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
A New Relationship Between Israel and the Diaspora
The relationship of the State of Israel with Diaspora Jewry is undergoing a historic shift that is at once inevitable and surprising, a healthy and welcome calibration but one fraught with worrying consequences. No longer is Israel the poor, scrappy cousin dependent on a financial lifeline from its wealthier relatives in exile — a lifeline…
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Opinion Knesset Liberals Block New Settlement Funding
New outpost goes up at Eli, Judea-West Bank, February 2008, courtesy of the World Zionist Organization / Getty Images The settler movement and its right-wing Knesset allies are finding they’ve got their hands full swatting back demands from the center and left — an unusual alliance of Labor, Yesh Atid and Tzipi Livni’s Hatnuah —…
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Opinion News Quiz: Martin Scorsese, Ritz Crackers and James Deen
From Jewish porn stars to bacon-flavored Kosher treats to Martin Scorsese’s new, “Jewish” movie, the world is becoming a very eclectic place. Or at least this quiz is.
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Opinion Israel Makes Some Headway at U.N.
As someone who has protested outside the gates of the United Nations on several occasions, I find it astonishing to now witness some heartening developments at the world body. Contrary to the dire predictions that the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, settlement growth, and systemic discrimination at the United Nations are leading to Israel’s increasing…
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Opinion Bernie Madoff Didn’t Betray ‘The Jews’
Bernie Madoff / Eli Valley In an interview from prison last week, Bernie Madoff insisted, “I don’t feel that I betrayed the Jews, I betrayed people.” I’m no psychologist, and it’s possible he was just trying to salvage any scrap of social and cultural connection as he languishes alone. But taking his words at face…
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Opinion Bernie Madoff, Our Convenient Scapegoat
You couldn’t dream up a better villain. Bernie Madoff, the man we all love to hate, is back in the news, opining from his jail cell on matters political, ethical and financial, this time in an interview with Politico magazine. Madoff won’t win many friends with this new interview, and may even gain a few…
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Opinion Netanyahu’s Fake Jerusalem Stalls Peace
Benjamin Netanyahu / Getty Images Last week we learned that Israel’s government is advancing plans for another 2,269 settler homes in the West Bank and East Jerusalem; 144 are planned for the Jerusalem settlement neighborhood of Har Homa. Discussion surrounding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict tends to focus on minutiae, or the broad sweep of an entire…
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Opinion A Shabbat Lesson From Doomed Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 — or Not
(Haaretz) — While the world anxiously awaits information regarding the mysterious disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, a perplexing Jewish angle to the story has emerged. In short, a Jewish traveler who is not Sabbath observant was booking a flight through a Jewish travel agent. The traveler planned on flying on Flight 370 on the…
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Opinion How I Built My Jewish Charity Database
Last summer, I hit upon a way to measure Jewish institutional power: Using data from the IRS, I would gather financial information on every single Jewish organization that files a tax return. My first story based on that project is printed in this issue of the Forward. This addendum, which is only for readers with…
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Opinion Baghdad Ranked ‘Worst City in World’ to Live In
Boy aims toy gun at wreckage of a Baghdad car bombing, one of 9 across Iraq that killed 14 on March 5. And that wasn’t Iraq’s worst day in March. / Getty Images Mission Accomplished: Just in time for the 11th anniversary of America’s war to liberate Iraq, a leading global business consulting firm comes…
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Opinion Why a Sicilian Nun’s Song Moved Me as a Jew
I’m not usually the type of person who goes in for reality TV shows. Especially not when they revolve around singing competitions, and especially not when one of their singers’ performances becomes an overnight Internet sensation, to be endlessly posted and reposted on social media. So why did I feel compelled to watch a Sicilian…
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Fast Forward Unarmed man who tackled Bondi Beach Hanukkah attacker identified as Ahmed al-Ahmed
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Opinion I grew up believing Australia was the best place to be Jewish. This Hanukkah shooting forces a reckoning I do not want.
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Fast Forward Hanukkah shooting leaves at least 15 dead at Australia’s most popular beach
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Fast Forward Father and son suspects in Bondi Beach Hanukkah attack identified as Sajid and Naveed Akram by law enforcement
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Fast Forward Jewish groups condemn Coast Guard for secret swastika policy change
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Yiddish רבנישע כּתבֿים ווײַזן אומגעריכטע פֿאַרבינדונגען צווישן ייִדיש און לאַדינאָRabbinical texts reveal surprising links between Yiddish and Ladino
לויט אַ נײַ בוך פֿאָרשונגען האָבן טראַדיציאָנאַליסטן אין ביידע עדות געהאַלטן, אַז ייִדן מוזן אָפּהיטן זייער גערעדט לשון
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Opinion Why Poland’s president canceled his menorah lighting — and how the West helped make that happen
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Fast Forward 4 House Democrats introduce bill that would enact progressive vision for fighting antisemitism
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