Opinion

• Opinion

  Send Us Your Forward 50 Nominations

  Each year, the Forward publishes the Forward 50, which is our opinionated list of American Jews who made a difference in the preceding 12 months. Creating the list is a long process for the staff of the Forward. Each of us is required to propose names of candidates — and defend our choices in meetings…

  By Jane Eisner

  < 1 min read
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  Opinion

  Jews Shape American Culture More Than Ever — Even as Pew Warns of Assimilation

  When the results of the 1990 National Jewish Population Survey appeared, a sense of panic was quickly followed by a commitment to purpose. True, an intermarriage rate of 52%, later lowered in order to account for sampling difficulties, caused some to claim that assimilation was more destructive of Jewish life than Nazism was. But the…

  By Alan Wolfe Oct 16, 2013 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  No Censorship at Theater J

  A small yet vocal group seems to be holding the artistic and ethical sensibilities of the Jewish community of Washington, D.C. hostage, leading Theatre J to scale back its planned production of ‘The Admission’ by Motti Lerner. Theatre, like all arts, is meant to create dialogue as well as delight, foster intellectual discourse for new…

  By David Y. Chack Oct 16, 2013 | 2 min read

Columnists View All

• Jodi Rudoren This is my last column as editor of the Forward

  

• Jay Michaelson American Jews were played — now what?

  

• Rob Eshman A new humanitarian outrage is unfolding in the Middle East. It’s not in Gaza

  

• Nora Berman The left is turning on AOC over Israel — and imperiling its own agenda

  

• Dan Perry What exactly is going on between Israel and Syria — and is the prospect of peace dead?

  

• Emily Tamkin Zohran Mamdani’s victory proves it: The ‘gotcha’ mode of fighting antisemitism has to go

  

The Latest

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  Opinion

  Pew Stands By Sweeping Findings on #JewishAmerica in Face of Criticism

  The Pew Research Center’s recent independent survey of Jewish America is the most comprehensive national poll of the U.S. Jewish population in more than a decade, and we are pleased that it has captured the interest of the American public, and beyond. Our survey builds on the Jewish community’s long and proud tradition of conducting…

  By Alan Cooperman and Greg Smith Oct 15, 2013 | 5 min read
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  Opinion

  How We Cover Sammy Cohen-Eckstein’s Death

  The morning after the funeral for Samuel Cohen-Eckstein, the Brooklyn teenager who was killed by a van just a month before his bar mitzvah, the leaders of his family’s synagogue wrote to me, extremely upset about our coverage. Since these are leaders I respect, who raised serious, vexing questions, I responded to them right away….

  By Jane Eisner Oct 14, 2013 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  News Quiz: Bageling, Polyamorous Jews and More!

  Polyamorous Jews? They’re in quiz this week — and maybe even in your shul. If you’re ever bored, well, now you can look around for something besides who’s wearing the most sports-obsessed kippah. (And, by the way, why is that even kosher? What would Rashi say about a skullcap emblazoned “METS!”?) Also here: A bit…

  By Lenore Skenazy Oct 14, 2013 | < 1 min read
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  Opinion

  Pew Findings on Israel Show Criticism Has Entered Jewish Mainstream

  The new Pew Center study on Jewish American life has been the subject of much handwringing since it came out last week, as the results show a weakening of connection to Jewish life among the non-Orthodox, as well as a weakening connection to Israel. For many years now, the lament of the organized Jewish community…

  By Rebecca Vilkomerson Oct 14, 2013 | 3 min read
• Opinion

  Knesset Returns To Work — At Last

  The Knesset returned to work today, after its exceedingly long summer break, and all indications are that we’re in for a session full of passion, arguments, and anger. The key issues on the table divide Israel along its various social and electoral cleavages: religious, ethnic, dove-hawk, and left-right on domestic matters. And of course, this…

  By Nathan Jeffay Oct 14, 2013 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  And Now for Some Good News About the Pew Survey

  Initial reactions to the recent Pew Research Center’s study of American Jews have been almost knee-jerk in their pessimism. One commentator called the portrait a “grim” one. Another viewed the study’s results as “devastating,” with its evidence of “so much assimilation.” This rush to gloom brings to mind the old sendoff about the definition of…

  By Bethamie Horowitz Oct 14, 2013 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Pew Survey About Jewish America Got It All Wrong

  If you’ve been following the news about that new survey of American Jews from the folks at the Pew Research Center, you’ve probably heard the basics. The New York Times summed it up nicely: “a significant rise in those who are not religious, marry outside the faith and are not raising their children Jewish.” There’s…

  By J.J. Goldberg Oct 13, 2013 | 5 min read
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  Opinion

  Is Bibi Softening His Line on ‘Undivided’ Jerusalem?

  It’s been a week since Bar-Ilan 2, Benjamin Netanyahu’s jarringly hardline policy address October 6 at the university campus where he first endorsed Palestinian statehood in 2009. And so far there’s been almost no public reaction. What little attention there’s been has gone mostly to his defiantly hardline statements on Iran. The important part has…

  By J.J. Goldberg Oct 13, 2013 | 3 min read