Israel
The Myth of Mideast StabilityMonday, September 26, 2011 by Elliot Jager | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
The U.S. Ambassador to Israel recently told the International Conference on Economic Regional Cooperation in Tel Aviv that unless Israel and the Palestinians resume negotiations, "the lack of peace will decrease stability dangerously" in the Middle East.
The Wages of DurbanWednesday, September 21, 2011 by Arch Puddington | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
In the days just prior to the assault on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, the World Conference Against Racism (WCAR) was very much in the news, and for reasons that are altogether relevant to the mass murder that took place on September 11, 2001.
Settling for StatehoodMonday, September 19, 2011 by Diana Muir Appelbaum | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
The 66th session of the United Nations General Assembly has just begun. Unless a diplomatic miracle happens, that body will soon be asked to approve what amounts to a unilateral declaration of Palestinian statehood. Palestinian spokesmen say they had no choice but to make their end run around serious negotiations with Israel.
Building JerusalemFriday, September 16, 2011 by Hadassah Levy | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
On the edge of Route 1 as that thoroughfare runs through eastern Jerusalem lies an Arab neighborhood by the name of Sheikh Jarrah. In one section of the neighborhood, an Israeli flag waves and Jews walk back and forth to the tomb of Simon the Just, who served as high priest in the Second Temple.
Israel’s Isolation ProblemThursday, September 15, 2011 by Elliot Jager | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
Aryeh Golan, the morning news anchor for Israeli public radio, summed up the feelings of Israelis on Sunday when he said, "In Turkey the government is against us, in Egypt the mob is against us, and at the UN the majority is against us."
West Bank BluesWednesday, September 14, 2011 by Aryeh Tepper | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
Few groups are as demonized in public discourse as "the Jewish settlers" of the West Bank. To listen to the pundits, these international outlaws are single-handedly preventing the achievement of a utopian peace in the Middle East.
Spying for ZionTuesday, September 13, 2011 by Alex Joffe | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
Spying goes on everywhere, all the time, 24/7. But the way spying is treated—when it is discovered, when it is publicized, when spies are arrested, tried, and jailed—is highly variable, especially in the United States. The timing is almost never a matter of chance.
Enmity; or, Yiddish in AmericaMonday, September 12, 2011 by Allan Nadler | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
He was irascible, neurotic, self-obsessed, and socially inept; a brilliant misfit and misanthropic dilettante. Upon his death in July 2010, Harvey Pekar's few close friends insisted that the underground comic-book writer was also a gem in the rough, an out-of-date socialist naïf.
Israel, America, and the Lessons of 9/11Friday, September 9, 2011 by Abe Greenwald | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
Two heads belonging to the same monster: This is the way a significant portion of the world saw America and Israel on September 11, 2001. On television that day, we watched people jump to their deaths to escape the flames engulfing the World Trade Center.
Mysteries of the MenorahThursday, September 8, 2011 by Meir Soloveichik | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
On the eve of Tisha b'Av, 2011, archeologists revealed artifacts newly unearthed from the great Jewish revolt against Rome (67–70 C.E.), including coins minted by the rebels and a stone incised with a sketch of the Temple menorah. But what is the menorah, and what does it symbolize?
Editors' Picks
Israel's Other Election Yehuda Schlesinger, Israel Hayom. The campaign is on for the election of Israel's next Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi. Religious Zionist candidate, David Stav, warns that a haredi victory would see Israel "torn to shreds."
Hold Your Peace Lawrence Grossman, New York Post. Contrary to press reports, the majority of Israelis supporting right-wing parties favor a negotiated peace. It’s just that they know the Palestinian Authority does not.
Prophetic Democracy Warren Zev Harvey, Jewish Ideas and Ideals. Equality of all Israel’s citizens "is not a grudging compromise that Judaism has made with modern secular ideologies, but derives from within Judaism—from the vision of the Prophets."
Jerusalem's Pleasant Pastures June Glazer, ISRAEL21C. After decades of struggle between developers and environmentalists, Jerusalem is about to break ground for Israel's first urban wildlife nature park, where herds of gazelle will roam free.
The Arab Netanyahu Alex Joffe, Project Syndicate. Netanyahu "defends his country’s interests, and hints at conciliation but gives up little—much like a traditional Arab leader."
Israel's Arabs: Deprived or Radicalized? Efraim Karsh, Israel Affairs. In 2003, the Orr Commission blamed economic deprivation for riots by Israeli Arabs in support of the Second Intifada. But that narrative does not stack up.
By The Sweat of Thy Brow Shall Ye Live Natan Slifkin, Rationalist Judaism. By not working and living at the taxpayers' expense, Israel's haredi men flout their marriage contracts, the Rabbis, and a basic premise of civil society.
Israel’s Second Joseph Liel Leibovitz, Tablet. Placed in charge of rationing food in the nascent State of Israel, Dov Yosef was widely hated and readily forgotten. But no one went hungry.
No Nate Silver Here Raphael Ahren, Times of Israel. In contrast to their U.S. counterparts, Israel's pollsters use small samples, refuse to reveal the precise questions they ask—and have been wrong about every election so far.
Washington Post Says "Settlements" Rhetoric Overheated , Washington Post. Almost all of Israel's recent post-Oslo settlement construction is located in areas that a two-state solution would cede to Israel. The real roadblock to peace is Abbas.