History & Politics
Press Freedom, Israeli-StyleTuesday, January 11, 2011 by Elliot Jager | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
If, as Walter Lippmann wrote, the newspaper is the bible of democracy, the land of the Bible is exceptionally well endowed with that precious commodity.
The Economist Strikes AgainFriday, January 7, 2011 by Elliot Jager | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
The Economist is a curious publication. A weekly newsmagazine published in London, it largely hews to a classical liberal (or libertarian) line in economics and a correspondingly conservative line in politics. In contrast to most newsmagazines today, it is also a rousing success.
Under FireWednesday, January 5, 2011 by Sol Stern | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
The second Lebanon war in the summer of 2006 forced Israelis to come to grips with the definitive end of the Oslo era and the shattering of two fundamental assumptions about the nature of their conflict with the Palestinians.
Comeback Kids?Thursday, December 30, 2010 by Elliot Jager | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
Israeli elections are far off. But two familiar figures, only recently down and out, have re-emerged at opposite ends of the political spectrum, setting journalists and veteran observers to wonder about the future shape of things.
The Continuing War for SafedThursday, December 16, 2010 by Aryeh Tepper | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
Safed (Hebrew: Tsfat) is a picturesque town of 32,000 souls nestled in the hills of Galilee. It is also home to a hardline branch of the Islamic Movement looking for ways to undermine Jewish sovereignty.
Christopher Hitchens’s Jewish ProblemMonday, December 13, 2010 by Benjamin Kerstein | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
It has been an open secret for years that the celebrated columnist and author Christopher Hitchens has a problem with the Jews. No one much likes to talk about it, and for various reasons his journalistic peers have remained silent on the subject. But it is nonetheless the case.
Sin City on the Sea?Thursday, December 9, 2010 by Hillel Halkin | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
Tel Avivians are rubbing their eyes these days. Until lately so little thought of by the world that many tourists to Israel never bothered to visit it at all, their city is suddenly high on the places-to-be lists.
The Discreet Coyness of Salam FayyadFriday, December 3, 2010 by Alex Joffe | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
In a recent short article, Salam Fayyad, the prime minister of the Palestinian Authority, has reported on his program of building the civic and economic infrastructure of a Palestinian state, a program now into its second year of creating "facts on the ground."
Women in ArmsThursday, December 2, 2010 by Aryeh Tepper | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
Israel's core institution is the army. And while the essential function of the army is to protect and defend the country's citizens, it also plays a crucial role in the lives of those who serve in its ranks. Not unlike an American university in this one respect, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is the establishment within which young people build character, form social bonds, and start careers.
Israel vs. the International Criminal CourtMonday, November 29, 2010 by Anne Herzberg | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
For more than six decades, Israel has been subjected to violence, warfare, and a relentless campaign of terror attacks deliberately targeting civilians. This "hard-power" war is bolstered by a corresponding "soft-power" war aimed at delegitimizing and demonizing the Jewish state.
Editors' Picks
Arendt and the Arabs Richard L. Rubenstein, New English Review. Hannah Arendt feared that Zionism would create a “Jewish island in an Arab sea.” But her Eurocentrism kept her from seeing just how hostile that sea would be.
A Brutal Peace Tara Zahra, Nation. The postwar expulsion of German speakers from Czechoslovakia formed one more chapter in the story of Europe’s incapacity to reconcile the claims of democracy and nationalism.
One Family at a Time David Crossland, Spiegel. The International Tracing Service has helped Holocaust survivors find their families since 1946. But now its records are open for research on larger questions of the Holocaust.
David's Tomb , Bible History Daily. Archeologists have long dismissed Raymond Weill's century-old hypothesis that tunnels in the City of David were the necropolis of the ancient kings. But could Weill have been right?
French and Jewish or Jewish and French? Robert Zaretsky, Forward. Jews have been a presence in provincial France since the Revolution, outlasting even Vichy and the German occupation. But now, increasing Islamic anti-Semitism is precipitating an exodus.
Bipolar Poland John Connelly, Nation. Historians of World War II have viewed Poland either as a nation of heroes or as a nation of collaborators. How can these two narratives be reconciled?
End of an Era? , Washington Post. Last Friday, the House of Representatives repealed the 1974 Jackson-Vanik trade restrictions, enacted to promote the freedom of Soviet Jews to emigrate. But Russia's record on human rights is still a problem.
“The yogurt’s expiry date is now.” Michel Gurfinkiel, PJ Media. Unexpectedly departing from the anti-Zionist apologetics of France’s left-wing establishment, François Hollande has been tough on domestic Islamism and friendly toward Israel.
Romania’s Forgotten Holocaust Keno Verseck, Spiegel. Florin Iepan’s new documentary on the 1941 massacre of Odessa’s Jews by the Romanian army is a unique attempt to confront Romania’s role in the Holocaust. But 70 years on, the country is still not interested.
Reclaiming the Y-Word B.R., Economist. Tottenham Hotspur's Jewish fan base embraced the term "Yid Army" to counter anti-Semitic taunts from rivals. But now they stand accused of racism—against themselves.