In the Forward’s opinion section, you’ll find analysis and essays from diverse corners of the Jewish world.
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Opinion
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Opinion
In Indiana, We Have To Choose
Indiana’s governor, Mike Pence, and the state lawmakers who approved their own version of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act say that they are shocked, shocked, shocked at the uproar, divisiveness and potential economic pain that the new law is bringing to their state. We’d rather they would just be honest and acknowledge that in the…
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Opinion The Black Panthers Haggadah
The following is a translation of the Israeli Black Panthers Haggadah With a strong hand, two. And with an outstretched arm, two more. With great terror, two more. With protests, two more. With banners raised, two more. With hunger strikes, two more. These, then, are 10 plagues that the Black Panthers from Musrara brought upon…
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Opinion Between Obama and Netanyahu, It’s Personal
So the tension between President Obama and Prime Minister Netanyahu isn’t personal. That’s what the president said during his March 24 press briefing. Those of us who favor close U.S.-Israeli relations can breathe a sign of relief. Or start seriously worrying, depending on your viewpoint. On one hand, if it’s not personal then we needn’t…
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Opinion Walking While Jewish in Berlin
In late February, I spent an entire day walking the streets of Berlin, wearing a yarmulke, while a videographer filmed me in secret with a GoPro camera taped to a flap in his rucksack. We were trying to replicate for the British tabloid the Daily Mail the now-famous experiment undertaken in Paris by the Israeli…
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Opinion Will Ed Miliband Be Britain’s First Jewish Premier?
Britain may be on the verge of electing its first affirming Jewish prime minister, Labour Party leader Ed Miliband. Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron formally told Queen Elizabeth on Monday that he had dissolved Parliament in advance of the May 7 election, marking the end of his five-year term. But the campaign began in force…
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Opinion The Seder Is a Mother
In a traditional nuclear Jewish family, there’s no denying that the father is the apparent authority figure. To be sure, it’s often, if not always, the case that the mother’s will and wisdom are what persevere. But, at least concerning appearances, it’s Dad who’s the “boss.” And perhaps never as obviously as at a traditional…
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Opinion Lithuania vs. Morocco — Whose Jewish Museum Wins?
Model of a Rabat Jewish bride in her finery / Jewish Museum in Casablanca I was fortunate enough to travel this month to both Morocco and Lithuania — the former for a class trip, the latter for an attempt to become acquainted with the land of my ancestors, including my ancestral hometown of Panevėžys (Ponevezh)….
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Opinion The ‘Stranger’ at Your Passover Seder? That’s Me.
Illustration by Lior Zaltzman A week before my first Passover Seder, a friend took me to her local Chabad, where the rabbi outlined the ritual for us, from washing our hands to reading the Haggadah to eating the little sandwich. “You’ll do fine,” the rabbi said to me as I was leaving, which confused me…
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Opinion John Boehner’s Double Standard on Bibi — and Obama
In case you missed it: The No. 1 best comedy line of the weekend came from one of our best deadpan straight men, House Speaker John Boehner, Republican of Ohio. It came during a Sunday interview with CNN’s Dana Bash on “State of the Union.” They were talking about the Israeli prime minister’s flip-flop on…
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Opinion 1 Thing Moroccans Want All Jews To Know
Moroccan Berbers, seeking to build better ties with Jews, celebrate a traditional wedding / Getty Images One of the most intellectually stimulating weeks of my life was the one I recently spent in Morocco. More than the architecture or the food, the thing that stimulated me most — and that made me think of Ashkenormativity…
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Opinion Can You Vote in France While Wearing a Kippah?
Can you vote in France while wearing a kippah? That was the debate that erupted among officials at the polling station on Sunday when Rabbi Avraham Weill, the Chief Rabbi of Toulouse, a city in southern France, went to vote in the municipal elections. He was initially turned away on account of his offensive attire…
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