Opinion

• Opinion

  I Don’t Want To Feel ‘Safe’ at Eric Garner’s Expense

  A demonstrator cries while protesting the Eric Garner grand jury decision / Getty Images (JTA) — The words of Leviticus (19:6) admonish us not to “stand idly by while the blood of your neighbor is shed.” These words should sting our ears and shock our conscience in the wake of a Staten Island grand jury’s decision…

  By Ayelet Cohen

  3 min read
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  Opinion

  Boycotting a Moses Named Christian in ‘Exodus’

  Charlton Heston as Moses. Johnny Depp as Tonto. Mickey Rooney as Mr. Yunioshi. Laurence Olivier as Othello. Elizabeth Taylor as Cleopatra. All white actors who have played non-white characters on the big screen. And now Christian Bale has joined their ranks, playing Moses in Ridley Scott’s upcoming biblical blockbuster, “Exodus.” The film, which tells the…

  By Sigal Samuel Dec 4, 2014 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Be Fruitful and Multiply — Please?

  Thanksgiving was lovely this year, a happy gathering of four generations of family. We are a warm and compatible group who genuinely enjoy each other’s company and — not to sound too corny here — acknowledge the blessing of just being together. There is a sturdiness to this side of my family that I treasure….

  By Jane Eisner Dec 4, 2014 | 3 min read

Columnists View All

• Alyssa Katz What I learned at a Holocaust survivors’ Purim party

  

• Rob Eshman Gavin Newsom isn’t waffling on Israel — he’s voicing sensible ideas in an era of outrage

  

• Dan Perry Is this Netanyahu’s Winston Churchill moment?

  

• Emily Tamkin We must rewrite the rulebook for fighting antisemitism — or conspiracists like Joe Kent will win the narrative wars

  

• Jay Michaelson Antisemitism is exploding on the right but the Jewish establishment is focused on the left

  

The Latest

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  Opinion

  The Laws That Killed Eric Garner

  My hands are quaking with rage right now, but I will choose to write rationally. I can’t believe this has happened again, and happened here, in my own backyard. “This” being a grand jury failing even to indict a white police officer for killing an unarmed black man. Not even a trial. Not even a…

  By Jay Michaelson Dec 3, 2014 | 5 min read
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  Opinion

  Why I’m (Reluctantly) Voting Against BDS at Berkeley

  Pro-Palestinian demonstrator argues with pro-Israeli demonstrator at UC Berkeley / Getty Images On Thursday, my union as a graduate student at Berkeley, UAW 2865, is going to vote on a BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) resolution against Israel. I’m going to vote “no,” although I oppose the occupation and support selective, non-BDS branded boycotts targeting the…

  By Raphael Magarik Dec 3, 2014 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  AP vs. Matti Friedman — Fight Gets Ugly

  Journalists and Palestinian protesters take cover from Israeli fire at a demonstration / Getty Images (JTA) — Whatever the circumstances surrounding Matti Friedman’s departure from The Associated Press in 2011, it’s safe to say he’s not returning anytime soon. The former reporter and editor with the international wire service’s Jerusalem bureau made waves in August with…

  By Raffi Wineburg Dec 3, 2014 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  Not Afraid To Be a Girlie Girl

  A few weeks ago I saw Amy Schumer, stand-up comedian and star of the sketch show “Inside Amy Schumer,” at Carnegie Hall. She was as hilarious as I had hoped, but the truth is, I didn’t really go to see her for the jokes. I went to feel part of a moment. I wanted to…

  By Elissa Strauss Dec 3, 2014 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  News Quiz: What is the Hottest New Show on TV?

  Chicken Fat Fondue? Mothers Against Drunk Davening? Hamas-achusetts? What the heck is going on? Take the quiz and find out!

  By Lenore Skenazy Dec 3, 2014 | < 1 min read
• Opinion

  Israel’s New Push To Keep Africans Behind Bars

  Asylum-seekers Detained in Israel’s Desert from Jewish Daily Forward on Vimeo. Israel’s Parliament has passed a new law aimed at keeping African immigrants behind bars — and a controversial jail to house them open — beyond a deadline set by the country’s highest court. The Knesset by a 43-20 vote approved an initial legislative step…

  By Yael Even Or Dec 2, 2014 | 2 min read
• Opinion

  UPDATE: Bibi Fires Lapid, Livni — Elections Coming

  Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday fired the heads of the two center-left parties in his coalition, finance minister Yair Lapid and justice minister Tzipi Livni. He’s expected to address the media at 10:10 p.m. Israel time (3:10 Eastern) to discuss the political situation. The dramatic event came less than a day after Netanyahu…

  By J.J. Goldberg Dec 1, 2014 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  In Berlin, Jews and Muslims Fight for Each Other

  Salaam-Schalom organizes a Jewish-Muslim human chain event in Neukollen / Ömer Sefa Baysal This past summer, Armin Langer, a 24-year-old rabbinical student in Berlin, came to speak at the Sehitlik mosque in Neukoelln, a district of the German capital with a large Muslim population. Langer is the co-founder of the Salaam-Schalom Initiative, a Neukoelln-based intercultural…

  By Yermi Brenner Dec 1, 2014 | 4 min read