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
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…
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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…
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Opinion Why Do We Keep Dissing Chabad’s Spirituality?
It’s been a year since the Pew Research Center released its “Portrait of Jewish Americans.” I haven’t counted how many words have been written about the report since that time, from the Forward’s e-book to endless handwringing by the OJC (Organized Jewish Community). But somewhere along the line, Pew definitely turned into Phew. As in,…
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Opinion The New ‘War on Christmas’ (Or Is It Islam)?
(JTA) — Looks like there’s another so-called War on Christmas, and this time it’s the Muslims, not the Jews, who are being blamed. The decision by a suburban Washington school district to continue closing for Jewish and Christian holidays — but not label them as such on the school calendar — has ignited a firestorm…
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Opinion Israel’s Next Threat — A ‘Car Intifada’?
A #Drive4alAqsa meme, part of the “car intifada” campaign / Twitter The past few weeks have seen widespread incitement to violence among both Palestinians and Jewish Israelis. There have been stabbings, harassments, shootings, stone-throwings, hit-and-runs. And now, there’s the “car intifada.” This campaign, which is drawing significant media attention, calls on Palestinians to run over…
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Opinion 17 Ways Israel’s Anime Propaganda Video Creeped Me Out
Well, here’s something you don’t see every day. The Israeli Embassy in Tokyo has launched an anime web series to encourage Japanese tourists to visit the Holy Land — and it’s kind of amazing. “Israel, Like!” is an unusual blend of hasbara and manga — I hereby dub it “hasbaranga” — featuring two Japanese sisters,…
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Opinion Why We Chose Rabbi Barry Freundel for the Forward 50
So why is Rabbi Barry Freundel, who made national headlines when he was arrested on charges of secretly taping naked women in his synagogue’s ritual bath, included in this year’s Forward 50? Friends wanted to know. Readers commented on Facebook. Some were simply curious; others posed the question as a challenge. Does he really belong?…
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Opinion Rabbis on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown
Those of us who knew, or thought we knew, Rabbi Barry Freundel — recently arrested for spying on women in the mikveh, with a mountain of evidence suggesting his guilt — are still in shock. As much as I disagreed with many of his halachic positions, I always thought he was one of the good…
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Opinion Bibi’s Cabinet Rattled as Key Livni Ally Quits
The Netanyahu government’s most left-wing member, environmental defense minister Amir Peretz, quit the cabinet on Sunday and declared war on the prime minister, vowing to work for a new government committed to peace and economic justice. Peretz, a onetime Labor Party chairman and defense minister, is a member of Tzipi Livni’s Hatnuah party. The move…
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Opinion Judge Posner’s Delightfully Jewy Legal Ruling
An Orthodox Jew wears a reggae costume as he buys a bottle of wine on Purim / Getty Images Last Thursday, prominent judge and University of Chicago professor Richard Posner offered his decision on Lubavitch-Chabad v. Northwestern University. The case was brought against the university after it disaffiliated itself with its former Chabad organization. The…
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Opinion My Sephardic Guilt on Kristallnacht
Postcard of Madeira While other Jewish families suffered unimaginable brutality in the Holocaust, my family lived like royalty in the Portuguese paradise known for its wine, Madeira. I know: I sound like an entitled, unsympathetic brat. And what I’m trying to say is, I feel guilty about this. I always have. Every time a Holocaust…
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