Opinion

• Opinion

  The Hasidic Community Is Not a Cult

  At a recent talk I gave on my new book, “The Pious Ones: The World of Hasidim and Their Battles With America,” a friend in the audience came away with some rather sharp comments, agreeing with some of the points I made, but finally dismissing Hasidim with the words “They’re a cult.” Although the book…

  By Joseph Berger

  4 min read
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  Opinion

  Yachad Included in British Jewry’s Tent — Barely

  A Yachad tour overlooking the South Hebron Hills at the southern tip of the West Bank / Yachad In a historic move on Sunday, the Board of Deputies of British Jews (BoD) voted overwhelmingly to admit Yachad into the umbrella organization. Yachad was set up in 2011 to build support within the British Jewish community…

  By Hannah Weisfeld Nov 17, 2014 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Abraham Goes ‘On Trial’ for Attempted Murder

  The Binding of Isaac It’s a question that has puzzled believers, scholars and philosophers for millennia: Did Abraham really intend to kill his son Isaac? On November 16, Jewish New Yorkers had a chance to decide the question once and for all, when Abraham was put on trial for child endangerment and attempted second-degree murder….

  By Hody Nemes Nov 17, 2014 | 5 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

  Hillel, Don’t Take Sides On Princeton Divestment

  Students walk past a statue of a former Princeton president on the school’s campus / Getty Images A faculty petition recently appeared in The Daily Princetonian calling for the university to divest from companies operating in the West Bank. The Center for Jewish Life, Princeton’s Hillel, quickly responded with a letter stating that the CJL…

  By Maya Rosen Nov 17, 2014 | 3 min read
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  Books

  Is Exile Good for the Jews?

  The political scientist Alan Wolfe published his latest book about the Jewish diaspora, “At Home in Exile,” in late October, just weeks before Sheldon Adelson uttered his most recent outrageous remarks. Too bad. Adelson’s unfortunate rant would have provided another example to prove Wolfe’s point. Adelson, the zillionaire philanthropist and businessman, is not known for…

  By Jane Eisner Nov 17, 2014 | 5 min read
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  Opinion

  IDF, Shin Bet in TV Brawl: Did Hamas Want a War?

  Israelis last week watched their defense establishment undergo its nastiest and arguably most dangerous meltdown in decades as the heads of two main branches, Benny Gantz of the Israel Defense Forces and Yoram Cohen of the Shin Bet security service, publicly traded insults and questioned each other’s integrity and professional competence. The public dispute erupted…

  By J.J. Goldberg Nov 16, 2014 | 7 min read
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  Opinion

  Why Should Women Pray to a Male God?

  Godology is a monthly conversation between Forward columnist Elissa Strauss and Rabbi Scott Perlo in which they explore what it means to be “Godish” — to kind of, sort of, believe in God. ELISSA: There is some inherent dissonance to being a God-believing woman. I am a God-believing woman. Even if one doesn’t believe that…

  By Elissa Strauss and Scott Perlo Nov 16, 2014 | 5 min read
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  Opinion

  Anti-Sheldon Adelson Vote Signals Bibi’s Mounting Woes

  Israeli lawmakers have voted for a bill intended to prevent the free distribution of Sheldon Adelson’s Israel Hayom newspaper — a media outlet that is considered to be a virtual mouthpiece of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Adelson, the controversial founder and owner of the newspaper, made headlines last week when he said: “Israel isn’t going…

  By Yael Even Or Nov 14, 2014 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  Who’s to Blame for Temple Mount Violence?

  Once again Israel faces a deadly spiral of Palestinian violence, as the low-level rioting that began in East Jerusalem in July, following the murder of teenager Muhammad Abu Khdeir by a trio of Jewish hoodlums, gave way in late October to a series of lethal attacks with knives, guns and motor vehicles. And once again,…

  By J.J. Goldberg Nov 14, 2014 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Judge Posner Overstepped Bounds in Chabad Drinking Case

  Judge Richard Posner inappropriately opined on Jewish law in a 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling last week, which held that Northwestern University was justified in disaffiliating with Rabbi Dov Hillel Klein, a Chabad campus rabbi accused by the University of serving alcohol to minors. The rabbi maintains that Northwestern violated his constitutional rights, denied…

  By Eliyahu Federman Nov 13, 2014 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  ‘Pallywood’ Killing Was Exactly What It Looked Like

  Still from CCTV footage of the West Bank killing / Youtube The fatal shooting of two Palestinian teens in the West Bank this summer? Not faked. Not “Pallywood.” Not even close. It was exactly what it appeared to be. On May 15, four Palestinians, three of them children, were shot in the town of Bitunya…

  By Jordan Kutzik Nov 13, 2014 | 3 min read