War & Peace
Beyond the GiantsFriday, May 10, 2013 by Robert Nicholson | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
Strange as it may sound, my idea of Israel did match reality. I’ve never imagined it to be some spotless utopia where everybody knows your name. It is a land haunted by terror and tragedy, fear and doubt. And yet it’s the land where God has chosen to reveal Himself to man.
On SilenceMonday, April 15, 2013 by Anita Shapira | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
Eschewing Jewish expressions of mourning, Israel's founding generations shaped a national ethos of silence and self-restraint, which found expression in the words of poet David Shimoni: “Don’t mourn, don’t cry/ at a time like this./ Don’t lower your head,/ Work! Work!”
Marking the Day–But Which Day?Monday, April 8, 2013 by Michael Carasik | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
If it's the 27th of the month, it must be Holocaust Remembrance Day. But what are we remembering, and why? Differences in memorializing the Holocaust reflect fundamentally differing perspectives on Jewish history.
The Mad ZionistWednesday, April 3, 2013 by Ran Baratz | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
British Major-General Orde Wingate, who fought in theaters from Palestine to Burma, was a military genius. He was also a Zionist's Zionist. A new Wingate biography tries to explain why.
The Halakhah of Selling ArmsTuesday, February 5, 2013 by Shlomo M. Brody | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
Jewish law prohibits individuals from selling weapons to irresponsible or violent customers. But how does this apply to Israel's arms sales to foreign governments?
Why Israel’s Gaze Has Turned InwardThursday, January 31, 2013 by Yiftach Ofek | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
“It takes two to tango,” goes the oft-quoted idiom. Without a reliable Palestinian partner, the Israeli public seems to have chosen to dance with itself.
A Voice Saying Something RightTuesday, January 29, 2013 by David Curzon | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
Poet Harvey Shapiro, who passed away this month at age 88, captured in plain words the mystery of everyday life, the trauma of war, and the grandeur of Jewish tradition.
Gun Control, Halakhah, and History: Further ThoughtsTuesday, January 22, 2013 by Shlomo M. Brody | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
While the use of weaponry is at times morally necessary, the glorification of weaponry is foreign to Jewish thought.
The First War of National LiberationWednesday, December 12, 2012 by Diana Muir Appelbaum | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
The Maccabees' revolt can lay claim to being the first war of national liberation. Reprinted here is Diana Muir Appelbaum’s account of why the Book of Maccabees is so modern and so dangerous.
Partition, Then and NowTuesday, December 11, 2012 by Allan Arkush | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
Since the beginning of the Zionist project, the partition of the land into two states has never found enthusiastic support among either Jews or Arabs.
Editors' Picks
Where Does the Buck Stop? James Cartwright, Amos Yadlin, Atlantic. While its military capabilities enable the U.S. to be patient with Iran, for Israel the window for military action is rapidly closing.
Hizballah Reeling? Phillip Smyth, Foreign Policy. Based on casualty reports from its own media, Hizballah is losing both young fighters and seasoned commanders in the Syrian civil war.
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.
Hanging in the Balance Lee Smith, Weekly Standard. Facing hostile actors on nearly every border, Israel aims to preserve the regional balance of power—a task made all the more delicate by American indifference.
Psychological Warfare Mark Stout, GovStud. Engineers have accused Israel's missile defense system, Iron Dome, of far lower interception rates than the IDF claims. But its real success might not be physical, but psychological.
Going Nuclear Michael Segall, Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs. Iran already has the technological capacity to produce one nuclear bomb—it is just waiting for the right moment to "break out."
Israel on Syria Ehud Eilam, National Interest. If Assad falls, the risk of a high-intensity war between Israel and Syria in the Golan Heights will recede—but the likelihood of low-intensity conflict will increase.
Strangers in the Land Aaron A. Burke, Martin Peilstöcker, Popular Archaeology. For over 300 years, Egyptians and Canaanites fought for control of Jaffa. But their violent interactions went hand-in-hand with cultural exchange.
Shalit’s Return: Summing Up Up Ben Caspit, Jerusalem Post. “The bottom line is that the soldier came home and started a new life, and Israeli society held firm to the solidarity for which is it famous.”