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A Tale of Two Lobbies

Ruth R. Wisse — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 00:00:00 EST

The problem of the Arab-Israel conflict begins with the term itself, which misrepresents the unilateral Arab war against Israel as a bilateral dispute. Unilateral aggression is not unheard of—when did Poland ever aggress against Germany or Russia?—but nothing in United Nations history compares in intensity or fixity with Arab belligerence toward Israel, a UN member state.

Ha'azinu: Strange, Sour Song

Wed, 08 Sep 2010 00:00:00 EST

By David Hazony

On the eve of the Israelites' passage into the Promised Land, Moses teaches them a song that marks the moment and that they themselves are to sing now and throughout the generations. It's only the second such song in the Torah—the first being the rousing tribute to God after the parting of the Red Sea back in Exodus: "I will sing to the Lord, for He has greatly exceeded."

Rededication

Jonah Mandel — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 00:00:00 EST

The reopening of the �buda Synagogue in Budapest, built in 1820, marks another step in the slow resurgence of Jewish life in Hungary.

A Good Nation is Hard to Find

Sam Siegel — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 00:00:00 EST

A new critique of chosenness ignores all the ways in which two nations that claim exceptionalism�America, Israel�are, in fact, exceptional.

Access

Wed, 08 Sep 2010 00:00:00 EST

Yad Vashem has been given access to Poland's World War II-era archives, including files produced by Nazi authorities that will aid in identifying Holocaust victims.

Harsh Judgment, Soft Judgment

Naomi Grunhaus — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 00:00:00 EST

On the first day of Rosh Hashanah, we are judged as individuals; on the second day, as part of a group.

On the Right of Return

Yaffa Zilbershats, Nimra Goren-Amitai — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 00:00:00 EST

Nothing in international law supports the legal right of Palestinian refugees to return to the state of Israel; the issue can be resolved only through political negotiation. (Executive summary, PDF)

Kingdom of Incitement

Dore Gold — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 00:00:00 EST

How Saudi Arabia supports global terrorism.

The Petrodiplomatic Complex

Lee Smith — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 00:00:00 EST

One big difference between AIPAC and the Arab lobby is that the latter's message is largely negative. That's the good news.

Ha'azinu: Strange, Sour Song

Wed, 08 Sep 2010 00:00:00 EST

Continue Reading "Strange, Sour Song"

David Hazony — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 00:00:00 EST

Creations

Yehudah Mirsky — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 00:00:00 EST

Rosh Hashanah, the beginning of the year, marks the creation of the world. Or does it? The Torah refers to Rosh Hashanah, although not by that name, as the first day of "the seventh month" (Leviticus 23:24)—the seventh, that is, if you're counting from Nisan, the month of Passover. That month is designated as the beginning of the year in the first act of the Exodus: "This month will mark for you the first of the months; it will be, for you, the first month of the year" (Exodus 12:2). Like revolutionaries everywhere, the Israelites wanted a new calendar.

A Synagogue Reborn

Tue, 07 Sep 2010 00:00:00 EST

In Mainz, Germany, a synagogue destroyed during Kristallnacht in November 1938 has been rebuilt and now rededicated.

Putting Paid to Gaza

Emanuele Ottolenghi — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 00:00:00 EST

Avigdor Lieberman's call for Israel to disengage fully from Gaza has thrown Arab and European parties into a panic. A sign that the idea deserves serious consideration?

Person of the Year

Amotz Asa-El — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 00:00:00 EST

Humbly born, the biologist Ada Yonat, Nobel laureate, is a living reminder of all the things that put to shame the international effort to deface the Jewish state.

Defiance

ToldotYisrael — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 00:00:00 EST

Six men who flouted a 1930 British law and blew the shofar at the Western Wall tell their story. (Video)

Focus on Yemen

Aymenn Jawad — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 00:00:00 EST

The situation in Yemen, scene of a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran, is of far greater consequence than the Israel-Palestinian conflict, and requires urgent attention.

Telling Time

Alan Corre, Michael J. Radwin — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 00:00:00 EST

When was Rosh Hashanah in 1310? When will it fall in 2310? Free, one-stop shopping for all your calendrical needs.�

At the Bar of Justice

Eliezer Segal — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 00:00:00 EST

In envisioning the great annual "day of judgment," the ancient rabbis and poets invoked legal and military images drawn from Greek and Roman life.

The Birthday of the World

Ernst Simon — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 00:00:00 EST

Why, of all the "new years" in the Jewish calendar, the one commemorated by Rosh Hashanah claims central place. A classic 1955 essay by a religious humanist philosopher (1899-1988).