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
‘Open Orthodoxy’ Is Not Really Orthodox At All
The perils of religious self-definition became amusingly apparent in the recent Pew survey of American Jews. One category of “Jews” was “Jews by affinity” – Americans lacking any Jewish parentage or any Jewish background who simply choose to call themselves Jews; more than one million people so identified themselves. Similarly suspicious are the survey’s self-described…
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Opinion Sheldon Adelson Crosses Line With ‘Morally Bankrupt’ Nuke Iran Remarks
During the 2012 Republican primary campaign, the panelists on the ABC Sunday morning talk show This Week were asked to comment on a remark by Donald Trump. George Will, a generally reserved, dignified and unexcitable conservative, simply exploded. Trump, he said, was a “bloviating idiot,” and in Will’s opinion, unworthy of any serious consideration. It…
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Opinion News Quiz: Lou Reed, Leonard Bernstein and Billy Crystal
Lou Reed, exposed! Leonard Bernstein, less so! And Hitler? He’s hiding in plain sight in this week’s Jewish news quiz, which also touches upon twerking and Billy Crystal. (But not Billy Crystal twerking.)
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Opinion Obamacare’s Server Not Responding
The dismaying events of the last month in Washington prove that government itself is on trial in America. This cannot be dismissed by those of us who would like to believe that the dysfunction in the nation’s capital is caused only by crazy Tea Partiers or inept web designers. The inexcusable shutdown of the federal…
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Opinion Violence Feared As Settler Pols Demonize Livni
Tensions within Israel’s governing coalition are reaching a boiling point over the impending release of 26 more prisoners, part of the agreement between Prime Minister Netanyahu and Secretary of State Kerry that paved the way for renewal of Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations. The cabinet is expected to vote on the latest release, the second in the…
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Opinion Debate Occupation? No Thanks, We’re Jewish.
During a recent visit to the Forward’s newsroom, Jerry Silverman, president and CEO of the Jewish Federations of North America, was brimming with enthusiasm for the upcoming annual gathering of local Jewish charity federations nationwide, known as the General Assembly, which will take place this year not in the United States, but in Jerusalem. The…
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Opinion Emailing With the Pope
Given the explosion of interest — and research — into neurochemistry, we may before too long end up with an entirely mechanistic theory of being. If a lie detector, why not a love detector? Professions of love will be trumped by chemical analysis; proof is not in the sonnets or the roses but in the…
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Opinion 6 Ways Michael Bloomberg Can Spend $1M Prize
Earlier this week, a few Russian billionaires gave billionaire New York’s outgoing mayor Michael Bloomberg a $1 million dollar Jewish prize. We have some bright ideas about what he should do with all that cash. The million bucks, chump change for the richest man in New York City, came along with the Genesis Prize, bestowed…
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Opinion What Do We Prize About Michael Bloomberg?
I tried. I really did. On the morning after the Genesis Foundation announced the inaugural recipient of its prize to the most inspiring Jew in the world, I sat across a breakfast table from Natan Sharansky and listened hard to his ebullient defense of bestowing the $1 million award on Michael Bloomberg. I didn’t mention…
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Opinion Editor’s Choice: A Victim’s Story, Jacob Pressman at 94
The Forward is partnering with other Jewish newspapers to offer our readers a peek at some of the best stories from around the country, as selected by the editors at those papers. We will offer a selection of unedited links with brief introductions from the editors of the papers. Between Victim And Perpetrator By Maayan…
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Opinion Separate in Beit Shemesh?
One of the most bitterly fought cities in Israel’s local elections held on Tuesday was Beit Shemesh, the flashpoint town near Jerusalem. Now, the government is apparently mulling a plan to prevent passions getting so high in the future. Beit Shemesh is famous for its deep tensions between Haredi and non-Haredi residents. In fact, since…
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Opinion The Gaza hostage crisis could forever change how American Jews relate to Israel — but it’s not too late to fix that
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Yiddish ווידעאָ: היסטאָריקערין וויווי לאַקס באַשרײַבט געשיכטע פֿון לאָנדאָנער ייִדישער פּרעסעVIDEO: Historian Vivi Laks tells history of the London Yiddish Press
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Yiddish World Puppet Monty Pickle is guest on the Forward’s ‘Yiddish Word of the Day’
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News Who is Bruce Blakeman, the ‘Almost Orthodox’ Jew running for New York governor?
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