In the Forward’s opinion section, you’ll find analysis and essays from diverse corners of the Jewish world.
To pitch an opinion piece, email our Opinion Editor, Talya Zax.
Opinion
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Opinion
Don’t Send Eritreans Back to Hell Homeland
The following is an open letter to Michael Oren, Israel’s ambassador to the United States We are deeply concerned that Israel is about to return Eritrean asylum seekers before allowing for an appropriate refugee status determination process to take place. According to those detained in the Saharonim internment camp for asylum seekers, on July 14,…
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Opinion How Fracking Conflicts With Kabbalah
Every year, more than 100 billion gallons of water are used in the United States for hydraulic fracturing or “fracking,” a process that breaks up rock in order to force out millions of cubic feet of natural gas. What people may not realize is that most of this water stays deep underground. The 20%–50% of…
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Opinion What Makes Democracy — in Egypt and the U.S.?
“… whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it.” —U.S. Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776 It’s funny how watching the news can take you to new places and remind you how alike we are under the skin. Take this…
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Opinion Jews Side With Mr. Clean Over Client 9
Jewish Democrats are sticking with Mr. Clean in his battle with Client No. 9. In other words, Jews favor Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer in the race for New York City Comptroller, despite the headline-grabbing late entry of former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer into the once-sleepy contest. Stringer trounced Spitzer among New York City…
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Opinion Justice Delayed and Denied to Victims of Argentina Jewish Center Terror Bombing
A powerful bomb destroyed the seven-story building in downtown Buenos Aires 19 years ago this week. Amidst the rubble of the Argentine Israelite Mutual Aid Association (AMIA) — the main Argentine Jewish organization — were 85 dead, Jews and non-Jews ranging in age from 18 to 73. Another 300 were injured. The country’s top political…
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Opinion Congress SNAPs Fingers — and Poor Risk Losing Food Stamps
Context: Some years back – in 1986, to be precise – there was a day called “Hands Across America,” an effort to create a living line from Los Angeles to New York (minus, if memory serves, the Rockies). The purpose was to raise money to do battle against hunger. Nearly 7,000,000 people participated and the…
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Opinion British Zealot’s Libertarian Lipstick
It was ever-so-slightly distressing to see an august community institution like London’s Jewish Chronicle granting a platform to Nigel Farage, leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP), on Wednesday evening. As someone who dedicates a good deal of his days to fostering an unwelcome climate for the most vulnerable in society — tarting up…
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Opinion Trayvon Martin and the 55% Tragedy
By now most of us have heard the big numbers involved in gun violence in this country. Given the anguished cries of protest following the acquittal of George Zimmerman, it’s time we started paying attention to some of the smaller numbers. In 2010 there were 31,672 deaths from firearms in the United States, according to…
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Opinion The Power of the Press
Last December, when Forward staff writer Paul Berger was immersed in reporting allegations of sexual abuse at Yeshiva University’s high school for boys, I could see firsthand the toll it took on him. Our newsroom had been displaced by Hurricane Sandy, and we were temporarily working in a massive, open space without offices or cubicles….
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Opinion Trayvon Martin, George Zimmerman and Din Rodef
It’s rare that Saturday nights and Sunday mornings in America are so focused on a court decision. But since last night’s acquittal of George Zimmerman in the shooting of 17-year-old unarmed Trayvon Martin, it seems that all of America is talking about the verdict reached by six anonymous female jury members in Florida. Individuals and…
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Opinion Why I Resigned From Claims Conference Board — And Why You Should Care
After serving for a decade on the Board of Directors of the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, I resigned in protest on July 10. The Claims Conference, as it is commonly known, was created in 1951 to secure some measure of justice for Jewish victims of Nazi persecution. Its staff of 400 administers…
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