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
Jewish Day Schools’ Dirty Little Secret
Two annual events in the Jewish community took place this week — the North American Jewish Day School Conference and the start of Jewish Disabilities Awareness Month. Perhaps not coincidentally, despite the fact that the Day School conference is the largest in history with more than 1,000 educators and supporters gathering in Washington, it does…
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Opinion Are Secular Jews Really Self-Deluded?
Not quite suddenly — it’s been unfolding intermittently for a while, and has venerable roots in earlier generations — the debate over what is meant by “secular Judaism” has been heating up. In God-centered understandings of Judaism (or “Jewishness,” if you prefer), the commitment of large numbers of Jews to social justice derives directly from…
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Opinion Shaul Mofaz, Israel’s Unlikely Kingmaker
Could a politician who almost disappeared in to obscurity be poised to take up one of the most powerful positions in Israel? It is safe to say that as chairman of the Kadima party Shaul Mofaz hasn’t been the greatest of successes. It’s hard to believe but Kadima was actually the biggest party in Knesset…
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Opinion Who Did the Jewish Settlers Vote For?
How did Benjamin Netanyahu do in West Bank settlements? Considering his party’s pro-settlement policies and the staunch pro-settlement positions of its leading Knesset members, you’d expect Netanyahu’s Likud-Beiteinu list to perform better among West Bank settlers than it did in Israel proper. It didn’t. Surprising as it may be, overall, only 19 percent of the…
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Opinion Will Obama Israel Trip Be Lapid Love-In?
Is Barack Obama’s upcoming visit to Israel going to turn into a Yair Lapid love-in? The Israeli daily Yedioth Araronoth, suggested in its editorial yesterday that Obama decided to come because Netanyahu is currently weak — because of the staggering success of Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid party. The administration is working on the premise that…
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Opinion The 21st-Century Rabbi
In Israel, there’s a fierce campaign being waged over control of the Chief Rabbinate, a powerful institution that regulates the lives of Israeli Jews from birth to death and a great deal in between. In Great Britain, the newly appointed chief rabbi is faced with proving to a skeptical Jewish community that his role is…
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Opinion When Bullying of Jewish Students Masks Ugly Anti-Semitism
Last year, Jewish high school students from Queens told me, almost as an aside, that classmates roll pennies in front of them. Two years ago, a group of high school students from the Binghamton, N.Y., area told me they were called “cheapie,” had to listen to chants of “Heil Hitler” and “Nazi,” and were kicked…
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Opinion Mon Dieu, C’est Le Forverts!
The Forward’s new Yiddish site has certainly taken off with a bang. In the days since the launch of the yiddish.forward.com site was announced, several major media outlets have run stories on it, and what it means for the future of the Yiddish language. We hoped the new site might get a lot of attention…
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Opinion Siegelmania’s Greatest Hits, Ed Koch Edition
The death of Ed Koch reminded us that in our archives we have a couple of poems about the mayor by the late, great poet of the Forward, Stanley Siegelman. These are too charming not to share again, so without further ado, we offer a special reissue of Siegelmania’s greatest Koch hits. Ed Koch’s Grave…
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Opinion Let Her Sing!
I held my seven month old daughter Ravi on my lap as we watched the video of Ophir Ben-Shetreet sing. The 17 year old alto gave a soulful performance on Israel’s The Voice, garnering the judge’s acclaim, and inducing some leg bopping on Ravi’s part. Recently, Ben-Shetreet has been the center of much controversy as…
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Opinion Who Are the Israeli Centrists and Why Did They Vote for Yair Lapid?
People overseas don’t understand the amazing success of Yair Lapid in Israel’s January 22 parliamentary elections. He hardly said a word about the Palestinians, the peace process, terrorism, war — all those things that Israelis are supposedly preoccupied with every waking minute. But I understand. For the past 15 years, I’ve been living in the…
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