Opinion

• Opinion

  Cosgrove: Jewish law can guide Israel to fight a just war

  “The question is not whether Israel has the right to defend itself, but whether Israel will be smart and moral in this war of obligation.”

  By Elliot Cosgrove

  4 min read
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  Opinion

  Her ‘Amen’ to my kaddish was full of empathy. Now we’ll be saying it for her

  A rabbi recalls a chance encounter with Samantha Woll, president of the Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue, who was stabbed to death in Detroit

  By Rabbi David-Seth Kirshner Oct 22, 2023 | 3 min read
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  Opinion

  Jews shaken by the attacks must remember that oppression and hate have never ended

  'I always feel like there’s a bright pink fluorescent target on my back'

  By Robin Washington Oct 21, 2023 | 3 min read

Columnists View All

• Jodi Rudoren This is my last column as editor of the Forward

  

• Jay Michaelson Mamdani’s victory is an opportunity for Jews to relearn the art of disagreement

  

• Rob Eshman Pro-Palestinian protesters are suddenly supporting Iran. They might want to talk to some Palestinians

  

• Nora Berman Did Netanyahu coerce Trump into attacking Iran? No — but he tried with Obama

  

• Dan Perry For Trump and Netanyahu, statecraft is now synonymous with stagecraft

  

• Emily Tamkin Zohran Mamdani’s victory proves it: The ‘gotcha’ mode of fighting antisemitism has to go

  

The Latest

• 
  Opinion

  Calling Israel’s actions ‘genocide’ harms the cause of human rights everywhere

  'Genocide' has a very specific legal definition within human rights law — it shouldn't be used carelessly to make polemical points

  By Jay Michaelson Oct 20, 2023 | 5 min read
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  Opinion

  An Israeli airstrike just destroyed my family home in Gaza. I refuse to be consumed by hate and revenge

  Two peoples with past traumas and an intertwined fate: Why coexistence, justice and peace are the only way forward

  By Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib Oct 20, 2023 | 5 min read
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  Opinion

  A chance encounter with an Arab woman during the war has taught me the power of grieving together

  There is more opportunity for compassion in private conversations than the public square

  By Julia Lieblich Oct 20, 2023 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  Will Hamas say ‘Uncle!’ before America says ‘Enough!’?

  Israel has to avoid civilian casualties, even if America doesn't

  By Rob Eshman Oct 19, 2023 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  My family is trapped in Gaza. They’re not the ‘other team’

  Palestinian lives have been consistently devalued and dehumanized by US and Israeli officials

  By Yousef Bashir Oct 19, 2023 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  I’m a gay Black Jew, and I feel abandoned by the allies I’ve supported for years

  Why is the LGBTQ+ community pledging allegiance to a regime that wants to kill us?

  By David Christopher Kaufman Oct 19, 2023 | 4 min read
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  Opinion

  We are faculty at UC Berkeley, and are grievously disappointed by some student organizations’ support of Hamas

  There are more than 300 signatories on a faculty letter condemning the attacks on Israel

  By Kenneth A. Bamberger, and Shafi Goldwasser, and Ron E. Hassner, and Carla Hesse, and Ethan B. Katz, and Daniela Kaufer, and Eran Rabani, and Michael Shapira, and Jonathan Wurtele Oct 18, 2023 | 2 min read
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  Opinion

  Why won’t UC Berkeley condemn the hate speech of people who celebrate a pogrom?

  Campuses have split over how to protect free speech and students. This war has proved their failure

  By Mark Brilliant Oct 18, 2023 | 3 min read