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The Challenge of Sovereignty The Challenge of Sovereignty
Tuesday, April 16, 2013 by Michael B. Oren | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features

On the eve of Israel's independence, David Ben-Gurion sat alone, questioning whether a people so long accustomed to being the victims of sovereign power could take responsibility for themselves.
Coming Home Coming Home
Thursday, March 7, 2013 by Ella Taylor | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features

I’ve visited and lived in Israel since then, but mostly I’ve been in London and the United States.  By most measures, every city in which I’ve put down roots in is an easier place to live than just about anywhere in Israel.
Why Israel’s Gaze Has Turned Inward Why Israel’s Gaze Has Turned Inward
Thursday, 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. 
America and the Muslim Brotherhood: A Romance America and the Muslim Brotherhood: A Romance
Thursday, December 20, 2012 by Alex Joffe | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features

One of the most consistent and depressing aspects of U.S.-Middle Eastern relations is the determination of our intellectuals and officials to defend Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood.
Warfare on Shabbat: The Legacy of the Maccabees Warfare on Shabbat: The Legacy of the Maccabees
Friday, December 14, 2012 by Moshe Sokolow | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features

Ezra and Nehemiah were so successful in instilling Shabbat observance that Jews refused to take up arms on Shabbat to defend themselves—with disastrous results.
A World Without Enemies A World Without Enemies
Monday, December 3, 2012 by Aryeh Tepper | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features

In Isaac Babel’s 1931 short story "Argamak," a Jewish intellectual "thirsting for peace and happiness" joins a Red cavalry division made up of Jew-hating Cossacks.  The division commander understands the Jew’s strange choice—and has contempt for it.
Israel’s Friends in Gaza Israel’s Friends in Gaza
Thursday, November 29, 2012 by Alex Joffe | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features

Hamas was quick to declare victory in the latest conflict with Israel.   A closer look at the price it paid in terms of personnel and equipment shows that its bravado was false.
Peter Beinart, I Quit. Peter Beinart, I Quit.
Monday, April 2, 2012 by Yoel Finkelman | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features

Peter Beinart's new blog on the Daily Beast titled Open Zion (formerly Zion Square) is dedicated to an "open and unafraid conversation about Israel, Palestine, and the Jewish future."  But after several weeks of Open Zion, one writer has concluded that its conversation is not, in fact, open—and is not one in which he can continue to take part. Here, he resigns his position. 
The Mossad The Mossad
Tuesday, July 6, 2010 by Elliot Jager | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features

Last week, Israel successfully deployed its fourth orbiting spy satellite, hailed by the country's intelligence community as delivering better than expected surveillance of "areas of interest." At the same time, Israel's human-intelligence apparatus, essential as ever to the Jewish state's survival, has come under severe criticism for two of its recent missions: the presumed liquidation of the senior Hamas operative Mahmoud Mabhouh in Dubai and the ill-prepared interdiction of the Gaza-bound Turkish flotilla. Meanwhile, Lebanese authorities continue to sweep up reputed Israeli agents for spying on Hizballah.
Editors' Picks
Hamas Rampant Costanza Spocci, Eleanora Vio, Atlantic. A new law forbidding coed schools marks the latest victory in the terrorist organization’s campaign to impose its writ on all of Gaza’s institutions.
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.
Gaza's Modesty Police Phoebe Greenwood, Telegraph. "They beat me for at least five minutes.  I was crying and screaming with agony.  I found out from neighbors when I got home that it was because of my hair."
After Fayyad Elliott Abrams, Weekly Standard. Salam Fayyad's resignation as Palestinian prime minister signals the failure of his proactive approach to state-building—and the return of corruption and mob rule.
Meshaal, the Moderate? Alan Johnson, Prospect. Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal rejects peace with Israel, refusing to "relinquish an inch" of land.  But Egypt has guaranteed his re-election in the hope of avoiding war.
Palestinians against Peace Khaled Abu Toameh, Gatestone Institute. A peace deal negotiated between Israel and Mahmoud Abbas would be opposed by Hamas, the Palestinian people, and even parts of the Palestinian Authority.
Dangerous Liaisons Meredith Tax, Dissent. Burgeoning alliances between the far Left and the theocratic Muslim Right represent "betrayals of basic socialist principle" that have "undermined struggles for secular democracy."
Reassessing Iron Dome Avi Kober, Begin-Sadat Center. Iron Dome has been praised for its role in protecting civilians during the recent war in Gaza, but it cannot shield those closest to the border—and it has proven ineffective as a deterrent. 
Obama Goes to Israel, Finally Elliott Abrams, Weekly Standard. It is a good thing that President Obama is planning his first visit to Israel.  But will he arrive with a European peace plan aimed at forcing Israeli concessions?
Morsi: Hamas' Best Friend? Benedetta Berti, Fathom. Mohamed Morsi is more hostile to Israel, and closer to Hamas, than Mubarak.  Still, the relationship between Egypt and Gaza is more complex than it seems.