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Events


Find, Fix, Finish Find, Fix, Finish
Tuesday, May 1, 2012 by Alex Joffe | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features

What is the threat? Al-Qaeda? "Terrorism"? "Violent religious extremism"? Israeli analysts call it "global jihad," but U.S. leadership has carefully circumscribed it as "al-Qaeda" or, even more narrowly, personified it as Osama bin Laden and his minions, hijackers of planes and Islam.
The Move that Dare Not Speak Its Name The Move that Dare Not Speak Its Name
Monday, April 30, 2012 by Yehudah Mirsky | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features

Recent years have seen a flurry of reports, studies, and worried discussions about strengthening Diaspora Jewry's ties to Israel. But what about strengthening the ties to Israel—or, for that matter, to the Diaspora—of the growing numbers of Israelis who live abroad?
Independence Day Independence Day
Thursday, April 26, 2012 by Alex Joffe | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features

Every spring, within a single week, Israel commemorates Yom Hashoah, Yom Hazikaron, and Yom Ha'atzma'ut. These days revisit the core drama of the modern Jewish experience.  They are also among the most controversial in the Israeli calendar.
Righteous Among <i>Our</i> Nation Righteous Among Our Nation
Thursday, April 19, 2012 by Chaya Glasner | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features

Even before visitors walk through the door of Yad Vashem, they see a powerful tribute to Holocaust heroism. Along the Avenue of the Righteous leading to the museum, thousands of trees bloom in honor of the approximately 21,000 "Righteous Among the Nations," courageous Gentiles who defied the Nazis and risked their lives to save Jews from deportation.
The Unseen Shield The Unseen Shield
Tuesday, April 3, 2012 by Elliot Jager | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features

The news report hardly makes an impression on most Israelis: another West Bank checkpoint search, another discovery of explosives and weapons, and the familiar finale: "The suspect was taken in for questioning by the Shin Bet."
Is Football Treyf? Is Football Treyf?
Friday, March 30, 2012 by Micah Stein | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features

The Israeli Football League—American football, not soccer—is a curiosity. For starters, it's popular: While the sport has mostly flopped overseas, the IFL has an invested fan base and committed, reasonably talented players.
Marching to Jerusalem Marching to Jerusalem
Thursday, March 22, 2012 by Alex Joffe | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features

Protests, marches, sit-ins, boycotts—all these nonviolent techniques have been employed in support of the Palestinian cause, but violence has remained at the core of the enterprise. For decades, well-meaning people have suggested that a wholehearted embrace of nonviolence would do more for the Palestinians than their continuing resort to terrorism.
The Book of Numbers The Book of Numbers
Monday, March 19, 2012 by Lawrence Grossman | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features

Jewish ambivalence about demography goes back a long way. The Bible, in several places, meticulously enumerates each tribe's population even while warning that conducting head counts can bring dire consequences.
Martyr in Waiting Martyr in Waiting
Friday, March 16, 2012 by Elliot Jager | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad operative Khader Adnan, currently under administrative detention in Israel, has announced the end of his 66-day hunger strike in exchange for a commitment by Israeli authorities to set him free on April 17. His pending release raises a moral dilemma.
What Would Ariel Sharon Do? What Would Ariel Sharon Do?
Monday, March 5, 2012 by Alex Joffe | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features

Biographies of father by sons are an uncertain genre. Closeness necessarily entails distortion, positive or negative. But at a time when the vast majority of Israeli and world leaders seem strikingly small, it is worth considering the portrait of Ariel Sharon provided by his youngest son.
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Editors' Picks
Opportunity for Reform Shmuel Rosner, Jewish Journal. Now that Israel's courts brought non-Orthodox denominations one step closer to equality, those denominations must prove that they can connect with Israel's public, not just its courts.
Israel on $5 a Day Nicole Rae Baerg, Fauzi Azar Inn. Why shoestring-budget travelers are better for Israel's economy than wealthy ones.
Israel Can't Solve Africa's Problems Jonathan S. Tobin, Contentions. No matter how immigrant-friendly the Jewish state may be, the idea that tiny Israel should be considered the solution for African poverty is absurd.
Turkey, with a Slice of Humble Pie Paul Alster, Times of Israel. As his attempts to build an alliance with Syria and Iran have ended in disaster, the Turkish prime minister is trying to rebuild ties with Israel. And Israel should welcome him back.
Unwelcome Aliyah Ira Sharkansky, Jerusalem Post. If Israel's government is right to say that the influx of emigrants from Africa is unsustainable, it is wrong to demonize those already in Israel.
The Battle for Jerusalem Abraham Rabinovich, Times of Israel. Israel's 1967 conquest of the Old City, as celebrated yesterday, has become part of the religious Zionist narrative. But whether or not it was divinely preordained, it was never planned by Rabin.
Nakba and Narrative Matti Friedman, Times of Israel. The simple narrative of the 1948 displacement of Palestinian Arabs erases the uncomfortable truth that half of Israel's Jews are there not because of the Nazis but because of the Arabs themselves.
Israel's Gay Pride Giulio Meotti, Ynet. The story of gay Palestinians sheltered by Israel—some 300 in the last 20 years—goes unreported in the Western media, which is happy to hold Arabs to a lower standard.
Megalopolis Avital Lahav, Ynet. Is the solution to Israel's housing crisis the creation of a mega-city encompassing much of central Israel?
Israel's Future Air Force Amir Mizroch, Wired. Nano drones that an infantryman can pull out of his pocket, robots that can extract wounded soldiers from the battlefield, algorithms that resolve pilots' ethical dilemmas . . .