Europe
Poison PenMonday, April 16, 2012 by D.G. Myers | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
A Nobel Prize-winning German novelist—a former SS soldier, no less—accuses the state of Israel of seeking to exterminate an entire people, and the literary republic yawns. But when Israel bars its accuser from entering the country, because ex-Nazis have no place in the Jewish state, the cries of "bullying" and "censorship" nearly drown out the original accusation.
Ardor, or ArchitectureFriday, March 23, 2012 | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
A look inside three of the twentieth century's most interesting careers in architecture: the world-renowned Israeli Moshe Safdie, on the verge of shutting down the office he opened in Jerusalem in 1970; the Polish-born, polarizing Daniel Libeskind, now at work on rebuilding New York's World Trade Center; and the mythic postwar master Louis Kahn.
Cyrus, Ahmadinejad, and the Politics of PurimWednesday, March 7, 2012 by Alex Joffe | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
At this week's pre-Purim meeting in Washington between President Obama and Prime Minister Netanyahu to discuss Iran's nuclear threat to Israel, Netanyahu gave Obama a present: the book (or m'gilah, scroll) of Esther, which tells how the Jewish heroine foiled Haman's plot to kill the Jews of ancient Persia.
A Convenient HatredTuesday, March 6, 2012 by Elliot Jager | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
With some 1,000 books currently in print on the subject, does the world desperately need another tome on anti-Semitism? What difference will it make, when anti-Israelism provides only the latest justification for Europe's persistent prejudice against Jews and anti-Semitic views are shared by 15 percent of Americans and 90 percent of Muslims worldwide?
Gertrude Stein, Fascist?Wednesday, February 29, 2012 by Eitan Kensky | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
Does it say something that the most indelible portraits of Gertrude Stein come from the outside? Or, to frame the question a different way: what does it say when our most lasting impressions of a writer are based not on her words, but on the visions and appropriations of others?
Evil GeniusThursday, February 23, 2012 by Alex Joffe | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
Very little anti-Semitic literature is new; most of its tropes seem ageless, continually recombined and updated by haters reacting only dimly to their actual circumstances. Few anti-Semitic works exhibit literary or lesser, sociological gifts. The one exception is The Protocols of the Elders of Zion.
Rose-Colored GlassesMonday, February 20, 2012 by Allan Arkush | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
Jacqueline Rose, a noted professor of English in the United Kingdom and the author of many works of literary criticism, has stepped beyond the academic precincts where she first made her name to produce, over the past decade or so, a substantial opus dealing with Zionism and Israel.
Mensch in the MoonTuesday, February 14, 2012 by Josh Gelernter | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
Right now there are two Americans aboard the International Space Station, and their only way home is to hitch a ride in the Russians' Soyuz capsule, a ramshackle remnant of the 1960s. There's no space shuttle to bring them home because the shuttle's been retired; also retired are plans for an American return to the moon.
Terror in the Shadow of the HolocaustFriday, February 10, 2012 by Sohrab Ahmari | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
For most people, "Mykonos" evokes sunny holidays on the Greek coast. But for the Iranian diaspora, the word is a warning that the murderous arm of the Islamic Republic can reach Iranian immigrants even when they find new homes in the democratic West.
From New Year to Arbor DayWednesday, February 8, 2012 by Moshe Sokolow | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
The holiday of Tu Bishvat ("the fifteenth of Shvat") falls this year on Wednesday, February 8. What are its origins, and when and why did it become incorporated into the calendar as the Jewish "Arbor Day"?
Editors' Picks
Europe’s New Religion Dov Maimon, Nadia Ellis, Jewish People Policy Institute. As human rights becomes Europe’s reigning code of ethics, Jews across the continent face attacks by the secular establishment on ritual circumcision. (PDF)
City, Empire, Church, Nation Pierre Manent, City Journal. By creating the nation-state, Europe resolved centuries of tension between Christianity and civic duty. Now Europe has deserted both, but the modern project continues apace.
Poland’s Casualties of War Suzanne Rozdeba, Tablet. In Nazi-occupied Poland, Wladyslaw Gugla risked death as a Jew and a teacher of Slavic children. Protected by villagers, he survived—only to die from habits formed in hiding.
Hizballah’s Holiday Home Nicholas Kulish, New York Times. Europe has cultivated a tacit détente with Hizballah, whereby if Hizballah does not stage attacks, European governments do not interfere with its fundraising and organizational work.
Start-Up Ummah? Schumpeter, Economist. A new book argues that amid political instability and the threat of war, the Arab world has seen a rise in entrepreneurship, supported by a large and expanding market.
Survival in Buchenwald Brad Rothschild, Times of Israel. When the SS came looking for Jews on Kinderblock 66, Antonin Kalina told them there were no more. (He had listed them as Christians . . .)
How London’s Jews Measure Up Rachel Kolsky, Jewish Chronicle. In 1908, when London hosted its first Olympic Games, the city had 70 synagogues. Today it boasts 170, but one is still prompted to ask: Has the community come full circle?
Boycott? What Boycott? Nick Gray, Commentator. Although the Co-Op supermarket chain might be costing Israel the value of a few oranges, trade between the UK and Israel—spearheaded by the British government—is booming.
Interfaith Insults Philologos, Forward. Although Europe’s Jews weren’t keen on Christians—for good reason—Yiddish terminology places more emphasis on differentiating Jews than insulting their neighbors.
A Future for Jews in Europe? Jonathan Sacks, Huffington Post. “I gave the shortest speech of my life. It took less than a minute, and after it there was a shocked silence . . . Angela Merkel asked, ‘What would you like me to do, Chief Rabbi?’”