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
Why Barry Freundel Story Makes Me Physically Ill
Illustration by Kurt Hoffman Yesterday, prominent Modern Orthodox Rabbi Barry Freundel was arrested on charges of voyeurism. The police report obtained by the media indicates that he had used cameras to record women showering as they prepared to use the mikveh. Freundel should, and will, have his say in court. These charges are serious, though,…
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Opinion Sears Helps Woo Your Date With a Swastika Ring
Screenshot of Sears website It was one thing when Spanish clothing giant Zara tried to explain away its children’s Holocaust shirt as an honest mistake, or when Walmart was selling a concentration camp poster as home decor. But now Sears finds itself in hot water over the very worst of these products. The storied department…
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Opinion Why Britain’s ‘Palestine’ Vote Should Scare Israel
Demonstrators call on the British parliament to recognize ‘Palestine’ The British Parliament’s decision to back a motion to “recognize the state of Palestine,” by a margin of 274 to 12 votes, means nothing — and everything. Nothing, because the passage of this motion was a purely symbolic matter, close to but not really a true indication…
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Opinion Jon Stewart on Sukkus
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Opinion Confronting Campus Scourge of Anti-Israel Venom
In early October, a number of prominent Jewish studies professors signed a letter stating their opposition to the AMCHA Initiative, a group with the mission of monitoring anti-Semitism at institutions of higher education in America. A study just released by AMCHA indicates, among other findings, that the Center for Near Eastern Studies at the University…
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Opinion Serious Sukkah-Envy: My Sukkot Report
“Sukkot is about shtupping.” “Shtupping” (Yiddish for sex) is not what most associate with the harvest holiday. I thought Sukkot (literally “booths”) — meant decorating tents that evoke the shelters built by the newly-freed Israelites as they wandered in the desert. But then I hadn’t really focused on the erectness of the lulav (the green…
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Opinion Why Columbus Day Should Be A Jewish Holiday
John Oliver’s “Last Week Tonight” asked a really simple yet poignant question: How is Columbus Day still a thing? At this point, the American education system has modified textbooks to indicate that no, in fact, Christopher Columbus didn’t discover America. In fact, as Slate points out, the Italian explorer who set sail to bring wealth…
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Opinion Want To Engage Young Jews? Look to Open Hillel
Rebecca Vilkomerson speaking at the Open Hillel conference / Gili Getz “I bought my ticket right after my rabbi’s Rosh Hashanah sermon. I knew I needed this community,” a student participant at the Open Hillel conference told me today. The student went on to thank Open Hillel for providing a long overdue space for young…
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Opinion Why Fasting Is Good for Body and Soul
What does “fasting” mean? As a physician, I tell patients not to eat after midnight so that the morning’s laboratory tests can be compared against known standards (it would be hard to determine whether someone truly has high cholesterol if the level was measured after they ate a Big Mac). From a religious standpoint, fasting…
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Opinion Introducing the Torah Party, My New Favorite Ritual
Getty Images Just a few months before he was killed in a 1996 bus bombing, my JTS classmate Matt Eisenfeld held a party in his Jerusalem apartment. It was a Saturday night, but it was hardly a typical Saturday night event. It was a siyyum, a conclusion of study, celebrating his completion of Masechet Kiddushin,…
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Opinion Finding Hope in Images of Sarajevo
I went to the opening of the modest but powerful exhibit “Survival in Sarajevo” in Manhattan on October 7 hoping for a hint of optimism about Jews, Muslims, Christians and co-existence after such a brutal summer. It was there — in well-meaning speeches, poignant images and a genuinely inspiring story about Jewish goodness. But lurking…
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