The Mughrabi Bridge to Nowhere

From the southern end of the plaza in front of Jerusalem's Western Wall, a temporary wooden bridge ascends eastward to the Mughrabi Gate, the only one of the 11 gates into the Temple Mount area that is accessible to non-Muslims.

The Urgent Need for a Permanent Bridge  Nadav Shragai,  Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs.  A veteran Israeli journalist gives the long version of the story of the eight-year-old "temporary" wooden bridge.  SAVE

No Water Under This Bridge  Shmuel Rosner,  International Herald Tribune.  One of Israel's best young journalists eyes the contradictions in a dangerous structure that everyone and no one wants to replace.  SAVE

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2011: A Year in Books

The holidays are over, the coffee-table books have all been unwrapped and set aside, and winter isn't going anywhere for a while. In short, it's time to settle in for some good reading. The literary critic D. G. Myers here presents the 38 best Jewish books of 2011, all of which merit your attention.

2010: A Year in Books  D.G. Myers,  Jewish Ideas Daily.  From the popular to the scholarly, a reader's and buyer's guide to 34 of the best books of 2010.  SAVE

Retrieving American Jewish Fiction  D.G. Myers,  Jewish Ideas Daily.  A historical symposium of some neglected classics, and an introduction to the avot and imahot of American Jewish writing.  SAVE

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Urban Planning, Hasmonean-Style

In the early 1990s, construction began on Modi'in, Israel's new "City of the Future." Designed by renowned architect Moshe Safdie and located mid-way between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, Modi'in is in many ways typical of modern planned communities.

Honoring Our Heritage  Howie Mischel,  Ynet.  A citizen of the New Modi'in asks the government to take more interest in the old one.  SAVE

The Hasmoneans Were Here—Maybe  Ran Shapira,  Haaretz.  Umm el-Umdan? Titura Hill? The competition continues among theories on the location of ancient Modi'in.  SAVE

Holy Land of Holy Graves  Shmuel Rosner,  International Herald Tribune.  Archeologists may fiercely debate the graves' authenticity, but worshipers favor tradition over suspiciously secular science.  SAVE

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The Dead Sea Scrolls, Alive in Times Square

In the basement of a converted theater on West 44th Street, tucked between the legendary Sardi's restaurant and a bowling alley, a block from Times Square and across the street from the musical Memphis, is Discovery Times Square.

A Dead Issue?  Elli Fischer,  Jewish Ideas Daily.  Since the electrifying discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls at Qumran in the late 1940's, the scholarly consensus has been that they were produced by the Essenes. But is this true?  SAVE

Virtual Qumran Tour  Orion Center, Hebrew University.  Take a virtual tour of the Qumran community and the caves in which the Dead Sea Scrolls were found.  SAVE

Digital Dead Sea Scrolls  Israel Museum.  This digital gallery allows viewers to examine the Dead Sea Scrolls in unprecedented detail.  SAVE

Old and New Tools  Jean Duhaime,  H-Net.  In a collection of essays, scholars consider and reconsider their methods of understanding the Dead Sea Scrolls and the world in which they were composed.  SAVE

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