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
Trayvon Martin, O.J. Simpson and the Remedy for Injustice
What happens when following the letter of the law still leads to an unjust outcome? What is the remedy? What, besides expressing deep outrage, are ordinary citizens to do? The acquittal of George Zimmerman of murder and manslaughter charges in the death of Trayvon Martin left many Americans holding two thoughts that at first seem…
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Opinion Extortion Common in Israel Divorces: Study
Israel’s rabbinical establishment has responded to a worrying survey pointing to the widespread extortion by husbands whose wives want divorces. And instead of moving to stop the phenomenon, it has simply attacked the survey — conducted by one of Israel’s largest polling firms commissioned by a major university. For Israel’s Jewish population, all marriage-related matters…
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Opinion Can Israel’s Electric Car Revolution Rev Up?
Can the American man leading Israel’s solar power revolution work his magic on the country’s ailing electric car company? Better Place launched with big, international plans, but went bankrupt earlier this year. Now, Yosef Abramowitz, an idealistic American businessman who first became acquainted with Israel on a Young Judea gap-year program and has had a…
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Opinion Trayvon Martin, Crown Heights and a Civil Rights Case Against George Zimmerman
The preamble to the U.S. Constitution — which speaks of preserving justice, domestic tranquility, general welfare, liberty and, not least, a sense of national unity — could read like a CliffNotes version of the Trayvon Martin-George Zimmerman debate. Taken together, these words suggest that the feds have a duty to intervene. But how? I’d argue…
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Opinion News Quiz: Of Archaeologists and Anti-Circumcision Activists
Hollywood hunks, NBA stars, Ginsu knives — they’re all here in this week’s news quiz, ready to amuse, amaze and Amar’e. Follow the jump for the quiz!
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Opinion Dave Goldiner and Abigail Jones Win Promotions
I am pleased to announce that two members of the Forward editing team are being promoted to positions that reflect their journalistic strengths and skills. Dave Goldiner is the new director of digital media. Dave has shared responsibility for the digital team for the past year, and deserves credit for the enormous growth in our…
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Opinion Untold Stories of the ‘T’ Folks in LGBT
This week, the Forward launched our month-long series on the lives of transgender Jews. Our project kicked off with six profiles of transgender rabbis and rabbinical students. As the editor of the series, I first became interested in transgender issues after I spent a year reporting on gay and lesbian inclusion in Jewish settings. In…
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Opinion Pope John Paul II’s Divided Loyalties to Jews
The Vatican has recently announced that two popes who were pioneers in Christian-Jewish relations — John XXIII and John Paul II — are leading candidates for canonization as saints in the Roman Catholic Church. John Paul II was, of course, the pope who followed in the steps of John XXIII in his forthright condemnation of…
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Opinion At Scandal-Plagued IRS, Agents Make Crucial Judgments About God and Taxes
Of all the things we’ve learned about the Internal Revenue Service these past few weeks, the most amazing item is this: The IRS has a highly attenuated sense for the proper place for God in our lives. Just listen in on a telephone conversation from 2012: An IRS agent named Sherry Wan is telling the…
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Opinion Jews on 1st? Baseball and the Quest for Identity
This year’s Major League Baseball All Stars game had two arguably Jewish players on the roster (out of 78 players total): second-baseman Jason Kipnis of Cleveland (American League) and first-baseman Paul Goldschmidt of Arizona (National League). Both have Jewish fathers and Christian mothers (same as the two arguably Jewish players on last year’s All Star…
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Opinion Saving Trayvon Martin — With Jewish Law
Under Jewish law one must protect oneself by injuring, instead of killing, a potential assailant, unless killing is the only option. One is also required to avoid any situation in which one’s life may be placed in danger. If George Zimmerman had abided by these simple principles, he should have chosen to avoid conflict and…
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