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History & Politics


Order in the House Order in the House
Monday, February 27, 2012 by Elliot Jager | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features

On a bad day, Israeli parliamentarians have been known to hurl water at political adversaries, denigrate immigrant MKs' Hebrew accents, and even bow their heads in the memory of Palestinian suicide bombers. On a good day, they mostly go about the nuts-and-bolts crafting of bipartisan legislation for the benefit of all Israelis.
BDS Secrets BDS Secrets
Friday, February 24, 2012 by Ran Baratz | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features

Ubiquitous anti-Israel activist Norman Finkelstein stirred up the blogosphere last week. In a YouTube interview with pro-Palestinian advocate Frank Barat, Finkelstein said that members of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement (BDS) care less for human rights than they do for Israel's destruction.
Rose-Colored Glasses Rose-Colored Glasses
Monday, February 20, 2012 by Allan Arkush | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features

Jacqueline Rose, a noted professor of English in the United Kingdom and the author of many works of literary criticism, has stepped beyond the academic precincts where she first made her name to produce, over the past decade or so, a substantial opus dealing with Zionism and Israel.
The Anatomy of Life and Death The Anatomy of Life and Death
Thursday, February 16, 2012 by Armin Rosen | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features

In 2010 the New York Review of Books published a now-famous essay by former New Republic editor Peter Beinart, who argued that liberal Zionism was on the decline in Israel and that the "American Jewish establishment" was partly to blame.
The Signal-to-Noise War The Signal-to-Noise War
Wednesday, February 15, 2012 by Alex Joffe | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features

A "signal-to-noise" ratio compares the power of a transmitted signal to that of the accompanying background noise. In the war of words between Israel and Iran the noise-to-signal ratio is so high that it is an almost overwhelming task to decipher what's going on.
The Pale God The Pale God
Friday, February 3, 2012 by Aryeh Tepper | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features

Imagine God not as a benign force infusing the universe with love and sustaining it with mercy, and not as a stern judge smiting sinners from on high with his cosmic zap-gun, but as a grandfatherly figure, kind but, truth be told, somewhat out of it, sitting in a corner, tolerant of the various paths his children have chosen.
Hear, O Friends of Israel Hear, O Friends of Israel
Thursday, February 2, 2012 by Daniel Johnson | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features

In 1987, exactly a quarter-century ago, the appearance of a work of Jewish history caused a stir. For one thing, the author was not Jewish; for another, the book was unashamedly supportive of the State of Israel, which even then was enough to provoke hostility, especially on the Left.
Celebrity Politics, Israel-Style Celebrity Politics, Israel-Style
Wednesday, February 1, 2012 by Micah Stein | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features

Just two weeks ago, the always-excitable Israeli political world was abuzz with the news of two famous new Knesset candidates. One of them was a famous son—journalist Yair Lapid, whose father, Tommy Lapid, served as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice under Ariel Sharon.
Whose Holocaust? Whose Holocaust?
Friday, January 27, 2012 by Margot Lurie | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features

For much of Europe, today is the UN-designated International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has dedicated his address this year to children murdered by the Nazis, with the message that "the best tribute to the memory of these children is an ongoing effort to teach the universal lessons of the Holocaust, so that no such horror is visited upon future generations."
Siren Songs Siren Songs
Tuesday, January 24, 2012 by Shlomo Zuckier | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features

"For your voice is sweet and your appearance pleasant" (Song of Songs 2:14). On the basis of this verse, Jewish law prohibits a man's listening to kol ishah, a woman's voice in song. Unlikely as it may seem, this prohibition has sparked a controversy that could shake the foundations of Israel's self-defense and self-definition.
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Editors' Picks
Educating Adolf Felix Bohr, Spiegel. Biographers of Hitler have long pondered what transformed him from a struggling artist into a demagogue.  A new book claims that the key lies in his military service after World War I.
Surviving Stalin Ben Cohen, Tablet. Stalin's "Doctors' Plot" is now seen by many historians as the opening move of a grand plan to deport and eliminate Soviet Jews.  They were saved only by Stalin's own death.
When Egypt Ruled Jerusalem Noah Wiener, Bible History Daily. Archeological evidence points to a significant Egyptian presence in late Bronze Age Jerusalem—which had mysteriously disappeared by the time King David conquered the city.
Reason, Revelation, and Revolution Patrick Allitt, Claremont Review of Books. America's founders have been characterized both as devout Christians and as militant secularists.  A new book argues that they remained believers in God, but revolted against the Bible.
Are Christians the New Jews? Yitzchok Adlerstein, Patheos. With Islamist attacks on Christians commonplace from Nigeria to Pakistan, Christians have replaced Jews as numerically the most persecuted people in the world.
Hitler's Philosophers Richard J. Evans, Times Higher Education. The idea that German philosophers were to blame for the rise of Nazism has long been discredited.  A new attempt to revive the theory fails to convince.
Building Herod's Temple Leen Ritmeyer, Biblical Archeology Review. At both the southwest and southeast corners of the Temple Mount, stones weighing over 80 tons are still in place 100 feet above the foundations.  How did they get there?
Purim and Presidents Day Aaron Zelinsky, Huffington Post. Purim and Presidents Day rarely fall in the same week.  They do this year, and the coincidence is appropriate—since the early presidents were fans of the Purim story.
Misuses of the Holocaust Peter Berger, American Interest. "Is the Holocaust of European Jewry during World War II an absolutely unique event?  Or may it properly be used to refer to other events of mass massacres?"
Searching for Sodom , Bible History Daily. Using biblical clues to search for ancient Sodom, archeologists excavated Tall el-Hammam in Jordan—and found evidence of a sudden and extreme conflagration over 3,000 years ago.