War & Peace
The Six-Day War: Day SixAfter five days spent battling Arab forces, Israel now faced a new opponent: time. With the Egyptians and Jordanians out of the war, and the Syrians having agreed to a ceasefire, the Security Council was becoming restless.
The Six-Day War: Day FiveOnce Dayan decided against a limited attack in the Golan and opted instead to take the entire Heights, Israel's air force pounded the Syrians. The Syrians had supposed the Israelis to be tired and intimidated by their incessant shelling . . .
Day Four: “Attack! Attack!”Friday, June 8, 2012 by Allan Arkush | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
On June 1, 1967, when Prime Minister Levi Eshkol yielded to public pressure and turned over the portfolio of defense minister to former IDF chief of staff Moshe Dayan, the mood in Israel changed overnight.
The Six-Day War: Day TwoOn June 6th, 1967, by 8:00 a.m. Tel Aviv time, Israeli forces had entered el-Arish. It initially seemed desolate, but the Israelis were soon under fire from every window. Israel's leadership, not expecting the war to move so quickly, had not considered what do to beyond el-Arish.
On the Eve of the Six-Day WarForty-five years ago today, on June 4, 1967, Israel and the Jewish world were in suspense. Today, we recall the Six-Day War as a stunning martial victory by the Jewish state; but on the war's eve, this outcome was wholly unforeseeable. Indeed, the odds appeared firmly stacked against Israel.
Find, Fix, FinishTuesday, May 1, 2012 by Alex Joffe | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
What is the threat? Al-Qaeda? "Terrorism"? "Violent religious extremism"? Israeli analysts call it "global jihad," but U.S. leadership has carefully circumscribed it as "al-Qaeda" or, even more narrowly, personified it as Osama bin Laden and his minions, hijackers of planes and Islam.
Independence DayThursday, April 26, 2012 by Alex Joffe | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
Every spring, within a single week, Israel commemorates Yom Hashoah, Yom Hazikaron, and Yom Ha'atzma'ut. These days revisit the core drama of the modern Jewish experience. They are also among the most controversial in the Israeli calendar.
The Unseen ShieldTuesday, April 3, 2012 by Elliot Jager | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
The news report hardly makes an impression on most Israelis: another West Bank checkpoint search, another discovery of explosives and weapons, and the familiar finale: "The suspect was taken in for questioning by the Shin Bet."
Peter Beinart, I Quit.Monday, April 2, 2012 by Yoel Finkelman | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
Peter Beinart's new blog on the Daily Beast titled Open Zion (formerly Zion Square) is dedicated to an "open and unafraid conversation about Israel, Palestine, and the Jewish future." But after several weeks of Open Zion, one writer has concluded that its conversation is not, in fact, open—and is not one in which he can continue to take part. Here, he resigns his position.
Martyr in WaitingFriday, March 16, 2012 by Elliot Jager | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
The Palestinian Islamic Jihad operative Khader Adnan, currently under administrative detention in Israel, has announced the end of his 66-day hunger strike in exchange for a commitment by Israeli authorities to set him free on April 17. His pending release raises a moral dilemma.
Editors' Picks
Nazis Among Us Efraim Zuroff, Jerusalem Post. Every year the Simon Wiesenthal Center publishes a report on war criminals apprehended and at large. "It is still possible," says its director, "to bring the perpetrators to justice."
Josephus the Jew Benjamin Balint, Wall Street Journal. Yigael Yadin called Josephus “a great historian and a bad Jew.” But a new book argues that if Josephus was a traitor, “it was to a reckless nationalism he never favored, not to Judaism.”
Lions of Israel , Toldot Yisrael. 65 years ago this month, 35 Haganah soldiers died trying to bring supplies to kibbutzim in the besieged Etzion Bloc. A new documentary tells their story from eyewitness accounts. (Video)
In Hemingway's Shadow Heather McRobie, Times Literary Supplement. Although recently overshadowed by her husband, Ernest Hemingway, Martha Gellhorn was an esteemed writer in her own right—and an important Holocaust novelist.
The Fight for Azerbaijan Alex Vatanka, Foreign Affairs. Although Azerbaijan has deep historical connections with Iran, it shares Israel's desire to keep the Islamic Republic at bay. So, both Iran and Israel are working hard to win its heart.
Barak's Last Battle Jonathan Tepperman, Foreign Affairs. "Barak's basic approach to security, although he never articulated it as such, boils down to expecting the worst and acting accordingly. It's a logical position for a chastened former peacemaker."
Washington Post Says "Settlements" Rhetoric Overheated , Washington Post. Almost all of Israel's recent post-Oslo settlement construction is located in areas that a two-state solution would cede to Israel. The real roadblock to peace is Abbas.
Wingate of Zion Max Boot, Weekly Standard. Israel remembers Orde Wingate for turning Jews in Mandate Palestine into a fighting force—as T. E. Lawrence had done for the Arabs. But Wingate's legacy stretches further still.
Israel's Fallen Warrior Dan Margalit, Israel Hayom. Amnon Lipkin-Shahak, the IDF's 15th chief of staff, has died. He survived the battles of Karameh and the Lebanon coast only to succumb to the more formidable foe of leukemia.
Amaziah's Revenge Glenn J. Corbett, Bible History Daily. In the Book of Chronicles, 10,000 Edomite captives were “dashed to pieces” when King Amaziah threw them from a mountaintop. Is es-Sela in Jordan the site of the slaughter?