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
An Israeli and German Alliance Decades in the Making
Yermi Brenner When Yakov Hadas-Handelsman was born in Tel Aviv in 1957 the passports Israel was issuing to its citizens still bore the inscription “Valid to any country except Germany.” Today, Hadas-Handelsman is the Israeli ambassador to Germany. He devotes much of his time to nourishing and deepening the relationship with the German nation, which…
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Opinion Is WhatsApp Now ‘Hasidic Friendly’?
Ultra-Orthodox rabbis gather to condemn the internet in 2012 / Josh Nathan-Kazis A Forward tipster texted us this morning to report an odd spam message he’d received on his phone. Sent from a Spanish phone number, the spam read: “Check out WhatsApp Messenger for your smartphone. Hasidic friendly! Download it today…” Last year, I reported…
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Opinion WATCH: Jon Stewart on Bibi and ‘Angry Jews’
You might have missed these two essential video clips commenting on the week’s news. Fear not — here they are. One features Jon Stewart and Aasif Mandvi on the debate surrounding Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit and its impact on the print newspaper industry. The other, erudite meteorological comment on the horrid weather socking us as March…
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Opinion 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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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