Opinion

• Opinion

  Which Rabbis Inspire You, America?

  Rabbi on the Beach from Jewish Daily Forward on Vimeo. Eliyahu Fink is the spiritual leader of Pacific Jewish Center along the Venice boardwalk in California, an Orthodox rabbi who so inspires his eclectic congregation that he was named one of the Forward’s Most Inspiring Rabbis of 2014. When Martyna Starosta, our digital media producer,…

  By Jane Eisner

  2 min read
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  Opinion

  When ‘Let My People Go’ Tugged at World’s Heart

  It’s not necessarily how you want to launch your new teaching career, but hey, stuff happens. Facing my first class, I stood by the desk, looked at the students and wept. The course, “Israel and Its Neighbors,” focuses on political and military aspects of the Middle East conflict. I had decided to start things off…

  By J.J. Goldberg Jan 29, 2015 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  The Crosses of Auschwitz

  Survivors and families make their way to lay candles at the Birkenau Memorial during the commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz./Getty Images Oswiecim, the site of Auschwitz-Birkenau and of the commemoration of the 1945 liberation of the camps, is typical of Polish cities in at least one respect: many Jews once…

  By Yoni Wilkenfeld Jan 29, 2015 | 3 min read

Columnists View All

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

  

• Jay Michaelson Have we become the ‘ordinary Germans’ now?

  

• Rob Eshman Oh, great, Elon Musk’s antisemitic AI is about to ride shotgun in my Tesla

  

• 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

  Bibi’s Bad Choice

  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s planned speech to Congress next month has already accomplished a rare feat: It has united ideologues as different as Jeremy Ben Ami of J Street and Chris Wallace at Fox News — in opposition. When the left-wing J Street organizes a petition calling on Congress to delay the speech, and…

  Jan 28, 2015 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  What Jewish Law Says About ‘Deflate-Gate’

  Getty Images (JTA) — “Deflategate,” the controversy surrounding the New England Patriots that has made national news, made its way to a Houston business conference led by a rabbi. Rabbi Yossi Grossman, dean of the Jewish Ethics Institute, on Monday transformed the football prattle into a high-minded look at ethics on the playing field in his…

  By Hillel Kuttler Jan 27, 2015 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Auschwitz and Unfulfilled Responsibilities

  Remarks by Richard N. Haass prepared to be delivered in the United Nations on January 27, 2015 to commemorate the 70th Anniversary of Auschwitz Normally liberation is a word associated with joy, but not today, because we mark the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, the site of one of history’s greatest mass murders….

  By Richard Haass Jan 27, 2015 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Talmudic Rabbis Were Totally Badass in Blizzards

  An Orthodox Jewish man covered with snow walks in Jerusalem / Getty Images New York’s got nothing on ancient Jerusalem, and Governor Andrew Cuomo’s got nothing on Rabbi Hillel the Elder. While we were all rushing home to take shelter from the impending Blizzard Juno, with its promised “historic” downfall of 30 inches of snow,…

  By Sigal Samuel Jan 27, 2015 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  Why Israel’s Crazy Electoral System Might Be Best Idea Ever

  Jewish suffragettes scored a signal achievement in 1920, when the first nationwide elections were held in the Yishuv, the Jewish community in Palestine. They received 600 votes. This smattering of women — we may presume that nearly all of them were women — went to their polling places and chose, from among nearly two dozen…

  By Haim Watzman Jan 27, 2015 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Meretz Is a Lost Child on the Internet

  Still from Yotam Perel Say what you will about Naftali Bennett’s “I’m Not Sorry” viral ad campaign — we certainly did. But one thing you can’t deny is that it was smartly done. Bennett’s ad was internet-savvy and in touch with its target audience. The same cannot be said for Meretz’s latest ad campaign. I…

  By Lior Zaltzman Jan 26, 2015 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  Hebro Presents First-Ever Gay Jewish Auschwitz Tour

  Hebro Travel ad The image is a little jarring. On the left, a bearded, shirtless guy in sunglasses stands on a beach, the Israeli flag reflected in his mirrored aviators. On the right, a pink Star of David hovers over an ancient building in Prague. But for Jayson Littman, the pictures make perfect sense. As…

  By Michael Kaminer Jan 26, 2015 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Europe’s Jews Pick Up the Shards After Paris Terrror

  After the Paris terror attacks, Jews in Europe are taking stock of where they stand. Here’s 6 voices of hope and fear from a continent on edge. ‘One Common Enemy Unites Them: Us Jews’ By Charlotte Knobloch The attacks in Paris have filled us all with tremendous shock and sadness. In the past few months…

  Jan 26, 2015 | 10 min read