Scribe, the Forward’s curated contributor network, is a place for showcasing personal experiences and perspective from across our Jewish communities. Here you will find a wide array of reflections on Jewish issues, life-cycle events, spirituality, culture and more.
Community
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You say matzah — and matzo and matzuh and matzee and more
Readers respond to our editor-in-chief’s column about a Passover copy-editing conundrum
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Israel, Not The West, Should Control Who Enters Its Country.
The confirmation by Israel’s Ministry of Strategic Affairs that it will be implementing a blacklist of people in senior leadership roles at pro-BDS organizations has prompted another round of handwringing on the part of some Western observers and anti-Israel activists. Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), whose name should be reported to the Better Business Bureau…
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Why Won’t Ivanka Become The Pharaoh’s Daughter We Desperately Need?
Did Ivanka attend Shabbat services this past Saturday? That question has been bouncing around my head since I sat in the pew and heard the rabbi talk about this past week’s parsha, Shemot, the beginning of the book of Exodus, in which Pharaoh’s daughter, in an act of great bravery, defied her father’s orders. You…
The Latest
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Why You Should Care About Israel’s Anti-Corruption Protests
In recent months, anti-corruption demonstrations against Netanyahu have spread from suburban Petah-Tikvah to urban Tel-Aviv, Jerusalem and Haifa. For two weeks in a row, tens of thousands left their comfy homes to attend the Game of Thrones inspired “March of Shame.” And the crowds were not the usual left wingers of anti-Occupation rallies, but average…
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For Jews, Racial Justice Requires Repentance
I will never forget the first time someone called me a racist. In the fourth grade, I got into a pushing match in the cafeteria with Umar, an African-American classmate, the cause of which I can no longer remember. The two of us were sent to the principal’s office, and when asked why he hit…
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Should BDS Advocates Be Banned From Israel? No Way, Forward Readers Say.
As of January 2018, members of Jewish Voice For Peace (JVP) and 5 other U.S. groups who support the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement will be banned from entering Israel. We took to Twitter to see what our readers thought of the move, and two-thirds of those polled felt that the move was wrong:…
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Should BDS Advocates Be Banned From Israel?
Israel’s Ministry of Strategic affairs published a list of 20 organizations that promote a boycott, divestment, and sanctions campaign of Israel and whose non-Israeli citizen memebrs will be banned from entering the country. Have Your Say is your chance to tell us what you think. Comment and let us know what you think about the…
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Who Are The Ultra-Orthodox Jews Of Israel?
Every eighth citizen of Israel is an ultra-Orthodox Jew. The fertility rate of ultra-Orthodox women—which is three times that of their secular counterparts in Israel—has produced a vast community of a million people, whose future still lies ahead of it: fully fifty percent of all ultra-Orthodox were born in the twenty-first century. Rabbi Aharon Yehuda…
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Don’t Believe The Haters: Israel Is A Beautiful Melting Pot
Contrary to popular opinion, I’ve always known Israel to be a cohesive melting pot for Jews, Muslims, and Christians. That being said, I haven’t been back for a few years so my visit last week truly surprised me; I was in shock at exactly HOW cohesive it was. From Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, I saw…
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This Cartoon Poignantly Illustrates How We Experience Inherited Trauma
“Science aside, no one needs to prove to me the provenance of passed down suffering.” See more of the self-loving Jew on his website.
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What Jewish Community Leaders Must Do After #MeToo
The encouraging flurry of activity in the Jewish community following #metoo has included organizations creating or revamping policies and hosting events and training to prevent sexual victimization, including harassment. But a systemic problem requires a systemic approach to change. Below are the gaps I have noticed based on my criminological and sociological research on sexual…
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Ten Commandments For Thinking About Modern Anti-Semitism
In an op-ed for the Jewish Telegraphic Agency on January 2, editor-in-chief Andrew Silow-Carroll suggests that defining anti-Semitism is a key question of the moment, but that it’s complicated given the polarization of left and right. Like so much else in politics today, the debate about contemporary anti-Semitism is a dialogue of the deaf waged…
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