People & Places
Blood LibelsMonday, January 31, 2011 by Allan Nadler | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
Among the unexpected consequences of the January 9 shooting tragedy in Tucson has been the introduction into American public discourse of a term seldom used and poorly understood.
Arab StirringsFriday, January 28, 2011 by Elliot Jager | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
On January 14, the strongman of Tunisia, Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, fled in panic to Saudi Arabia after the astonishingly spontaneous, Facebook-driven crumbling of his corrupt regime.
The Iraqi Jewish ArchiveMonday, January 24, 2011 by Alex Joffe | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
To whom do antiquities belong? For Jews, the question took on flesh in 2003 in the flooded basement of a building belonging to the Iraqi secret police.
The Conscience of a Jewish ConservativeFriday, January 21, 2011 by Ruth R. Wisse | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
A Jewish thinker is normally someone devoted to the study and interpretation of Jewish texts, Jewish history, Jewish issues, Jewish ideas. The late Irving Kristol (1920–2009) was, for the most part, something else: a consummate American intellectual.
A Zionist Who’s WhoThursday, January 20, 2011 by Yehudah Mirsky | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
The state of Israel, like the Zionist movement in all its forms—political, cultural, artistic, religious—was an astounding collective creation. The famous names are known, as are the slightly less famous. But what about all the others?
Ladino!Thursday, January 13, 2011 by Yehudah Mirsky | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
Long overshadowed by its Yiddish cousin, Ladino—the "other" modern Jewish language, also known as Judeo-Spanish—has increasingly benefited from new waves of scholarly and cultural retrieval.
The Persian PuzzleWednesday, January 12, 2011 by Aryeh Tepper | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
A synagogue in today's Jerusalem bears the name "Hajji Yehezkel." Yehezkel is Ezekiel, and Hajji is the Persian term for one who has fulfilled the Islamic precept of going on pilgrimage to Mecca. Who was this Ezekiel, and how did he earn his improbable honorific?
Press Freedom, Israeli-StyleTuesday, 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.
The Economist Strikes AgainFriday, January 7, 2011 by Elliot Jager | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
The Economist is a curious publication. A weekly newsmagazine published in London, it largely hews to a classical liberal (or libertarian) line in economics and a correspondingly conservative line in politics. In contrast to most newsmagazines today, it is also a rousing success.
Lost & FoundTuesday, January 4, 2011 by Aryeh Tepper | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
In 1974, a strange letter from northeastern India landed on the desk of Israel's then Prime Minister Golda Meir. It was sent by a group of Indians claiming to be descendants of the biblical tribe of Menashe.
Editors' Picks
Another Trial for Shylock Stephen Marche, New York Times. Recent opposition to a London production of the Merchant of Venice in Hebrew shows that once again, Shylock has come to stand for the entire Jewish people.
Lucky Charms Allison Hoffman, Tablet. How one avowedly secular journalist's pregnancy got her worrying about the evil eye, vindictive spirits, and even the Angel of Death.
Eyewitnesses at Auschwitz Martin Bright, Jewish Chronicle. A campaign to open British government files may finally reveal the story of the British POWs who witnessed Nazi brutality and helped Jewish prisoners escape.
A Mask for Janus Margalit Fox, New York Times. For a generation of Reform Jews, the commentary of the recently deceased W. Gunther Plaut heralded a return to Hebrew scripture. But it also made new interpretations permissible.
The Belated Contender Adam Kirsch, Tablet. It's more than a little revealing that Nathan Englander's stories of identity and belief seem shallow and garish, while his story of Jewish politics feels challenging and true.
The Ten Commandments and the Bill of Rights Mark Osler, Journal of Church and State. In some ways the two decalogues are at loggerheads; in other ways, they work together.
Who's Surrendering to Whom? Amir Taheri, New York Post. Israel sees the Hamas-Fatah unity accord as a surrender to a movement dedicated to Israel's destruction. Iran sees the accord as a surrender to a group which recognizes Israel's right to exist. What's going on?
Treyf Adam Gregerman, Forward. Far from building a bridge between Jews and Christians, Shmuley Boteach's portrait of Jesus will be rejected by most Christians as irrelevant, ahistorical, and even insulting.
Inside Batsheva Deborah Friedes Galili, Dance Magazine. His dancers are known for fiercely expressive, electrifying performances. But what's it really like to be a part of Ohad Naharin's choreographic alchemy?
With These Words Fred MacDowell, On the Main Line. With one salty term of consecration (possibly an obscene rhyme), a Jewish man may have betrothed a woman. In 1823, the rabbis of London had to deal with the consequences.