Opinion

• Opinion

  Can You Love Ted Cruz for His Israel Views — Even If You Hate His Social Politics?

  Can a gay activist support Ted Cruz? Apparently not, judging by the angry firestorm and calls to boycott after two gay businessmen, Ira Reisner and Mati Weiderpass, hosted an event for the Republican presidential hopeful in their NYC apartment last week. Reisner, who is Jewish, that although he doesn’t agree with Cruz’s social politics, the…

  By Jesse Lempel

  2 min read
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  Opinion

  How To Love Israel — While Fighting Like Cats and Dogs About What That Means

  It’s almost quaint, really, the faith that so many folks still have in the transcendent power of Israel to unite Jews of every stripe when so much else divides us. It’s been a truism for generations, perhaps since Israel’s founding in 1948, certainly since the Six-Day War in 1967, that Israel is the one issue…

  By J.J. Goldberg Apr 28, 2015 | 5 min read
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  Opinion

  Rabbi’s Unwitting Lesson in How Not To React to Nepal’s Earthquake

  As people worldwide mourn the devastation in Nepal, one rabbi posted a different reaction to Facebook: All he idols worshiping places n nepal are now destroyed Posted by Rabbi Yosef Mizrachi on Monday, April 27, 2015 The post appears to express the rabbi’s pleasure, if not glee, at the collapse of numerous temples throughout Nepal….

  By Jesse Lempel Apr 27, 2015 | 2 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 A new humanitarian outrage is unfolding in the Middle East. It’s not in Gaza

  

• Nora Berman The left is turning on AOC over Israel — and imperiling its own agenda

  

• Dan Perry Actually, Trump made things between Israel and Iran way worse

  

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

  

The Latest

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  Opinion

  Confronting Jewish Complicity in South African Apartheid

  Freedom Day, the anniversary of the end of apartheid and South Africa’s first democratic elections, is on April 27. For many of us in the South African diaspora, myself included, it’s an important day of remembering the struggle, past and present, for a better and freer South Africa. Many American Jews join in the celebration,…

  By Jonathan Katz Apr 27, 2015 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Yes, I’m From Austria. And I’m Jewish. Next Question.

  When we first met we had many conversations like this one. “Help me place your accent,” you say. “I’m from Austria,” I answer. “Oh,” you reply, “My grandmother is from there. She left on a Kindertransport.” And then you add, “Vienna is supposed to be beautiful.” I notice some discomfort. I wonder if you’re wondering…

  By Anna Goldenberg Apr 27, 2015 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Our Nepal ‘Home Away From Home’ Is In Ruins — Now, We Must Rebuild

  Over the past eight years, Tevel b’Tzedek has been working in Nepal, a very beautiful, very poor country snuggled—or thrust—between India and Tibet. Founded to create a Jewish platform to connect Israelis and Jews to the challenges of extreme poverty in the global south, Tevel now works in Burundi, Africa as well—but Nepal is our…

  By Micha Odenheimer Apr 27, 2015 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  My (Israeli) Independence Report

  On the eve of Israel Independence Day last week, the blue and white balloons came cascading down from the balcony at Park Avenue Synagogue, New York City’s largest Conservative congregation. For a holiday that has enjoyed little star-billing in the annual American cycle, this “Community Celebration” organized by the Jewish National Fund was clearly a…

  By Abigail Pogrebin Apr 25, 2015 | 5 min read
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  Opinion

  Finding Your Way in the New Forward.com

  However long awaited or welcome any new arrival is, human nature makes us greet it with anxiety. In his 1925 “Resistance to psychoanalysis,” Sigmund Freud points to the rituals developed by farmers to mark the coming of spring as an example of the wariness with which we greet even the most vital and life-affirming of…

  By Dan Friedman Apr 24, 2015 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Why GOP’s ‘Sheldon Adelson Primary’ Is Disgrace — and Won’t Lure Jewish Voters

  This weekend, a collection of GOP presidential candidates will arrive in Las Vegas for a meeting of the Republican Jewish Coalition. Don’t allow yourself to be fooled into thinking that these candidates are making a real attempt to appeal to American Jewish voters. Their presence is all about winning over a single Jewish donor: Sheldon…

  By Debbie Wasserman Schultz Apr 24, 2015 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  In Stealth Move, Congress Backs Israeli Right’s War on Settlement Boycotts

  The finance committees of the House and Senate have approved amendments to a trade bill that equate boycotts of West Bank settlement products with boycotts of Israel, strengthening efforts by the Israeli right to silence opponents of West Bank settlements. Both committees approved the amendments unanimously. Each committee then approved its version of the trade…

  By J.J. Goldberg Apr 24, 2015 | 5 min read
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  Opinion

  Why Birthright Next Was Doomed From the Start

  Well, I hate to say I told you so. The news that Birthright Next is apparently winding down – its leadership is leaving, its flagship program is shutting down — has come as a surprise to many. But not to those who have followed the program closely, and watched its revolving door of talented staff…

  By Jay Michaelson Apr 24, 2015 | 4 min read