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
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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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Opinion Ralph Miliband Smear Hints at Darker Motive
Given that The Daily Mail has never liked anyone whose politics are to the left of General Franco, it is hardly surprising that they would not care for Ralph Miliband or indeed his son, Ed. After all, Ralph Miliband was one of the foremost English socialist thinkers and writers of the 20th century. Miliband favoured…
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Opinion Good Luck, Nate Lavey and Abigail Jones
When you run a relatively small news organization in a gigantic city, it’s inevitable that talented staff members will get recruited to bigger jobs. So it’s with a mixture of pride and sadness that I report on the departure of two respected colleagues, Nate Lavey and Abigail Jones. Both originally came here as interns, and…
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Opinion How I Broke ‘Cycle of Assimilation’ Away From Jewish Engagement
According to the results of the most recent Pew survey of Jewish America, I represent the best hope for the future of the Jewish people. I guess I’d better explain that one. The Pew survey found a significant rise in those who are not religious, marry outside the faith and are not raising their children…
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Opinion The Numbers Show an Intolerant Israel
Suddenly, there’s a torrent of data — polls of American Jewish opinion (Pew), of Israeli public opinion (Israel Democracy Institute) and illuminating reports on sundry aspects of life, here and in Israel. One such report, one that has lamentably garnered less attention than the public opinion results, is a report published by Peace Now, an…
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Opinion Editor’s Choice: Millennials Speak on Pew
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. From the Jewish Journal of Los…
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Opinion Take Debt Limit to Court. It’s Unconstitutional
Wait a minute: I still don’t understand why the idea of a debt ceiling is constitutional. The last I heard, the Fourteenth Amendment was still part of the Constitution. Here’s Section 4: The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for…
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