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
Benjamin Netanyahu Lashes Out at Hamas — But Real Enemy Is Elsewhere
On Monday afternoon, June 9, the research director of Israel’s military intelligence corps appeared before an international audience of defense experts and policymakers at a conference near Tel Aviv and delivered an hour-long, rapid-fire outline of the strategic threats and opportunities facing the Jewish state in 2014. Speaking in a terse, emotionless Hebrew, Brigadier General…
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Opinion Israeli Public’s Support for Settlers Declines: Poll
Israeli public support for West Bank settlements has declined significantly in the past year, according to a new survey released June 12. It’s the second consecutive year of sharp decreases in sympathy for settlers and the settlement enterprise. The findings include an 11-point increase, from 48% to 59%, in those saying settlements damage Israel’s relations…
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Opinion Twisting a Palestinian’s Three-Finger Salute
Arab Idol winner Mohammed Assaf, left; Palestinian student Mohammad AlQadi, right Since the kidnapping of three Israeli teens last Thursday, the Israeli media has been engaged in a full court press to fill in the blanks and tell a compelling story — whether or not it’s true. Today, I came across a Facebook post from Mohammad…
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Opinion Move To Ban Kosher Slaughter Really Not About the Animals
A number of European countries have recently sought, with some success, to ban the ritual slaughter of four-legged animals by Muslims and Jews. Denmark did so in February, following Poland in January. Proponents framed the discussion in terms of animal welfare. They have a point. Executed properly, animals suffer less when stunned — that is,…
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Opinion Who Says Hasidim Have ‘Dead Eyes’?
Hasidim walk through Williamsburg / All photos courtesy of Mo Gelber Pro tip for anyone considering a tour of Hasidic Williamsburg: It’s not that big a deal. You do not need to wear a hat, broad-brimmed or otherwise. You may visit during the week, and you may visit on weekends. You may bring along with…
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Opinion Kidnapping of West Bank Teens Points To Worse To Come
As June opened, it was easy to joke that an honest headline writer could only proclaim “Hamas Gives Up Control of Gaza; Israel Outraged.” But with the abduction of three Israeli teenagers who were reportedly hitchhiking in the West Bank, it is clear that the implications of the current political situation are not funny. Yes,…
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Opinion My Life Revolves Around Kidnapped Boys
Prayer vigil for the three missing Israeli teens / Getty Images (JTA) — Four days into the search for three kidnapped Israeli teens, I attended a group prayer session dedicated to their safe return. Dozens of women gathered together to read responsively psalms seeking God’s mercy and intervention before the start of our morning Jewish studies…
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Opinion Working Toward a Transgender Vocabulary
Elliot Kukla, first out transgender rabbi ordained by the Reform movement / Nic Coury Reactions to the Forward’s transgender and Jewish series varied from “after a decade of acceptance, this is news?” to “the synagogues are being overrun by sex maniacs” to an attitude of open curiosity, perhaps best espoused by Sheila Rubin in Naomi…
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Opinion Why #BringBackOurBoys Is the Perfect Hashtag
A picture tweeted from Matisyahu’s Twitter feed In writing about the decision to adapt #BringBackOurBoys as the virtual call to action for the three kidnapped Israeli students — Eyal Yifrach, Gilad Shaer and Naftali Frankel — Sigal Samuel expresses her regret that the hashtag appropriates the call to action for the 200 Nigerian school girls…
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Opinion Prayer Won’t #BringBackOurBoys
When my eldest daughter was three years old, she enjoyed a comfortable morning routine. After breakfast, if she dressed quickly, she was allowed to watch half an episode of “Sesame Street” before heading off to school. Like most three-year-olds, she enjoyed the predictability and sameness of quiet time with Elmo and Grover and Oscar the…
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Opinion The Rebbe’s Big Idea
(JTA) — Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the seventh Lubavitcher Rebbe, was inarguably the most well-known rabbi since Moses Maimonides. Hundreds of prominent rabbinic figures have lived in the intervening 800 years since Maimonides died. But how many can be named before an audience of Jews from the United States, Israel, France or the former Soviet…
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Opinion The Gaza hostage crisis could forever change how American Jews relate to Israel — but it’s not too late to fix that
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Yiddish ווידעאָ: היסטאָריקערין וויווי לאַקס באַשרײַבט געשיכטע פֿון לאָנדאָנער ייִדישער פּרעסעVIDEO: Historian Vivi Laks tells history of the London Yiddish Press
שבֿע צוקער פֿירט דעם שמועס מיט וויווי לאַקס און ביידע לייענען פֿאָר עטלעכע פֿעליעטאָנען פֿון יענע צײַטן.
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