History & Politics
Leaving the GhettoFriday, February 8, 2013 by Jacob Katz | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
"Was there any possibility," asks Jacob Katz in this 1996 Commentary essay, "that the Jews collectively might have been accepted in Europe on their own terms—that is, as a community, with a religion opposed to Christianity?"
From Reparations to AtonementMonday, January 28, 2013 by Ismar Schorsch | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
Where recognition of the Holocaust was once restricted to the office of the Chancellor, there is a grassroots commitment in today's Germany to take ownership of the past.
Not Ordinary at AllFriday, January 25, 2013 by Chaya Glasner | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
Ban Ki-Moon dedicated this year’s International Holocaust Remembrance Day to the uncelebrated “ordinary” rescuers of Nazi victims. But Jewish rescuer and survivor Berta Rubinsztejn is anything but ordinary.
Antisemitism: Obsession or Logic?Thursday, January 24, 2013 by Alex Joffe | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
Robert Wistrich’s new book, From Ambivalence to Betrayal:The Left, the Jews, and Israel, does much to demonstrate that anti-Semitism was and is a fixture of the Left—but stops short of that conclusion.
Where Does the Modern Period of Jewish History Begin?Friday, January 18, 2013 by Michael A. Meyer | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
In this classic 1975 Judaism article, Michael Meyer argues that there is no value in "setting a definite terminus for the beginning of modern Jewish history."
Spielberg’s Lincoln and the Jews: An Untold StoryMonday, January 14, 2013 by Lance J. Sussman | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
Lincoln represents a missed opportunity to show that Jews didn’t just turn up in America in the wake of Russian pogroms.
The ISI and the JewsThursday, January 3, 2013 by Alex Joffe | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
Pakistan's intelligence agency has supported Al Qaeda, Iran, and Lashkar-e-Taiba—the terrorists who attacked Mumbai in 2008, killing six at Chabad. But the U.S. still treats it as an ally.
Jews and Human Rights In Europe: the Unfulfilled PromiseFriday, December 28, 2012 by Michael Pinto-Duschinsky | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
While many German war criminals escaped prosecution, the European Court of Human Rights may soon outlaw brit milah across Europe. [Part II of II]
Jews, Law, and Human RightsThursday, December 27, 2012 by Michael Pinto-Duschinsky | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
International human rights institutions were created as a response to the Holocaust. But, in recent years, they have been turned against Jews and Israel. [Part I of II]
America and the Muslim Brotherhood: A RomanceThursday, December 20, 2012 by Alex Joffe | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
One of the most consistent and depressing aspects of U.S.-Middle Eastern relations is the determination of our intellectuals and officials to defend Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood.
Editors' Picks
Iran and the Brotherhood Eric Trager, Washington Institute. Iran is becoming increasingly unpopular in the Arab world—except among Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood.
“Hitler's Reign of Terror” Emily Greenhouse, New Yorker. A 1934 documentary of Nazi oppression might have galvanized America against Hitler; but under pressure from Germany, the film was banned.
Fallen Soldier Joseph Berger, New York Times. Boruch Spiegel, who was one of the last survivors of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising, escaped the Nazis via the sewers, only to return to the city to fight with Polish partisans a year later.
Archeology on the Battlefield Jesse Casana, ASOR Blog. From the Iraqi Revolt of 1920 to the upheavals of the Arab Spring, war and revolution have dictated the focus of archeological research in the Arab and Muslim Middle East.
Ghosts of Scandals Past Rafael Medoff, JNS. Seventy years ago, FDR used the IRS to target a group lobbying for the rescue of Jews from Nazi Germany; but Roosevelt's investigators ended up as sympathizers.
What Happened on the Temple Mount? Noah Wiener, Bible History Daily. Carbon tests suggest that wooden beams removed from the al-Aqsa Mosque may have originated in the Temple built by King Herod.
Go West, Young Man Jeremy Gillick, Moment. Joining the Californian gold rush in the 1850s, Jews discovered a land with no established hierarchy, no significant anti-Semitism—and no rabbis.
Eichmann's Jews Anton Pelinka, H-Net. A new history of the Viennese Jews forced to co-operate with Adolf Eichmann argues that Benjamin Murmelstein, long vilified as collaborator, tried to save Jewish lives wherever possible.
Next Year in Brooklyn Adam Blitz, Aeon. "Should Damascus fall, as many of us believe it will, there remains the very real possibility that there will soon be no trace of a Jewish past in Syria at all."
Beyond Emancipation Robert Fine, Fathom. "Mendelssohn insisted that the Haskalah, the Jewish enlightenment of the 18th century, was about the education and advancement of Jews, not about saving humanity from their allegedly noxious influence."