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People & Places


Political Contrail Political Contrail
Tuesday, October 11, 2011 by Elliot Jager | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features

This month marks the 30th anniversary of an emotionally fraught and bitterly waged political confrontation between the Reagan administration and the organized Jewish community.
Muslims and Jews in America Muslims and Jews in America
Monday, October 10, 2011 by Aryeh Tepper | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features

Consider these two questions: During the past ten years, approximately 170 American Muslims have been arrested for plotting terror attacks against Jews or materially aiding other terrorists.
Who Owns Maimonides? Who Owns Maimonides?
Wednesday, October 5, 2011 by Joshua Halberstam | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features

Abraham Joshua Heschel once suggested that if one didn't know that "Maimonides" was a person, one would assume it was the name of a university. Heschel was referring to the monumental breadth and influence of the 12th-century philosopher's work.
Career Corps Career Corps
Tuesday, October 4, 2011 by Elliot Jager | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features

The United States has its military academies at West Point and Annapolis. The British put their officers through Sandhurst. But how will the Israeli Defense Forces, a citizen army, train its officers for the 21st century?
Israel Studies 101 Israel Studies 101
Monday, October 3, 2011 by Alex Joffe | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features

The modern American research university is a house of many rooms. The field of Israel Studies, which has emerged in the past decade, occupies one of the newest—and smallest—of those rooms.
Pay to Pray? Pay to Pray?
Wednesday, September 28, 2011 by Jack Wertheimer | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features

In the middle decades of the 20th century they were called "mushroom synagogues." They popped up in the waning days of summer to provide High Holiday services, then disappeared at the conclusion of Yom Kippur. Today, "mushroom synagogues" are once again in vogue—but with a critical difference.
The Myth of Mideast Stability The Myth of Mideast Stability
Monday, September 26, 2011 by Elliot Jager | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features

The U.S. Ambassador to Israel recently told the International Conference on Economic Regional Cooperation in Tel Aviv that unless Israel and the Palestinians resume negotiations, "the lack of peace will decrease stability dangerously" in the Middle East.
Mel and the Maccabee Mel and the Maccabee
Thursday, September 22, 2011 by Alex Joffe | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features

Australian-American actor and director Mel Gibson—he of the anti-Semitic outbursts, the abused girlfriend, The Passion of the Christ—has just closed a deal to make a film for Warner Bros. with screenwriter Joe Eszterhas about the life of Judah Maccabee.
The Wages of Durban The Wages of Durban
Wednesday, September 21, 2011 by Arch Puddington | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features

In the days just prior to the assault on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, the World Conference Against Racism (WCAR) was very much in the news, and for reasons that are altogether relevant to the mass murder that took place on September 11, 2001.
Rosh Hashanah with the Chief Rabbi Rosh Hashanah with the Chief Rabbi
Tuesday, September 20, 2011 by Lawrence Grossman | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features

Ten years ago, the first day of Rosh Hashanah—the two-day Jewish New Year—fell on September 18. That was one week after September 11, 2001, when almost 3,000 people were killed by Muslim terrorists. On that Rosh Hashanah, rabbis did not lack for sermon topics.
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Editors' Picks
What About Gantz? David Horovitz, Times of Israel. In assessing the Iranian nuclear threat, we should listen to the current head of Israel's military rather than out-of-the-loop retired generals.
When a Cantor Can't Debra Rubin, JTA. What's the difference between an "ordained" and an "invested" cantor? Plenty, say Reform officials.
There are More Things in Heaven and Earth David Winters, Bookforum. And there are other Walter Benjamins besides the post-Kantian philosopher dreamt of by Eli Friedlander.
LDS POTUS? Moment. Nine rabbis from different walks of life reflect on what a Mormon president might mean to Jews.
Refugees and Resolutions Lyn Julius, Haaretz. Israel is afraid to champion restitution for Jews expelled from Arab countries because of the assumed link to the Palestinian refugee issue.
The Patriarch Michal Shmulovich, Times of Israel. While Benzion Netanyahu will go down in history as a pathbreaking scholar and political activist, Israel's prime minister will remember the father who braved a snowstorm rather than let his son go to bed hungry.
Trailing the Magic Bullet Josh Feinberg, Huffington Post. Permission to treat Christians, entrance quotas, scientific heroes, magic cures, and nursing campaigns: a new exhibit explores the glorious, scandalous history of Jews and modern medicine. (Slideshow)
Lions and Angels Adin Steinsaltz, PBS. How did the legendary rabbinic scholar, who was raised in a secular household, become religious? "It was almost spontaneous." (Video)
In Defense of Jewish Nationalism Robert Wolfe, New English Review. The Jewish national movement is now composed of religious nationalists, secular nationalists, and Jewish loyalists. What it lacks is a conception of Jewish nationalism that can appeal to non-Jews.
Bloc Party Colin Campbell, Politicker. New York's ultra-Orthodox citizens don't watch TV or follow sports. What do they pay attention to? Politics. And more and more, politicians are paying attention back.