Ari Hoffman is a contributing columnist for the Forward, where he writes about politics and culture. He is an adjunct assistant professor at New York University, and has a doctorate in English Literature from Harvard and a law degree from Stanford.
Ari Hoffman
By Ari Hoffman
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Opinion Debate | Is Bernie Sanders good for the Jews?
After sailing to victory in Saturday’s Nevada caucus, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders has emerged as the clear frontrunner in the race for the democratic presidential nomination. It’s a historic moment for American Jews; Sanders is the first Jew to get this far. But American Jewish voters could hardly be more divided over his success. For…
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Opinion A fight over Jewish identity is going to determine America’s future
Two Jews, one Oval Office: The plot is wild, too weird for even Roth or Bellow. And yet, as the Democratic primary revs into chaotic high gear, polling is increasingly presenting American Democrats with two septuagenarian Jews, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, facing off for the right to…
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Opinion Trump just committed the worst assault on democracy of his presidency
Just as the “perfect” phone call came the very day after the release of the Mueller report, President Trump followed up his Senate acquittal with another invitation to worry over the future of the Republic. Don’t let impeachment fatigue or images of lawyers pushing papers fool you: The uproar at the Justice Department is a…
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Opinion American Jews need a savior. It’s not Bernie Sanders.
So, it could really be Bernie. Amidst the wreckage of Iowa, Sen. Bernie Sanders, the democratic socialist from Vermont, looks ensconced in the catbird seat. He is seemingly ahead in the Hawkeye popular vote, and poised for a win in New Hampshire. Meanwhile, the ostensible front runner, Vice President Joe Biden, seems to be going…
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Opinion Give Trump’s peace plan a chance
After much delay, the Trump Administration this week announced that its Israeli-Palestinian peace plan, the “deal of the century,” is finally set for release. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his prime political antagonist, Benny Gantz, have been summoned to Washington, D.C. for the occasion. The plan, spear-headed by President Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser Jared…
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Opinion The new socialism, like the old, will not protect Jews
Before he was shot and then run over by a truck outside of Minsk like a dog by Stalin’s agents, Solomon Mikhoeles was one of the greatest actors of the twentieth century. Before Osip Mandelstam was starved and frozen to death, he was a poet of wondrous and haunting verse. Before lead was lodged in…
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Opinion This year, let’s debate everything — except Israel
In 2020, Jews need to argue. We need to argue more than we have, but also differently. Here’s the formula: There should be fewer fights about Israel. There should be more fights about everything else. This might be difficult. Far too many American Jews have nothing to say that is not related to the Jewish…
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Opinion You can’t solve anti-Semitism. American Jews, meet Jewish history.
It’s natural to want to solve problems. We see something wrong in the world and we want to fix it. Something seems misaligned, and we want to set it right. And the truth is, many things lend themselves to being solved; the appearance of insulin and the disappearance of bubonic plague come to mind. Here’s…
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