Opinion

• Opinion

  Is Moshe Kahlon the New Yair Lapid?

  Yair Lapid (Getty Images); Moshe Kahlon (Facebook When Yair Lapid skyrocketed to the top of Israeli politics during the last election campaign in 2013, he did it by positioning himself as the most “hevrati” (socio-economically conscious) candidate. He and his party, Yesh Atid, capitalized on the momentum of the “tent protests” that brought half a…

  By Harris Engelmann

  3 min read
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  Opinion

  How Charlie Hebdo Attack Represents a Genuine Clash Between Civilizations

  “When somebody says it’s not about the money, it’s about the money.” — H.L. Mencken, Baltimore journalist and curmudgeon “And when you hear somebody say this is not about sex, it’s about sex.” — Arkansas Senator Dale Bumpers, during the Bill Clinton impeachment trial And when people tell you it’s not a clash of civilizations,…

  By J.J. Goldberg Jan 15, 2015 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Zionist Polls Open: Who’s Running, How to Vote

  Alert readers may have read my column from last week, explaining what the World Zionist Congress is about, how the American delegation is elected and why anyone should care enough to vote. Well, the online polls are now open. To register and vote, you need to pay $10 (via credit card) and affirm that you…

  By J.J. Goldberg Jan 15, 2015 | 4 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

  Are 45% of Brits Really Anti-Semitic? Not So Fast.

  British Jewish demand “Zero Tolerance for Anti-Semitism” at a London rally / Getty Images There it was on Wednesday, on the front page of The Independent. “The new anti-Semitism,” the headline read, and beneath it: “Majority of British Jews feel they have no future in the UK.” My interest was immediately piqued, not least because…

  By Liam Hoare Jan 14, 2015 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Should French Jews Stay — or Should They Go?

  No sooner had the deadly siege of the kosher supermarket in Paris come to an awful end than Israel’s political leaders issued their emphatic pleas for French Jews to emigrate. “To all the Jews of France, all the Jews of Europe, I would like to say that Israel is not just the place in whose…

  Jan 14, 2015 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  If Muslims Need an iCondemn App, Why Not Jews?

  Since the Paris attacks, the internet has been overflowing with support for the victims and calls for freedom of expression. But, alarmingly and perhaps unsurprisingly, it’s also been full of demands for Muslims to “take responsibility” and “condemn” the heinous acts — as if somehow all Muslims universally bear responsibility for every single deranged or vile…

  By Lior Zaltzman Jan 14, 2015 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  What Israel’s Ultra-Orthodox Can Learn from Boro Park

  On a sudden whim one day recently, I changed my usual jogging route in Hayarkon Park. Instead of running alongside the stream or encircling the national soccer stadium, I turned south, heading toward Rabbi Akiva Street, the main road of Bnei Brak, the impoverished Haredi neighborhood on the eastern outskirts of Tel Aviv. Since I…

  By Michael Karpin Jan 14, 2015 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  I Am Not Charlie — and Neither Are You

  One week ago when I heard the chilling news from Paris. I knew exactly that I couldn’t know how it felt to be in the shoes of those cartoonists. I work in a weekly newspaper with a constant electronic presence just like Charlie Hebdo. And just like the small staff of Charlie we 20 also…

  By Dan Friedman Jan 14, 2015 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Run Charlie Cartoons? Times Frets as Others Act

  The New York Times made an awkward attempt this afternoon to examine the presumably anxious debate in the American news media over whether or not to reproduce the new Charlie Hebdo cover with its image of Muhammad. The trouble is, there isn’t much of a debate. The Times is one of just a handful of…

  By J.J. Goldberg Jan 14, 2015 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  Paris, You Aren’t Alone

  Jewish children wave French flags as the interior minister vowed to step up security after the kosher grocery terror attack./Getty Images Je suis Charlie, je suis Juif. That’s why I fly to Paris – to let my fellow and sister Jews know they are not alone, that Jews around the world care deeply about the…

  By Avi Weiss Jan 14, 2015 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  8 Things You Might Not Know About French Jews

  (JTA) — The deadly hostage siege at a kosher supermarket in Paris has French Jews (and some non-Jews) proclaiming “Je suis juif,” or “I am Jewish,” in solidarity with the four people killed in the attack. Who are the Jews of France? Here’s a primer. 1) How many Jews are there in France? About 500,000,…

  By Gabrielle Birkner Jan 13, 2015 | 4 min read