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
Is Pope Francis Most Small-C Catholic Pontiff Ever?
There has been near-universal joyous reaction to Pope Francis’s recent proclamation that the Roman Catholic Church needs to focus less on issues like homosexuality, abortion and contraception and more on other, deeper spiritual matters. The Holy Father has been lauded for his humility, and his reasoned stance that the Church needs to find a new…
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Opinion Halacha at the Crosswalk
The recent incident this past Yom Kippur involving a woman in Jacksonville, Florida who was killed while crossing an intersection with dangerously fast cars was very tragic indeed. It not only left the sixteen year old daughter who was with her with life-threatening injuries, it left her orphaned r”l. This young lady had lost her…
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Opinion Can Catholic Church Thrive Without ‘Obsession’ on Gays and Abortion?
Like every other gay person I know, I rejoiced at the recent statement by Pope Francis I that, in his view, the Catholic Church has been overly “obsessed” with homosexuality, abortion and birth control. For one thing, I hope that the pope’s statement ends the massive crusade on the part of the United States Conference…
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Opinion News Quiz: What To Call Hanukkah/Thanksgiving?
We’ve got Anne ‘n’ Andy in this week’s quiz — Anne Frank and Andy Samberg, that is, both busy, as well as a peek at what may or may not be a real show: “Downton Rebbe.” And somehow Mariano Rivera made it in, too!
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Opinion Jerusalem’s Temple Mount Is for Jews, Too
A group of people partakes in violence to prevent a rival group from praying in a site that is deemed holy to both. The authorities in charge of the area restrict access to this revered spot and forbid the second group to enter because of fears of upcoming violent disturbances. At first glance, one would…
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Opinion Willie Rapfogel’s Fall From Grace
The sight of William E. Rapfogel being hustled into a car by two New York City law enforcement officers September 24 after he was arraigned on charges of stealing millions from the poverty charity he ran for more than two decades was embarrassing enough. The fact that Rapfogel was wearing a yarmulke made it only…
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Opinion Hipster Anne Frank Speaks Back From Twitter Attic
Guess who sent me an email from her attic — er, I mean, loft? My post here last Thursday about Hipster Anne Frank’s tasteless tweets didn’t sit well with her, and she wanted to let me know. She wrote me saying that I had gotten her all wrong. The email arrived two days after she…
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Opinion Lone Jew in Austria’s Far-Right Party
Parliamentary elections are held in Austria on Sept. 29 and polls suggest that the far right-wing Freedom Party will achieve one of the best results in its history — and may even shake the governing coalition. The Freedom Party has mostly been shunned by Jewish voters because it grew out of a federation of former…
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Opinion Celebrating Simchat Torah, Brooklyn-Style
It was a Simchat Torah celebration that surely most of the Hasidim walking past had never before witnessed: hundreds of liberal Jews, men and women, young children and the middle-aged, dancing together with Torah scrolls held aloft. Revelers twirled round and round in Brooklyn’s Grand Army Plaza, just outside the entrance to Prospect Park. “Simchat…
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Opinion Losing a Precious Outlet for Jewish Culture
When the Foundation for Jewish Culture closes its doors sometime next year, there won’t be many mourners saying Kaddish. Instead, the prevailing communal sentiment may very well be: “Yawn. We have too many agencies; one less will not matter!” But Kaddish ought be said for the FJC. The group’s lonely mourners will be those of…
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Opinion Hipster Anne Frank’s Tasteless Tweets
You know what happens when someone achieves iconic status? People forget they were a real person before they became an icon. And when people forget this important fact, things can get really ugly. Case in point: Anne Frank. I’m referring specifically to the new Hipster Anne Frank (@HipstrAnneFrank) Twitter account. The tagline: “bestselling memoirist/loft dweller/voice…
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