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
The Oscar Goes to — Israel’s Dirty Laundry
This is a big year for Israel at the Oscars. After a half-century of snubs and near-misses, Israel’s film industry stands its best chance ever of taking home the statuette. Of the five best documentary nominees, two are Israeli. Unfortunately, many Israelis aren’t celebrating. Both nominees are about Israeli-Palestinian relations, and both make Israel look…
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Opinion The Jewish Translation That Rewrote the Bible
“The Catholics have done it; the Protestants have done it; AND NOW THE JEWS ARE GOING TO DO IT!” So began a 1956 solicitation letter for, of all things, a new Jewish translation of the Bible. Fifty years have now passed since the first part of that translation, “The Torah: The Five Books of Moses,”…
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Opinion The Jewish Earth Day
Social justice again? No, social justice still, this time with a twist. Soon it will be Tu B’Shvat, familiarly known as “the Birthday of the Trees,” and often understood as a kind of Jewish Arbor Day. Let’s all go out and plant trees. Planting trees is a good thing to do, but it seems quite…
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Opinion Israel’s Supposed Lurch to Right Was Just a Myth
For a few years now I’ve been carping at the widening gap between perception and reality among both critics and supporters of Israel in the United States. Now that I’ve arrived in Washington for a prolonged stay (a new job, but please don’t call it yerida), I’m just starting to see how deep the rabbit…
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Opinion Yiddish Forverts Seeks New Audience Online
Dear Readers, Do you speak or understand some Yiddish? Would you like to comprehend more of the mameloshn? We invite you visit the new website at yiddish.forward.com to sample podcasts, English-subtitled videos and articles with pop-up translations from the new Comprehensive Yiddish-English Dictionary, all to make the vibrant and diverse world of Yiddish culture and…
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Opinion Nechemya Weberman’s 103-Year Sentence Is Clumsy Slap at Ultra-Orthodox Jews
When is a long prison sentence too long? That’s the question many inside and outside the ultra-Orthodox community are asking this week after a judge dealt Nechemya Weberman a 103-year term behind bars for abusing a young girl. “The abuse of a child cannot be swept under the rug or dealt with by insular groups…
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Opinion Yuri Foreman Wins! I Pull Up the Blankets.
Sitting in my living room wearing pajamas on an especially frigid night watching a live stream of the Yuri Foreman fight, I could not help but marvel at the ability to watch a non-title boxing match in such a small arena (a Times Square blues club!) live over the Internet. Truly, we are in the…
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Opinion Yair Lapid, Telegenic Kingmaker, Has Rough Road Ahead
Moments after exit polls confirmed his surprise second-place showing in Israel’s January 22 parliamentary elections, political neophyte Yair Lapid faced his giddy supporters and declared: “A serious responsibility has been placed on our shoulders tonight.” That’s for sure. With left and right exactly tied at 60 seats each in the 120-seat parliament (with 99.8% of…
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Opinion Take This Out of Context, Morsi
A delegation of American senators met earlier this month in Cairo with a spokesperson for Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi, according to the New York Times. The spokesperson clarified press accounts of Mr. Morsi’s recent description of Jews as “bloodsuckers,” “pigs” and “dogs.” The remarks, he explained, were “taken out of context.” The senators left the…
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Opinion Bibi’s Deciding Vote
The Israeli electorate has spoken. And the results of the January 22 parliamentary elections were not quite as predictable as expected. For one thing, the supposedly apathetic Israelis turned out in higher numbers than the four previous elections — a victory itself for Israeli democracy. And, Benjamin Netanyahu, though his party (which had combined its…
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Opinion What’s Yair Lapid’s Next Move?
What is Yair Lapid’s next move? The man who shocked Israel with a stunning showing in the elections could try to establish a “blocking coalition” by uniting parties that want to stop Benjamin Netanyahu from forming the next government. Labor would definitely be game for that, as would Meretz, Hadash, the Arab parties and probably…
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