War & Peace
Two Palestines, CompleteWednesday, January 11, 2012 by Elliot Jager | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
Some saw history in the making. With jubilation and fanfare Fatah and Hamas agreed last spring in Cairo to form an interim technocratic administration, hold parliamentary and presidential elections by May 2012 and, ultimately, to establish a national unity government.
The Mughrabi Bridge to NowhereTuesday, January 3, 2012 by Alex Joffe | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
From the southern end of the plaza in front of Jerusalem's Western Wall, a temporary wooden bridge ascends eastward to the Mughrabi Gate, the only one of the 11 gates into the Temple Mount area that is accessible to non-Muslims.
Highlights of 2011:Part II
Friday, December 30, 2011 | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
Part II of our round-up of the past year's most popular features on Jewish Ideas Daily. (Part I is here.)
Urban Planning, Hasmonean-StyleWednesday, December 28, 2011 by Elli Fischer | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
In the early 1990s, construction began on Modi'in, Israel's new "City of the Future." Designed by renowned architect Moshe Safdie and located mid-way between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, Modi'in is in many ways typical of modern planned communities.
Apologia for Ben-GurionTuesday, December 27, 2011 by Elliot Jager | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
At this year's yahrzeit ceremony in Sde Boker for David Ben-Gurion (1886-1973), Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with Iran clearly on his mind, emphasized—eight times—Ben-Gurion's capacity for making hard decisions.
Roll, Jordan, RollFriday, December 23, 2011 by Alex Joffe | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
The mighty River Jordan cuts a tiny ribbon through the geological depression stretching from Syria to Ethiopia. The river's output is paltry, at most two percent of the flow of the Nile. Today it divides Israel from Jordan, both created only in the 1940s. But for millennia the river has been a thread in Western consciousness.
LoofThursday, December 22, 2011 by Micah Stein | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
For the millions of Israeli citizens drafted into the Israel Defense Forces over the past 60 years, military service has involved patriotism, community, self-sacrifice—and Loof, Israel's kosher Spam. But a new generation of soldiers is about to experience military service without the familiar pink meat.
Terror Out of ZionTuesday, December 6, 2011 by Elliot Jager | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
There is no love lost between the British Foreign Office and Israel. In a report to parliament last month, Foreign Minister William Hague condemned Israel for building in Jerusalem, being in the West Bank, and treating the present Gaza regime like the enemy it is.
From Bucharest to JerusalemFriday, December 2, 2011 by Elliot Jager | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
The cabinet of Romania headed by Prime Minister Emil Boc came to Jerusalem on November 24 to hold a joint session with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government. Boc spoke eloquently of the two countries' common security concerns and shared views on peace and security.
Love, Marriage, and the Israeli RabbinateMonday, November 28, 2011 by Elli Fischer | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
The organization Tzohar is fighting for the right to perform its popular "alternative" weddings in Israel. A recent dispute with the Ministry of Religious Services was apparently resolved after a media war, frantic mediation, and a high-level Knesset meeting.
Editors' Picks
Drawing a Line Sarah Glidden, Jewish Quarterly. Angoulême is proud of its history as the center of France’s comics and animation industry. The city is less keen to acknowledge the role it played during the Second World War. (Comic)
Noam Gershony’s Incredible Gold Marcus Dysch, Jewish Chronicle. The Israeli war hero lost the use of his legs in a helicopter crash in the 2006 Lebanon War. At this year’s Paralympics, he became a hero again.
The Rest of the Leaked Romney Video Douglas Bloomfield, Jewish Week. In that fundraiser video, Romney also talked about Israel: “Pushing the Israelis to give something up to get the Palestinians to act is the worst idea in the world.”
The Razor’s Edge Dan Ephron, Daily Beast. How might war between Iran and Israel begin? Former Mossad chief Ephraim Levy says the flash point could be the Iranian soldiers now in Syria helping the Assad regime.
Secular Meets Religious in the IDF Shani Boianjiu, New York Times. “The moment I touched the weapon, one of the soldiers got up from his chair and left.”
The Not-So-Grand Ilan Greenberg, Andrew Radin, National Interest. Armchair diplomats keep inventing “grand bargains”—for Syria, Afghanistan, the Middle East. But what diplomats do best is to sweat the details, not impose overarching solutions dreamed up abroad.
No, No, and No Again Tamara Zieve, Jerusalem Post. This week in 1967, the Arab League passed the Khartoum resolution, stating that there would be no negotiation with Israel, no recognition of Israel, and no peace with Israel.
In Search of a Cultural Arab Spring Salman Masalha, MEMRI. In the images of Syrian violence an Israeli Druse sees the brutality of modern Arab regimes: “Every one of them is based on tribal and religious tyranny.”
Clinton’s Courtesy Call? Jeffrey Goldberg, Atlantic. Hillary Clinton’s visit to Israel is not about drumming up votes before the presidential election, but rather represents the latest attempt by the Obama administration to prevent an Israeli strike on Iran.
Obama Peaces Out Scott Wilson, Washington Post. “Mr. President, what lessons have you learned [from three years of trying to broker an Israeli-Arab peace]?” the president of the Rabbinical Council of America asked. “That it’s really hard,” Obama said.