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
When It Comes to ‘Ultra’ History Speaks for Itself
Getty Images In a recent essay in the Forward, I made the case for jettisoning the time-honored (if, to me, less than honorable) term “ultra-Orthodox.” I argued that, like “ultra-conservative” or “ultra-liberal” in domestic politics, the prefix implies extremism, something that isn’t accurate about most Haredim. What best to replace it with is less obvious,…
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Opinion Israel Takes Cue From Apartheid ‘Divide-and-Rule’ Playbook
Few things get under the skin of supporters of Israel like the use of the term ‘apartheid’ to describe the state or its policies. Less than two weeks ago, a campaign named Rethink2014 was launched by pro-Israel activists to challenge what it calls “the Apartheid smear,” just ahead of the global event known as Israel…
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Opinion Hobby Lobby Discriminates in the Name of Religion With Help from Orthodox Outliers
Next month, the Supreme Court will hear the most important abortion case in decades. Like the recent anti-gay law vetoed by Arizona Governor Jan Brewer, it turns on the meaning of the term “religious liberty.” The case — actually a consolidation of two similar cases, Hobby Lobby v. Sebelius and Conestoga Wood v. Sebelius —…
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Opinion Revenge May Drive Haredi Settlement Boycott
Ultra-Orthodox lawmaker Meir Porush at a Jerusalem polling station in 2008. / Getty Images A boycott of West Bank settlements is a favorite subject for discussion among Palestinian activists and Western liberals alike. Surprisingly, it’s getting some ultra-Orthodox Israelis talking too. In fact, a Haredi lawmaker has revealed that he’s coming under “tremendous pressure” to…
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Opinion New on 50-Shekel Bill: Bard of Zionist Humanism
The Bank of Israel, the Jewish state’s central bank (equivalent to the Fed), has rolled out the design for its new 50 shekel note, and the face on the front is of someone you wouldn’t particularly expect from a government widely depicted as rightist, xenophobic and religious-dominated: the great socialist Hebrew poet Shaul Tchernichovsky. The…
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Opinion The Haredi Community Isn’t ‘Ultra.’ Really?
Ultra-Orthodox bride Rivka Hannah (Hofman) at her Jerusalem wedding in 2014. / Getty Images About 20 years ago, when I was a staff writer for JTA, the editor and I were called into Agudath Israel of America for a meeting on the “ultra-Orthodox” issue. Rabbi Avi Shafran and other Agudah representatives were unhappy even then…
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Opinion WATCH: Netanyahu Speech to Congress Streaming Live
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Opinion The Children Left Out of Judaism
My grandchild with special needs failed Sunday school. Actually, to be accurate, Sunday school failed her. Because the teacher had no idea how to include her in the class, even after her mother shared some ideas, she spent most of her time coloring with a teen volunteer. She was “welcome,” but only in the sense…
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Opinion Ukraine Crisis: Bad for AIPAC, Good for Bibi
Pro-Russian activists rally March 1 in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk / Getty Images The AIPAC conference may be opening at an awkward time for the lobby, as the Forward’s Nathan Guttman writes today. Beyond the fact that it’s still licking its wounds from the Iran sanctions imbroglio and has no clear message to…
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Opinion Israel Continues To Erase the Green Line
Regular readers of my columns in this newspaper will perhaps have noticed that I’ve written very little about Israel in recent weeks. There’s a reason for that — to wit, my conviction that Israel’s occupation of the West Bank is so harmful to the country, to say nothing of its manifest harm to the Palestinian…
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Opinion Why We Use the ‘U-Word’ to Describe Very Observant Orthodox
The debate prompted by Rabbi Avi Shafran’s request published last week — “Don’t Call Us ‘Ultra-Orthodox,’” as its online headline read — is not a new one, but this will be the first time in more than five years as editor-in-chief that I publicly provide an answer and an explanation. The Forward will continue to…
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