History
Beyond TanksMonday, March 14, 2011 by Alex Joffe | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
Israel in the past has fought large-scale conventional wars in which infantry and tanks have squared off. It has also faced down terrorists who cross borders to blow up buses or hide themselves among civilians. The next wave is called hybrid warfare, blending (in the words of the military theorist Frank Hoffman) "the lethality of state conflict with the fanatical and protracted fervor of irregular warfare."
Purim PuzzlesFriday, March 11, 2011 by Lawrence Grossman | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
Purim, Judaism's strangest holiday (which this year falls on March 20), is prescribed by what may be the strangest book in the Hebrew Bible, the scroll (m'gilah) of Esther. Two public readings of the book, one at night and the other in the morning, tell a story of Persian palace intrigue in the fifth century B.C.E., a recitation accompanied by the holiday's decidedly unspiritual noisemaking, tippling, and masquerade.
An Open Letter to the Arab StreetWednesday, March 9, 2011 by Benjamin Kerstein | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
First and foremost, congratulations. Even from our vantage point on the other side of a seemingly unbridgeable divide between our peoples, the extraordinary nature of what you have accomplished in recent weeks is obvious.
The Old Young GuardMonday, March 7, 2011 by Aryeh Tepper | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
One of the most significant movements of Jewish renewal in the 20th century was Hashomer Hatzair: the Young Guard. Founded as a youth group in Vienna in 1916, the movement set itself in opposition to what it regarded as the emaciated character of Jewish life.
The Odessa FileFriday, March 4, 2011 by Allan Nadler | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
Undoubtedly the most searing image of the port city of Odessa on the Black Sea is Sergei Eisenstein's reconstruction of a bloody massacre on its famed "Potemkin Steps" in his epic silent film, Battleship Potemkin (1925).
Follow the MoneyWednesday, March 2, 2011 by Alex Joffe | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
The prestigious London School of Economics (LSE) is shocked—shocked—to discover that Muammar Qaddafi is a very bad man. So the once venerable institution is diverting some of the $2.5 million pledged through Qaddafi's son Saif al-Islam into a scholarship fund for Libyan students.
Military Virtue, and VirtueMonday, February 28, 2011 by Aryeh Tepper | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
On February 14, Benny Gantz was appointed the twentieth chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). It wasn't supposed to be that way. Yoav Galant, a decorated soldier and former head of the IDF's southern command, had been named to the position at the end of 2010.
Writing American HebrewFriday, February 25, 2011 by Yehudah Mirsky | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
Once upon a time, and not so long ago at that, Hebrew literature was written and read in the United States. That is no longer the case, but there is no reason why today this fascinating body of work should remain "one of the best-kept secrets of Jewish American cultural history."
The Athens & Jerusalem Two-StepTuesday, February 22, 2011 by Aryeh Tepper | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
The eastern Mediterranean is in a state of serious flux. Historically, under such volatile conditions, old bonds tend to dissolve and new partnerships to emerge. The present is no exception. One example of this is Greece's surprising new friendship with Israel and its outreach to the American Jewish community.
Jewish-Christian Dialogue TodayMonday, February 21, 2011 by Yehudah Mirsky | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
How do today's Jews and Christians encounter one another? The most obvious way is in the countless interactions of Jewish and Christian colleagues and acquaintances in a host of daily settings, including exchanges on their respective religious attitudes and experiences.
Editors' Picks
Through First-Century Eyes Amy-Jill Levine, Marc Brettler, Jewish Journal. We can learn much about Jewish life from the earliest texts of the rabbinic period: the Dead Sea Scrolls, Philo and Josephus, archeological material, and . . . the New Testament? (Interview by Shmuel Rosner)
The Frozen Chosen Yereth Rosen, Moment. Roosevelt's plan to resettle Jewish refugees in Alaska came to nothing, as locals doubted that the newcomers could adapt. But unbeknownst to them, Jews had been among Alaska's pioneers.
America, Israel, and the Future of Liberal Democracy Leon Wieseltier, Yuval Levin, Tikvah Fund. Israel has a very different political tradition from the United States, yet both countries' systems are showing signs of strain. Does liberal democracy have a future? (Video)
Eyewitnesses at Auschwitz Martin Bright, Jewish Chronicle. A campaign to open British government files may finally reveal the story of the British POWs who witnessed Nazi brutality and helped Jewish prisoners escape.
A Mask for Janus Margalit Fox, New York Times. For a generation of Reform Jews, the commentary of the recently deceased W. Gunther Plaut heralded a return to Hebrew scripture. But it also made new interpretations permissible.
The Ten Commandments and the Bill of Rights Mark Osler, Journal of Church and State. In some ways the two decalogues are at loggerheads; in other ways, they work together.
With These Words Fred MacDowell, On the Main Line. With one salty term of consecration (possibly an obscene rhyme), a Jewish man may have betrothed a woman. In 1823, the rabbis of London had to deal with the consequences.
Blessed are the Bootleggers Allan Nadler, Tablet. While rabbis opposed Prohibition in the name of religious freedom, and many Jews embraced the black market, one Izzy Einstein became the most successful enforcer of dry laws in the country.
Warming to Israel Moshe Arens, Haaretz. With the advent of the Arab Spring, the press predicted that Israel would be alone on the world stage. But burgeoning relationships with the Netherlands, Canada, and the Obama administration suggest otherwise.
Extending an Olive Branch Benny Morris, National Interest. Wary of Turkey's increasing radicalism, Israel and Greek Cyprus are forging a new military alliance to protect their offshore gas fields, and to defend against the growing threat of militant Islam.