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 Israeli Left Should Cheer Reuven Rivlin
Israel’s newly elected president Reuven Rivlin / Getty Images For some reason, whenever a Palestinian (or an Arab American, for that matter) expresses one-state views, he’s accused of threatening Israel’s existence. When an Israeli voices the exact same view, he’s labeled a hawk, a Zionist hard-liner. That’s precisely what happened when Reuven Rivlin, the former…
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Opinion Alexander Imich, Czar’s Last Bar Mitzvah Boy
Alexander Imich at 111 years old / Guinness Book of World Records Ray Bradbury, in his classic 1955 story “The Last, the Very Last,” has a child encounter a 108-year-old man believed to be the last known Civil War veteran. The story, reworked as a chapter in his novel Dandelion Wine, introduces the veteran to…
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Opinion Include Me Out of This Jewish Community
Let me start with gratitude. As a gay Jewish man, I am profoundly humbled by the strides the Jewish community has taken over the last several years. Among almost all denominations, in all geographical areas, Jewish institutions have become more inclusive of LGBT people, and, I think, have been enriched as a result. But “inclusion”…
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Opinion Israel’s Bitter Splits Boil Over in Open
Israel gave the world an unusually raw look at its internal divisions this week when the annual Herzliya Security Conference, traditionally the top showcase for the country’s defense doctrines, turned into an extended food fight. By the end of Day 2 of the three-day gabfest, angry exchanges of retorts and threats had broken out on…
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Opinion Israel Gets Gender-Segregated Elevator — Finally!
Gender-segregated elevator in Jerusalem / Walla Apparently, gender-segregated classrooms, playgrounds, buses, sidewalks and healthcare centers aren’t enough. Now Israel has gender-segregated elevators. Yosef Cohen, the owner of Jerusalem’s ultra-Orthodox event venue Armonot Chen, has started divvying up elevator space using a nylon mechitza, with stickers inside and outside the elevator directing men to one side…
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Opinion News Quiz: Did You Hear the One About the Beastie Boys?
The Beastie Boys, Groucho and brisket are all together here. It’s the quiz equivalent of a Reuben!
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Opinion Time for Jewish Evangelizing
If we’re serious about renewing Jewish life in the future, we must confront the challenge of evangelizing for Jewish tradition in public space. One of the reasons that the tension between the tribal and the universal in Jewish life isn’t addressed directly is because most Jews lack confidence in their knowledge of Jewish tradition to…
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Opinion Why Bother Converting to ‘Cat GIF’ Judaism?
Grumpy Cat In her recent editorial, Jane Eisner confronts what she views as the problems with Judaism’s current conversion process — and conversion’s potential usefulness in “sustaining the future” of the Jewish people. When we speak of the modern conversion process, it’s important to separate social practices from religious mandate. Many of the issues that…
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Opinion Will Reuven Rivlin Call ‘Em Reform ‘Rabbis’?
Getty Images ()TA) — Will he refer to Reform rabbis as rabbis? We still don’t know. Reuven Rivlin, Israel’s front-runner in this week’s presidential election, has signaled recently that should he be elected, his goal will be to embrace non-Orthodox Jewish communities rather than antagonize them. Rivlin got a boost in the race on Saturday…
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Opinion J Street Loses Its Focus With Peace Process Dead
What is J Street doing? Why has it begun to act in concert with unambiguously right-wing Zionist organizations such as AIPAC and StandWithUs in their efforts to kill the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement while offering no alternative for ending the occupation? Because the truth is that J Street offers no alternative anymore; now that…
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Opinion It’s Time To Destigmatize Mamzers. Here’s How.
I think it’s high time we deal with the issue of mamzerut. I was exposed to the subject as a result of my work as a rabbinic advocate in Israel, working with women who were denied divorces and agunot, women chained to dead marriages. Through this work, I became familiar with a host of issues…
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Opinion The Iran war ended terribly for the US, and even worse for Israel
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