Opinion

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  Moral Emptiness of Holocaust Survivors Who Took on Israel

  Given Hitler’s voluminous rants about Jews, it is not surprising that one aspect of his obsession is less known: the pleasure he took in the spectacle of Jews deriding and defaming other Jews. Hans Frank, one of Hitler’s top aides, quotes him as saying: “I am an innocent lamb compared to revelations by Jews about…

  By Alvin H. Rosenfeld

  6 min read
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  Opinion

  Fighting for Israeli Democracy Atop a Wedding Cake

  Last Sunday evening, just 24 hours before the latest ceasefire between Hamas and Israel was due to expire amid talks in Cairo, the top story on most Hebrew news sites was a small demonstration against a wedding of a “mixed” Israeli couple in central Israel. Morel Malka, a Jewish Israeli who converted to Islam and…

  By Mairav Zonszein Aug 27, 2014 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Growing a New Eden (Garden) in Detroit

  Scars in the Garden from Jewish Daily Forward on Vimeo. “The Black community was resistant to the Jewish community coming into the neighborhood at first,” explained Chava Karen Knox, an African-American woman who converted to Judaism a couple of years ago. Knox is referring to the Jewish volunteers who work on a weekly basis in…

  By Martyna Starosta Aug 27, 2014 | < 1 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 The moral degradation of Israel’s far-right is even worse than you think

  

• 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

  

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  Opinion

  Why I Spent Shabbat Protesting Police Brutality

  Jews for Racial and Economic Justice march in New York / JFREJ Like many Jewish people around the world, I observed Shabbat this weekend. I didn’t light candles or recite Hebrew prayers; I didn’t eat challah or matzoh ball soup or brisket. I spent my Shabbat marching for justice for Eric Garner of Staten Island,…

  By Sara Gold Aug 26, 2014 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  News Quiz: Did You Hear the One About Julia Child and Chubby Rabbis?

  Getty Images Overweight rabbis, 100-year-old sex therapists and Nazi spaghetti. Oh – and Amy Winehouse. Time for you to dive into this week’s Jewish News Quiz!

  By Lenore Skenazy Aug 26, 2014 | < 1 min read
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  Opinion

  Jewish Emphasis on Life Makes Death Rituals a Gift to World

  It’s sometimes said that religion originated out of the fear of death. We all face the abyss, and we all grieve when our loved ones pass away. From this utter meaninglessness, the theory goes, myths of meaning arise. A review of Biblical literature, however, calls this theory into question. Unlike many indigenous and shamanic traditions,…

  By Jay Michaelson Aug 26, 2014 | 5 min read
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  Opinion

  Don’t Return Your ‘Righteous Gentile’ Medal

  Henk Zanoli is second from right in this 1942 family photo / Yad Vashem It was at the insistence of Rivka Ben-Pazi that Henk Zanoli was deemed a “righteous gentile” by Yad Vashem, Israel’s state Holocaust museum. Ben-Pazi wrote a book about the Jewish boy that Zanoli saved, Elchanan Hameiri, and eventually got the museum…

  By Rivkah Ben-Pazi Aug 25, 2014 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  How To Sell Americans on Israel’s Wars

  Thinkstock Americans have endured endless hours of Gaza media coverage in the past month, from CNN’s Wolf Blitzer crawling through Hamas tunnels to live reports of rocket launches and airstrikes. In between, spokespersons for both sides flooded the airways, each trying to formulate an argument able of convincing American viewers, already overwhelmed by news from…

  By Nathan Guttman Aug 25, 2014 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  A Century After World War I, We Don’t Put Ourselves on the Line for Beliefs

  A century ago, as World War I began, many countries were willing (in the beginning, even eager) to expend their blood and treasure in the name of national pride and “glory.” We remember World War I as especially egregious in this regard, as both warring blocs were imperialistic; and considering the autocratic nature of Czarist…

  By Ralph Seliger Aug 25, 2014 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  8-Point Guide to Criticizing Israel Productively

  Thinkstock As an Israeli who lives in New York, I know that I can sometimes be unfair. On the one hand, I often get defensive when people criticize Israel. On the other, I can also get upset when people seem to blindly support Israel. Criticizing Israel is allowed, and even important for Israel’s wellbeing, but…

  By Abraham Gutman Aug 25, 2014 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  If Maimonides Met Warby Parker

  Actress Blake Lively recently launched a website called Preserve, which aims to promote an artisanal lifestyle through the posting of recipes, craft projects and style profiles, and to sell a variety of food and clothing items. Because Preserve genuinely desires “to give back to those with fewer opportunities but just as much heart and soul…

  By Elissa Strauss Aug 25, 2014 | 4 min read