History and Politics
Holocaust Reparations: The Back StoryMonday, August 13, 2012 by Michael Pinto-Duschinsky | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
On July 10th, dignitaries from the U.S., German, and Israeli governments attended a curious ceremony at the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington.
The Last Berber JewsFriday, August 10, 2012 by Diana Muir Appelbaum | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
As a child, the French filmmaker Kamal Hachkar learned the Berber language from his grandparents in Tinghir, a Berber oasis city east of the Atlas Mountains in Morocco. As an adult he discovered that the now exclusively Muslim town once had a substantial Jewish community.
Editors' Picks
Britain’s Maginot Line Kevin Connolly, BBC. Israel’s landscape is dotted with squat, brick-colored “Tegart forts,” built to withstand all attack and ensure long-term British military control of Palestine. Today, they are just artifacts.
The Genetic Map of the Jewish African Diaspora Sharon Begley, Reuters. Genome-wide analysis of Moroccan, Algerian, Tunisian, Djerban, and Libyan Jews demonstrates a shared genetic history and supports the historical record of the Sephardic world.
Spy vs. Spy Daniel Pipes, Israel Hayom. While the American press remains outraged at Jonathan Pollard’s spying on the U.S. for Israel, the Jewish state is crawling with American spies—and this is normal, routine, and implicitly accepted by both sides.
Who is an Arab Jew? Albert Memmi, Israel Academic Committee on the Middle East. “The much vaunted idyllic life of the Jews in Arab lands is a myth! The truth, since I am obliged to return to it, is that from the outset we were a minority in a hostile environment.” (1975)
Jewish Studies without Jews Geoff Vasil, DefendingHistory.com. The Lithuanian government lavishes funding on museums dedicated to commemorating the country's extinct Jewish culture. The problem is that Lithuania's Jewish culture is still alive.