When you think of The Forward, you probably think of a progressive Jewish website with a flair for interesting story angles on politics and trends in Judaism -- secular and religious -- with the occasional pop-culture and/or social media spin.
In other words, at the moment, "50 Things To Fear From the Trump Administration" right next to "5 Easy Hangover-Relieving Recipes to Make Today."
That's the ticket.
Well, The Forward also has a new corner of the website called Scribe, in which readers and commentators from all over -- 250 contributors from six continents -- offer their take on the world. It launched in July and the editors marked the end of 2016 -- naturally -- with a Top 10 items list.
Now, I am not going to list all of them. Click here to head over and see this feature for yourself. However, I am going to show you a sample of the list, in part to demonstrate that this is not your normal liberal Jewish blitz of content.
Now, it starts with something quite newsy and also rather predictable, in light of news trends linked to You Know What in this election year:
1: Anti-Semitism in America is Nothing New. Don’t Deny Jewish History and Culture by Calling Us “White”
The next item is also from the edgy progressive, multi-cultural, even virtue signalling side of things. As in:
But then we hit the third item in the list. Sit down before clicking on through to get to this one!
Say what? Scribe Joshua Seidel opens like this:
Better defined by what it isn’t than what it is, the “Alt-right,” broadly speaking, is a reaction to left wing identity politics and the failure of traditional Conservatism to formulate a reply. The alt-right opposes interventionist neocon policies with the same ferocity as illegal immigration and gun control. They share more similarities with European “far right” parties, such as the French FN, than they do with traditional Republicans. History buffs may want to look at “Nationalist State Capitalist” policies of the Spanish Falange in the early 1930’s to get a clearer picture.
Aside from this, the alt-right is the most aggressively offensive political movement in existence, and it often targets the Jewish community. So why would I be there?
I enjoy the nasty talk in the alt-right. I enjoy spending rhetorical time with people who might otherwise hate me. The alt-right has energy, it has vitality, it’s something NEW and creative, it’s honest and forthright. It’s also the only viable political movement that is explicitly fighting for that nebulous concept of “Western Civilization.”
I have thick skin and a tolerance for others. Liberals like to imagine themselves “tolerant,” but real tolerance is the ability to be around people who are different than you and still value them as people. I’m from a small town, and was raised around tough, rural whites who didn’t spend much time checking their privilege.
So there.
Later in the list, things return to normal with:
8: The Cowardly Reasons Jewish Organizations Won’t Speak Out Against Trump Appointees: And Why We Must Demand That They Do
But wait!
10: We Are Jews. Because of Iran and Israel, We Are Voting for Donald Trump
Enjoy. Not your normal list. Forward!