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
Sexism in Journalism Really Lives on the Opinion Page
With all the worries about the founded or unfounded role of sexism in Jill Abramson’s firing from The New York Times, it’s worth remembering the very well documented way that gender discrimination plays out on the opinion pages of major publications. Recently both the Women’s Media Center and VIDA: Women in Literary Arts released their…
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Opinion Zionism Was Kidnapped, Talmudically Speaking
Getty Images “Zionism has been taken, kidnapped even, by the far right.” So says Pulitzer-winning Holocaust historian Saul Friedlander in a Haaretz interview published over the weekend. Explaining that he was “a normal Zionist until 1968,” the professor says that nowadays he can no longer call himself a Zionist — thanks to the movement’s right-wing…
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Opinion Zionism Wasn’t Kidnapped. It Was Handed Over.
A Jewish settler boy sticks his tongue out at peace activists protesting in Hebron / Getty Images This weekend, renowned Holocaust scholar Shaul Friedlander gave sharp expression to a feeling shared broadly by many Jews, in Israel and the Diaspora. “Zionism has been taken, kidnapped even, by the far right,” Friedlander said in an interview…
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Opinion The Roberts Court: No Longer Just an Umpire
By now you’ve probably heard about the controversial May 5 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, letting an upstate New York town open its monthly board meetings with an explicitly Christian prayer. You probably haven’t heard its most alarming implications, though. Buckle up. The case involves the Town of Greece, a stolidly middle-class suburb of…
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Opinion America Doesn’t See Its Religious Minorities
The recent Supreme Court decision in Town of Greece v. Galloway upheld the constitutionality of the town’s prayer before its monthly board meeting. In reaching this conclusion, the majority’s opinion focused on the long-standing tradition of legislative prayers in the United States, dating back to the earliest years of our nation’s history. By this logic,…
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Opinion India’s New Chief Sees Israel as Ally on Terror
Israeli leaders are celebrating the upset victory in Indian elections of the Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, whose leader, the reputedly anti-Muslim Narendra Modi, wants closer ties with Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu emphasized economic ties on Sunday when he told his cabinet about his Friday phone conversation with the Indian prime minister-elect. The Israeli…
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Opinion News Quiz: Abe Foxman, Barbra Streisand and Howard Stern
Getty Images From farfel to Foxman, salami to Streisand, hummus to Howard Stern, we’ve got a lot going on in this week’s News Quiz.
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Opinion Donald Sterling’s Racism Shouldn’t Dampen History of Blacks and Jews
Donald Sterling simply can’t leave bad enough alone. Having already irredeemably labeled himself as a racist by berating V. Stiviano — who happens to be of Latino and African-American descent — that she should not bring Blacks to his Los Angeles Clippers games, or pose for pictures with African-American icons like former LA Lakers superstar…
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Opinion What Is Apartheid Really?
“Apartheid” is an ugly Dutch word that literally means “separateness.” In South Africa, different races were kept apart on ideological grounds. This meant that the majority of people were deprived of citizens’ rights in South Africa on the grounds of their race. Such is currently not the case in Israel, where Arab Israeli citizens have…
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Opinion The Lessons of the ‘Lavon Affair’
Sitting around the Shabbat table, mourning once again a peace process gone bad, I casually mentioned, “This is not the first time this has happened. Sixty years ago, almost to the day, a ‘peace process’ was torpedoed by the Lavon Affair.’” “The ‘Lavon Affair’? What’s that?” Few remember the Lavon Affair, the cause célèbre in…
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Opinion When ‘Apartheid’ Could Be the Word
Palestinian students perform in a play against Israel’s separation barrier at the Arab American University in the West Bank. What’s all the fuss about? Secretary of State John Kerry has spoken the truth. He did so, first, in warning about apartheid. It does not exist at present: Israel’s occupation of the West Bank is a…
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