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
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…
-
Opinion Jon Stewart on Sukkus
The Daily Show Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,The Daily Show on Facebook,Daily Show Video Archive
-
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…
Columnists View All
The Latest
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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,…
-
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…
-
Opinion Why Benjamin Netanyahu’s Dream of Building Arab Alliances Doomed to Fail
In his recent United Nations General Assembly speech, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke glowingly about the possibility of strategic cooperation “for the first time” among Israel and Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in the fight against militant Islam. “A broader rapprochement between Israel and the Arab world may help facilitate…
-
Opinion Is Israel Abandoning Push for Two States?
In a potentially explosive report, veteran Yediot Ahronot defense commentator Ron Ben-Yishai writes on Ynet that Israel is headed toward a new confrontation with the United States and its allies in the wake of this summer’s Operation Protective Edge. The Americans and Europeans insist that Israel must strive for a two-state solution with the Palestinians,…
Explore
Most Popular
- 1
Culture ‘My mayor Muslim, my bagel Jewish’ — the Knicks chant capturing New York’s soul
- 2
Books In ‘Something We Said,’ Richard Pryor’s daughter finds words to discuss the unspeakable
- 3
Opinion It’s time for Jews who love Israel to give up on Zionism
- 4
Opinion Progressive Jews are trying out post-Zionism. There’s one big flaw in their approach
In Case You Missed It
-
Yiddish World מע קען שוין אָנגעבן אויף דער י. י. סיגאַל פּרעמיע 2026The 2026 J. I. Segal Award for Yiddish literature is now accepting submissions
-
Opinion Cultural boycotts of Israel just reached peak absurdity
-
Culture The Jewish friendship that let David Hockney experience ‘dangerous perfection’
-
Opinion Aristotle, Jewish ethics and the vexing case of Graham Platner