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
-
Opinion
Jewish Innovation Needs Collaboration
The Jewish innovation economy is booming. One study from 2010 claimed that about 600 new initiatives had been launched in the previous decade. These Jewish startups represent millions of dollars in investment on programs that reach thousands of American Jews. But despite this proliferation, another recent study, conducted by the organization Bikkurim, declared that “the…
-
Opinion Obama Rolls Out His Rabbis
Obama’s reelection campaign launched its list of Rabbis for Obama, which includes some 600 rabbis of all denominations pledging their support for the president. The campaign takes pride in the number of rabbis on the list. In 2008 only 300 rabbis signed on, now the number has doubled. “Their ringing endorsement of President Obama speaks…
-
Opinion ‘Lynching’ in Zion Square
On August 17, a mob of several dozen Israeli Jewish teenagers — some reports say as many as 50 — assaulted four Palestinian youths in the center of Jerusalem in an attack that the Jerusalem police have labeled an attempted “lynching.” The young people shouted “death to Arabs” as they chased down and beat the…
Columnists View All
The Latest
-
Opinion Ignoring Anti-Semitism Is Sometimes Best
Nearly 100 years ago, Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis famously coined the phrase “sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants” in praise of transparency and honesty in public policy. Not long after, Jewish communal organizations (within which Brandeis was an active supporter of the Zionist cause) appropriated the phrase for their own purposes,…
-
Opinion The Debate We Need
The selection of U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan as Mitt Romney’s running mate has been heralded by those who wish to see this year’s tedious, tendentious presidential campaign elevated to a genuine national debate on the size and scope of government. Who can object to that? But if this election is truly going to be about…
-
Opinion Bibi’s Iran Plan Rests on Shaky Ground
Israel’s leading television news program, Channel 2 News, now informs us that Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defense Minister Barak are “on the brink” of approving an Israeli military attack on Iran. Their thinking, as reported, hinges on two very iffy assumptions. The first is about America’s intentions. The Israeli leaders, we’re told, do not believe…
-
Opinion Taking Ownership of Our Talmud
No Jewish tradition is more revered, more popularly identified with Judaism than learning. And yet, strangely, the commandment to study Torah appears nowhere in the Torah. It actually originates in the Talmud. The sages inferred it from the biblical commandment to “teach it (the Torah) diligently to thy children” (Deuteronomy 6:7). They figured you can’t…
-
Opinion The Voter Fraud Fraud
Officials of the state of Pennsylvania can offer no evidence of anyone fraudulently voting in person for more than a decade, or planning to do so in November. None. But that didn’t stop Republican lawmakers and the Republican governor in this all-important swing state from enacting an outrageous new law requiring that anyone seeking to…
-
Opinion Sh-Berman Heat Wave Grips La La Land
“Almost like in a boxing ring,” exclaimed a breathless local Fox News reporter. “Sparks flew” gasped the L.A. Times, describing Thursday night’s debate between dueling Jewish congressmen Howard Berman and Brad Sherman. But the soporific chin wagging between the two liberal, pro-Israel, balding Democrats, who were tossed by redistricting into a fight for the San…
-
Letters No Coincidence
Your August 3 article, “Circle of Pro-Israel Writers Rises,” mentions two former editors at Foreign Affairs, David Feith and Jordan Hirsch. What the article didn’t say was that each got his position, in subsequent years, through an extraordinarily competitive annual search for our junior editorial slot, beating out hundreds of other super-qualified candidates — and…
-
Opinion Ayelet’s Legacy
Just over six months have gone by since little Ayelet Galena passed away, following a bone marrow transplant. The toddler’s struggle with a rare disease drew an outpouring of sympathy and support online. And Ayelet’s short life continues to have an impact. The effort of her parents, Seth and Hindy Poupko Galena, modern Orthodox Jews…
Explore
Most Popular
- 1
Exclusive Mahmoud Khalil wants to reassure you
- 2
Culture 70 years ago, this Jewish choreographer predicted our epidemic of loneliness and isolation
- 3
Opinion Trump is backed into a corner on Iran. Get ready for him to start blaming Jews
- 4
Culture The original anti-Zionists have been all but forgotten. Molly Crabapple wants to change that.
In Case You Missed It
-
Fast Forward Dan Bilzerian wants to ‘kill Israelis’ and thinks Judaism is ‘terrible.’ Now he’s running for Congress.
-
Fast Forward After AIPAC-backed primary loss, Tom Malinowski endorses rival who says Israel committed genocide
-
Opinion Viktor Orbán may fall. Netanyahu should be next
-
Opinion Hungary is poised to topple an authoritarian leader. American Jews have something to learn
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
