In the Forward’s opinion section, you’ll find analysis and essays from diverse corners of the Jewish world.
To pitch an opinion piece, email our Opinion Editor, Talya Zax.
Opinion
-
Opinion
The ‘Perfect Storm’ That’s Hitting Bibi’s Campaign
Rabbi Daniel Gordis, a popular, American-born voice of Israel’s center-right, writes in Bloomberg View that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s reelection campaign, deemed a sure thing just days ago, has run into a “perfect storm” from which it may not recover. “It has been a steep and precipitous fall since those glory moments on the podium…
-
Opinion Vashti’s song – "I’m Done Dressing Up"
-
Opinion Bibi Shows How Fear Makes Bad Policy
It’s well understood that Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to Congress was meant for domestic consumption: both in Israel, where he hopes it will bolster his chances of re-election, and in the United States, where Republicans and their shills hope it will drive Jews into the GOP’s arms. It also plays into his political…
Columnists View All
The Latest
-
Opinion Why Jews Are Mad at Bibi — Even Republicans
Facebook I talked over the weekend with a longtime friend – a committed Jew, active in Jewish communal life, and a strong supporter of Israel. He calls himself an independent but votes mostly Republican. On U.S. President Barack Obama, he is wary and reserved; he voted for him once but for his opponent the other…
-
Opinion Bibi Went Too Easy on Obama’s Iran Deal
Getty Images In his speech to the U.S. Congress, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu effectively made the case that the emerging nuclear deal with Iran is a “very bad deal.” But we would say that’s actually a polite understatement; Netanyahu didn’t go far enough. This is a dangerous deal — not only for Israel but…
-
Opinion 7 Answers About Israel’s Vote
(Reuters) — Israelis will vote in a parliamentary election on March 17, choosing among party lists of candidates to serve in the 120-seat Knesset. No party has won a majority of seats since Israel’s first election in 1949. Here are 7 questions and answers about the vote and what sort of coalition negotiations could emerge:…
-
Opinion If Jewish Seminaries Are Empty, Let’s Merge Them
A recent Forward article asked a provocative and troubling question: “Where Are All the Non-Orthodox Rabbis?” It pointed to a steep decline in enrollment at non-Orthodox rabbinical schools, which should prompt some new thinking. Here’s a start: Why not merge the Reform and Conservative seminaries? Last year, the non-Orthodox rabbinical schools admitted fewer than 100…
-
Opinion Mirth and Melancholy: My Purim Experience
Jackie Mason had it wrong when he said gentiles are focused on the next cocktail and Jews on the next meal. I’ve now grasped that Jews do their share of imbibing. There’s wine every Shabbat, single malt on Simchat Torah, egg nog on Hanukkah (okay, maybe just in my family), four cups of wine on…
-
Opinion Why Bibi Nixed Two-State Solution
Benjamin Netanyahu and his Likud party were backpedaling furiously this weekend to dispel an unwelcome image of diplomatic flexibility, after a negotiating document surfaced in which the Israeli prime minister appeared to offer sweeping concessions to the Palestinians on 1967 borders, return of refugees, Palestinian presence in the Jordan Valley and some undefined Palestinian claim…
-
Opinion Why I Will Not Simply Accept Intermarriage
Over the past two years, influential Conservative rabbis have begun flirting with performing intermarriages and with relaxing conversion standards, or at least wringing their hands at Judaism’s traditional endogamy norm and the distress it is causing interfaith families. Given pervasive intermarriage — 58% of all American Jews marrying since 2000 wed gentiles — it may…
-
Opinion Palestinians Cut Security Ties With Israel — Not
“Palestinians cut security coordination with Israel”? Really? This looks like another one of those cases where the press gets out ahead of the story. The initial headlines (here, here) said the Palestinians have cut security coordination between their forces and Israel’s. The stories under the headlines said that actually the PLO’s central council had either…
Explore
Most Popular
- 1
Culture ‘My mayor Muslim, my bagel Jewish’ — the Knicks chant capturing New York’s soul
- 2
Opinion Cultural boycotts of Israel just reached peak absurdity
- 3
Sports Memes, mashiach and ‘Torah-cyclopedias’ put a Jewish twist on the Knicks’ title chase
- 4
Opinion It’s time for Jews who love Israel to give up on Zionism
In Case You Missed It
-
News ‘Spatial restructuring’ razes hundreds of residences in West Bank refugee camps
-
Culture Whether it’s viral dot cakes or Love Shack Fancy skirts, Chloe Hechter wants you to know that ‘Jewish-American Princesses did it first’
-
Opinion The Iran war ended terribly for the US, and even worse for Israel
-
Film & TV In ‘Disclosure Day,’ Steven Spielberg finds himself at odds with Jewish thought about aliens