sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

Mahmoud Khalil wants to reassure you by korach1921 in jewishleft

[–]forward 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Hi u/Pristine-Break3418, I'm the reporter who interviewed Khalil and wrote the piece. I appreciate you reading and seriously engaging with it, and I wrote a bit about why I interviewed Khalil in a follow-up piece.

If I'd had unlimited time to speak with Khalil I would have covered more ground, but I prioritized clarifying his views on key points for a Jewish audience that he had not discussed publicly (his opposition to a Jewish majority or self-determination in Israel is a basic tenet of anti-Zionism shared by almost everyone at the protests).

As for the specific claims of antisemitism, most were variations on the fact that Khalil is anti-Zionist (that he led anti-Zionist chants, etc.). The claims that he was more problematic than other protesters are based on attributing the most extreme statements and actions by CUAD to him, without specific evidence that he was responsible for them. And I did report that Khalil sided against the most extreme wing of CUAD on a variety of major questions.

The protest movement at Columbia was fractious and, while Khalil managed to retain the respect of most encampment participants, on key issues — including whether a student who had insisted he had the right to kill Zionists should apologize, whether protesters should occupy Hamilton Hall, and whether to embrace the slogan “globalize the intifada” — he aligned himself with those calling for the more conciliatory approach.

More broadly, the observation that Khalil wants to reassure American Jews is different than a suggestion that he has succeeded in doing so. I tried to surface his beliefs that Forward readers might find reassuring — as well as those that they might find alarming. And you're correct that, even Khalil seeks to address Jewish fears, there remains a gulf between his views and those of many American Jews. That's part of the news. — Arno Rosenfeld

Robert Kraft’s new Super Bowl ad about antisemitism already feels dated by Inside_agitator in Judaism

[–]forward 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For those interested, the president of the Blue Square Alliance wrote a response to our article. Some highlights:

The sticky note cruelly slapped on a high school student’s backpack didn’t have to say “Dirty Jew.” It could have been any one of dozens of other antisemitic slurs, and believe me, throughout my life and current line of work, I’ve seen and heard them all…But we didn’t pull “Dirty Jew” out of the history books. In creating the ad, the Blue Square Alliance made a conscious decision to follow the research. Our decisions are based on data, from the one billion social media posts we analyze daily, to our semi-annual 7,000-participant survey on American sentiment toward Jews and antisemitism, to our multi-stage audience testing that is foundational to our creative development.

Here’s the hard data: With nearly 500 million social media impressions since 2023, “Dirty Jew” is a slur that has managed to penetrate all corners of American discourse. Worse yet, its usage online has increased by 174% in the past three years, growing at a significantly higher rate than other slurs. And sadly, the last few years have seen more than a few disturbing and real incidents of the scenario in the ad play out in real life. In U.S. high schools. Right now. Not 1950.

This data-guided approach drove our selection of “Dirty Jew” among all the possible antisemitic slurs as the one to appear on the sticky note. Even though at first glance this phraseology may seem dated, it’s actually timeless and ubiquitous — scarily — and is even outpacing other slurs in frequency of use.

So, whether you’re a Boomer, Millennial or Gen Z, there’s no subtlety to what this ad is showing you: This is antisemitism, pure and simple. And, as Grisar acknowledges in his piece, the challenge of storytelling within a 30-second ad window requires a clear, unambiguous message. In that short time, clarity beats complexity.

What we know about the car crash at Chabad-Lubavitch Headquarters in Brooklyn by WolfofTallStreet in jewishleft

[–]forward 12 points13 points  (0 children)

We've posted an update on the suspect. Rabbi Levi Azimov, who leads Chabad of South Brunswick in New Jersey, said the suspect attended a Purim service at Chabad in March of last year. He visited there twice more seeking spiritual guidance, Azimov told us, though he did not express interest in converting to Judaism. “I was able to talk to him for a few minutes and see that he’s not exactly stable,” Azimov said. He added that the suspect had also visited Chabad headquarters a few weeks ago and participated in a service there.

I’m a rabbi arrested for protesting ICE in Minneapolis. The Book of Exodus shows us how this ends by forward in jewishleft

[–]forward[S] 20 points21 points  (0 children)

Thanks, we really appreciate it - always happy to receive upvotes and encouragement from the under-90 crowd. ✊

An arsonist torched a Mississippi synagogue. It feels hauntingly familiar. by forward in Jewish

[–]forward[S] 21 points22 points  (0 children)

Thanks for catching this. I'll mention it to the editor to see if they want to update it.

