. Our sons, Eyal Ifrach, Gil-ad Shaer and Naftali…

  May 26, 2015 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  What Israel’s Chief of Staff Is Worried About — No, It’s Not Iran

  Two members of Congress from New York, a Democrat and a Republican, are calling on President Obama to provide Israel with massive, 30,000-pound bunker-buster bombs, capable of penetrating Iran’s fortified underground nuclear facilities. They also want to send B-52 long-range bombers that can carry the huge devices. “Providing Israel with a stronger capability to destroy…

  By J.J. Goldberg May 26, 2015 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Shavuot Means Not Trusting Ourselves

  Were any Sadducees around today, they’d be happy. The first day of Shavuot falls on a Sunday. There are, however, no Sadducees left. They were one of the camps of Jews during the Second Temple period that rejected the orally transmitted Jewish religious tradition, or Oral Law, which, together with the Written one (the “Five…

  May 22, 2015 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  No More All Male Panels

  The shameful exclusion of women from Jewish life continues to plague our community. Friends on social media have been shouting about a number of recent all-male panels: rabbis Micah Goodman, Rick Jacobs and Elliot Cosgrove at Park Avenue Synagogue; David Horowitz, Ron Kampeas and William Daroff at a J-Pro webinar, and Ari Shavit, Abraham Foxman,…

  By Matt Plen May 21, 2015 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Sleepless for Shavuot

  I was never great at pulling all-nighters in college. But I’ll be pulling one this weekend on Shavuot. Apparently it’s the thing to do when marking the receiving of the Torah: stay up all night studying it. And celebrating it. So this coming Saturday, May 23, despite the temptation of traditional Memorial Day barbecues, I’ll…

  By Abigail Pogrebin May 21, 2015 | 6 min read
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  Opinion

  Shavuot, a Holiday To Celebrate Complexity and Nuance

  Shavuot gets no respect. Lacking the colorful observances of Passover and Sukkot, and the gravitas of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, it’s probably the least observed of the major Jewish holidays. Nota bene to atheists who think that religion is about ideas and beliefs rather than myth, culture, ritual and community. In a certain way,…

  By Jay Michaelson May 20, 2015 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  What Breaking the Silence Report Says About Gaza War — and Doesn’t

  “Three quarters of the factors on which action in war is based are wrapped in a fog of greater or lesser uncertainty,” Carl von Clausewitz wrote in On War. Von Clausewitz was addressing the unpredictability and uncertainty of even the best-planned military campaigns. Military and political leaders cannot see far and thus need to be…

  By Haim Watzman May 19, 2015 | 4 min read