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
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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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,…
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Opinion In France, a Jew and a Muslim Mourn Together
Rabbi Benjamin Hattab and Latifa Ibn Ziaten / France 2 screenshot Since the attacks on Charlie Hebdo and the Hyper Cacher supermarket in Paris, we’ve been hearing a lot about rising Muslim anti-Semitism and the precarious situation of Jews in France. But amidst all the fear, there was a moment of true connection when a…
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Opinion What Tim Willcox’s Paris Question Says About BBC
BBC journalist Tim Willcox / Screenshot Tim Willcox’s question was heinous in and of itself. In the midst of a BBC interview with an Israeli resident of Paris and daughter of Holocaust survivors, who had been talking about Jewish suffering in Europe, the journalist ventured: “But many critics of Israel’s policy would say that the…
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Opinion Secret Israeli Report Sees Rift With Europe Growing
A classified Israeli foreign ministry document, leaked to the daily Yediot Ahronot, warns that 2015 will see Israel’s standing on the world stage steadily deteriorating. It predicts “worsening drift in Europe toward Palestinian positions, more parliaments recognizing the State of Palestine, fear of sanctions and labeling merchandise [to separate settlement products from tariff-free Israel-proper products]…
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Opinion Why ‘Jew’ Is Rarely Spoken Word in France — Even After Kosher Grocery Terror
Many observers, both French and foreign, have hailed Sunday’s march in Paris as a historic milestone. More than a million citizens, along with dozens of world leaders, joined together as a sign of resistance to last week’s acts of terrorism, and as the gauge for the persistence of democratic ideals. The event had all the…
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Opinion France Was Dead Wrong To Ask Bibi To Stay Home
Benjamin Netanyahu gives a speech at the Grand Synagogue in Paris / Getty Images I’ve got two immediate and possibly contradictory takeaways from the news that French President Francois Hollande asked Benjamin Netanyahu not to appear at the unity rally that took place in Paris on Sunday. Let’s first look at the reasons Hollande reportedly…
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Yiddish וואָס איך האָב אַנטדעקט בעת מײַן וויזיט אינעם שוועדישן גן־עדןWhat I discovered during my visit to the Swedish paradise
לייזער בורקאָ באַשרײַבט שוועדנס ווייניק באַקאַנטע מיליטערישע געשיכטע.
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