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
Whither Occupy Judaism?
Whither Occupy Wall Street? And whither Occupy Judaism? September 17, the one-year anniversary of the launching of the movement/mood/fracas, has been declared the Occupy National Day of Action. September 17 — or #S17, as it has inevitably been hashtagged — also happens to be Rosh Hashanah. And so, inevitably, Occupy Judaism has announced that there…
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Opinion Israelis Fear Iran, But Don’t Want Solo Strike
Listening to Israel’s political leaders, it sounds like the country might be at war by the time this piece goes to press. The government is counting on profound levels of fear in Israel to buoy its policies. Indeed, in January a survey of mine showed that Jewish respondents chose nuclear Iran as the top threat…
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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…
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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…
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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,…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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Books In ‘Something We Said,’ Richard Pryor’s daughter finds words to discuss the unspeakable
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Culture ‘My mayor Muslim, my bagel Jewish’ — the Knicks chant capturing New York’s soul
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Opinion It’s time for Jews who love Israel to give up on Zionism
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Opinion Israeli and diaspora Jews live in different realities. The Israel Day parade proved it
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News In Congress, a measure to tighten U.S.-Israel military ties sparks backlash on both sides of the aisle
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Yiddish World Israel names a street after renowned Yiddish poet Abraham Sutzkever
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Sports At the dawn of the World Cup, the story of the Jews who helped bring soccer to America
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Opinion ‘Remember the Liberty’ has become code for ‘Israel Is Evil’