Jewish Ideas Daily has been succeeded and re-launched as Mosaic. Read more...

Events


An Open Letter to the Arab Street An Open Letter to the Arab Street
Wednesday, March 9, 2011 by Benjamin Kerstein | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features

First and foremost, congratulations. Even from our vantage point on the other side of a seemingly unbridgeable divide between our peoples, the extraordinary nature of what you have accomplished in recent weeks is obvious.
The Old Young Guard The Old Young Guard
Monday, March 7, 2011 by Aryeh Tepper | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features

One of the most significant movements of Jewish renewal in the 20th century was Hashomer Hatzair: the Young Guard.  Founded as a youth group in Vienna in 1916, the movement set itself in opposition to what it regarded as the emaciated character of Jewish life.
J Street’s Last Hurrah? J Street’s Last Hurrah?
Tuesday, March 1, 2011 by Elliot Jager | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features

In a little over three years, a liberal lobby calling itself "passionately and unapologetically pro-Israel" appears to have either supplanted or co-opted other likeminded groups on the Jewish Left—among them, Americans for Peace Now, the Israel Policy Forum, and the New Israel Fund.
Military Virtue, and Virtue Military Virtue, and Virtue
Monday, February 28, 2011 by Aryeh Tepper | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features

On February 14, Benny Gantz was appointed the twentieth chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). It wasn't supposed to be that way. Yoav Galant, a decorated soldier and former head of the IDF's southern command, had been named to the position at the end of 2010.
The Athens & Jerusalem Two-Step The Athens & Jerusalem Two-Step
Tuesday, February 22, 2011 by Aryeh Tepper | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features

The eastern Mediterranean is in a state of serious flux. Historically, under such volatile conditions, old bonds tend to dissolve and new partnerships to emerge. The present is no exception. One example of this is Greece's surprising new friendship with Israel and its outreach to the American Jewish community.
The <i>New York Times</i> Revises the Peace Process The New York Times Revises the Peace Process
Monday, February 14, 2011 by Sol Stern | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features

"The Peace Plan that Almost Was and Still Could Be": blazoned over the entire cover of the February 13 New York Times Magazine, the sensation-seeking headline comes accompanied by a photograph from the back of former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, each with his arm around the other.
Is Israeli Democracy Finished? Is Israeli Democracy Finished?
Tuesday, January 25, 2011 by Benjamin Kerstein | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features

In a now somewhat notorious story published on January 11, Time magazine announced that Israeli politics was taking an ominous "rightward lurch," and concluded that the Middle East's only democracy is on the slippery slope toward something like . . . fascism.
Press Freedom, Israeli-Style Press Freedom, Israeli-Style
Tuesday, January 11, 2011 by Elliot Jager | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features

If, as Walter Lippmann wrote, the newspaper is the bible of democracy, the land of the Bible is exceptionally well endowed with that precious commodity.
And Not a Drop to Drink And Not a Drop to Drink
Wednesday, December 22, 2010 by Alex Joffe | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features

With Israel's Carmel fires barely extinguished, word came in early December that the water level in the Kinneret, also known as the Sea of Galilee, was approaching the "black line" at which no more pumping could take place.
Shorting History Shorting History
Tuesday, December 14, 2010 by Elliot Jager | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features

English-language introductions to modern Israel are few and far between, and good ones even fewer and farther. For that reason alone, the publication of Martin van Creveld's The Land of Blood and Honey: The Rise of Modern Israel raises the hope that here, at last, is the book to recommend to anyone seeking a definitive, concise, level-headed, and well-written guide to the Jewish state.
Page 8 of 9« First...56789
Editors' Picks
How Fruitful? Shmuel Rosner, New York Times. By funding IVF for women in their fifties and now requiring women who want to give birth at home to prove their sanity, is Israel taking its involvement in procreation a little too far?
Talking Security, Thinking Demographics Yoram Rabin, Haaretz. Israel's Supreme Court is discussing the security implications of immigration law without explicitly addressing the demographic implications. That will have to change.
Israel's Indian Connection Marc Sloman, Ynet. The highest-ranking Indian official in a decade is about to visit Israel. His trip is another step in India's 20-year journey out of Third World socialism.
All (and That Means All) Aboard Anshel Pfeffer, Haaretz. It's years overdue, billions over budget, and with a route of debatable efficiency, but Jerusalem's light rail system may yet prove that coexistence is possible.
Persuaded D.G. Myers, Literary Commentary. On the heels of his roll call of the best Jewish books of 2011, Myers reflects on how the prose of Irving Kristol led to his own political and religious "right turns."      
Channel 10 Facing Chapter 11 Ethan Bronner, New York Times. The troubles of the Israeli TV station are being cast as part of a broader cultural and political war for control over the judiciary, the reporting of news, and public discourse.
Women Unite! For . . . Elana Sztokman, Forward. The driving force behind Israel's mass demonstration against Haredi violence against women was not women's rights, but religious coercion.
An Alternative to the Suez Canal? Nathan Jeffay, Jewish Chronicle. Israel is signing an agreement with China to build a railroad from Eilat to Tel Aviv. It will develop the Negev—and may make the Canal loom a little less large.
New President Calls for Tunisia's Jews to Return Associated Press. With Islamists in power, Israel warned Tunisia's remaining Jews to emigrate. But they're staying put. In fact, Tunisia's president wants the emigrants now in Israel to come back.
The Truth Game Efraim Karsh, Hudson New York. The discovery of a key historical document lays to rest one of the longest running debates on the 1948 war. So why has Haaretz tried to distort its contents and suppress it?