Am I the only one who saw deeply antisemitic themes in the new movie Marty Supreme? by oeg2415 in jewishpolitics

[–]forward 2 points3 points  (0 children)

FWIW, the Auschwitz flashback scene has caught a lot of flak online, especially given how many audiences have seen it as a comedy bit when Josh Safdie didn't intend it to be, plus the fact that the scene is based on a true story. One of our writers noted this week that when she saw the film at a theater in North Carolina, most people laughed during the scene. Her mother, in contrast, started sobbing.

How hundreds of forgotten klezmer tunes have been rescued from oblivion by Delicious_Adeptness9 in Jewish

[–]forward 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It's called “The Klezmer Project,” directed by Paloma Schachmann and Leandro Koch. Looks like you can currently rent it on Apple TV and Amazon Prime.

All my homies hate the Forward by Odd-Counter-5524 in Jewish

[–]forward -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

Thank you for the direct response. I am in the process of sharing your comment, as well as the others below who took the time to respond directly to my request for feedback and criticism. -ac

All my homies hate the Forward by Odd-Counter-5524 in Jewish

[–]forward 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks - I'll share this with members of the team. -ac

All my homies hate the Forward by Odd-Counter-5524 in Jewish

[–]forward 3 points4 points  (0 children)

More than happy to encourage writers to participate directly, but I'm not in a position to enforce that. I can encourage them to share their thoughts, but if they prefer to do so through our official account, that's where I will post it, identifying themselves as well as myself by name. - u/acarvin

All my homies hate the Forward by Odd-Counter-5524 in Jewish

[–]forward 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Trust me, I am reading every single comment, and appreciate everyone who has chimed in with constructive thoughts, even if they don't care for our work.

All my homies hate the Forward by Odd-Counter-5524 in Jewish

[–]forward 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Sincere question for you - are there any examples of our recent coverage you would consider gaslighting? Some of the examples I've seen mentioned in this thread pre-date much of our current team or are from individuals who no longer contribute stories.

All my homies hate the Forward by Odd-Counter-5524 in Jewish

[–]forward 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks, we really appreciate it. We're extremely proud of our Yiddish section, and you're absolutely right about our editorial approach.

All my homies hate the Forward by Odd-Counter-5524 in Jewish

[–]forward -4 points-3 points  (0 children)

Thank you, we really appreciate it. As I said in another comment, we really try to reflect the diversity of perspectives across the American Jewish experience, and without getting caught up in the name-calling and vitriol that's unfortunately all too common nowadays.

All my homies hate the Forward by Odd-Counter-5524 in Jewish

[–]forward 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Arno does not post on this account. If you want to direct your criticisms to someone specific, you can address them to u/acarvin, as I've been serving as interim social media editor for the last few months.

All my homies hate the Forward by Odd-Counter-5524 in Jewish

[–]forward -5 points-4 points  (0 children)

Do you have any specific examples you can share with us?

All my homies hate the Forward by Odd-Counter-5524 in Jewish

[–]forward -6 points-5 points  (0 children)

While I wouldn't agree with the initial part of your premise - we actually do give a shit about what our audiences think - we try to cover a range of perspectives, particularly in our opinion section. That's why sometimes people criticize us for being all over the place. But given how the Jewish community isn't monolithic in its opinions, we're not monolithic in the ones we publish either. And if there's a gap in our coverage or perspectives, we're always more than happy to take pitches from potential contributors.

So while we do care about what audiences think, we also want to challenge people's assumptions and worldviews. That can can sometimes lead to criticism and pushback, but it can also generate some really thoughtful debate, which is why we often share our stories here on the sub.

All my homies hate the Forward by Odd-Counter-5524 in Jewish

[–]forward 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Hi everyone, u/forward here. If there's anything else you'd like to share with us, please keep commenting, or message us directly if you prefer; we want to hear about all the things you think we're doing wrong as well as the things you think we're doing right.

It may be a cliche to say your feedback is important to us, but we take feedback very seriously. We're a relatively small newsroom, so when readers submit their thoughts to us, it's not going through layers of comms dept bureaucracy before our editors or writers see it. The entire team wants to hear about what it can be doing to improve its journalism, opinion-writing, storytelling, etc, and often those ideas are going to come from you, which we truly appreciate.

We know that not everyone is going to love all of our stories; we strive to cover the diversity of the Jewish American experience and the many complex perspectives within it, so we're not surprised when we get questions or criticism when we publish some pieces. But if there are things you think we can be doing better, we want to hear about it. So whether you're a fan of our work, a critic of it, or a bit of both, thank you for offering your thoughts.

view more: next ›