Opinion

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  Why Jews Should Support Closing NYC Schools on Muslim Holidays

  All across New York City, Muslims are cheering Mayor Bill de Blasio’s decision to close public schools on the two holiest days of their religious calendar. And Jews should be cheering right along with them. Why should we be happy to see the city observe Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha, days that commemorate the end…

  By Sigal Samuel

  2 min read
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  Opinion

  A Murder in Moscow

  The murder of Boris Nemtsov, the popular Russian liberal opposition leader, is the latest in a long history of politically motivated assassinations of those who threatened the Kremlin. Yet, never before has Russia galvanized around the symbol of one of the murdered to the extent that it has in the days following Nemtsov’s shooting just…

  By Anna Katsnelson Mar 5, 2015 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Netanyahu’s Speech Makes an Amazing Techno Dance Song

  You haven’t seen Bibi’s speech until you’ve seen it like this. Noy Alooshe, the Israeli remix king best known for his 2011 “Zenga Zenga” spoof, has outdone himself with a remix of his prime minister’s speech to Congress. In the video, Bibi bosses around the audience members like they’re little kids, issuing alternating commands of…

  By Sigal Samuel Mar 4, 2015 | < 1 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 Americans keep getting killed in the West Bank. Here’s how the US could fight that awful trend

  

• Nora Berman First Camp Auschwitz, now Alligator Alcatraz — why the right is obsessed with commodifying brutality

  

• Dan Perry What exactly is going on between Israel and Syria — and is the prospect of peace dead?

  

• Emily Tamkin Zohran Mamdani’s victory proves it: The ‘gotcha’ mode of fighting antisemitism has to go

  

The Latest

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  Opinion

  The Purim Story as Told by Bibi’s Speech

  When Benjamin Netanyahu spoke to Congress about the dangers of a nuclear Iran, he couldn’t resist drawing a parallel to that other time Jews were threatened by a “Persian potentate.” (Extra points for vocab, Bibi!) We, in turn, couldn’t resist imagining the entire Purim story recast in Bibi terms. Before the fun, the facts. Here’s…

  By Sigal Samuel and Anne Cohen Mar 4, 2015 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  Why Purim Is Holiday of Ironies

  “All our struggles are in vain if the battle against the Jews is not fought to the finish. It is not enough to get the Jews out of Germany. No, they must be destroyed throughout the entire world so that humanity will be free of them.” Thus spake Julius Streicher, whose vile tabloid Der Sturmer…

  Mar 4, 2015 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  How Bibi’s Speech Raises Stakes for All of Us

  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dramatically, effectively — and perhaps, dangerously — raised the stakes on Iran in his speech to Congress yesterday. It was great political theater; one observer likened it to a Republican response to the State of the Union address, but on a grander scale (and with more anticipatory hype). Netanyahu’s apocalyptic…

  Mar 4, 2015 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  How Netanyahu Put the Democrats to Shame

  House Democrats listen to Netanyahu’s speech / Getty Images As the echo of the sustained ovations that greeted Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s speech to a joint session of Congress began to fade, Democratic apologists for the Obama administration had a problem. For several weeks, the White House succeeded in focusing attention on the question of…

  By Jonathan S. Tobin Mar 3, 2015 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  11 Lies Netanyahu Told Congress on Iran

  Getty Images / Lior Zaltzman The case Netanyahu laid out against an Iran deal in his address to Congress revolves around 11 core arguments. Think they sound convincing? Look at those arguments one by one, and you’ll see why each of them is bogus. Argument #1. More pressure can secure a better deal with Iran…

  By Lara Friedman Mar 3, 2015 | 6 min read
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  Opinion

  Netanyahu’s Speech Just Raised the Stakes for All

  Getty Images Benjamin Netanyahu dramatically, effectively — and perhaps, dangerously — raised the stakes in his speech to Congress today. The Israeli prime minister employed his considerable rhetorical skills to command the room, describing Iran in terms designed to frighten and excite, painting a ferocious picture of a nation hell bent on exporting its vicious…

  By Jane Eisner Mar 3, 2015 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  READ: Transcript of Netanyahu’s Speech to Congress

  Getty Images Speaker of the House John Boehner, President Pro Tem Senator Orrin Hatch, Senator Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, And House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, I also want to acknowledge Senator, Democratic Leader Harry Reid. Harry, it’s good to see you back on your feet. I guess it’s true what…

  By JTA Mar 3, 2015 | 13 min read
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  Opinion

  Prayer for Agunot by Shelley Frier List

  Creator of heaven and earth. / May it be your will to free the captive wives of Israel / When love and sanctity have fled the home, / But their husbands bind them in the tatters of ketubot. / Remove the bitter burden from these agunot and / Soften the hearts of their misguided captors….

  By Abigail Pogrebin Mar 3, 2015 | < 1 min read