Zionism
Where Does the Modern Period of Jewish History Begin?Friday, January 18, 2013 by Michael A. Meyer | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
In this classic 1975 Judaism article, Michael Meyer argues that there is no value in "setting a definite terminus for the beginning of modern Jewish history."
Which Land Is Our Land?Wednesday, January 16, 2013 by The Editors | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
After David Ben-Gurion urged young American Jews to make aliyah, the American Jewish Committee responded by resolving to "forcefully discourage Israeli propaganda for immigration from America."
If I Forget Thee?Tuesday, January 15, 2013 by Allan Arkush | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
As a recent seminar at New York's Mechon Hadar testified, throughout Jewish tradition, everyone—even the anti-Zionists—recognizes that the Land of Israel has more sanctity than any other place. But what follows from that?
When Prayers for Rain are AnsweredFriday, January 11, 2013 by Alex Joffe | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
Israel is, in most minds, an arid land bereft of water, not cursed with its superabundance. But a look at geography and history suggests otherwise.
Buczacz by Way of Newark: On Literary Lives at the EndThursday, January 10, 2013 by Jeffrey Saks | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
Philip Roth has bowed out gracefully from the literary world. But for the great Hebrew writer S. Y. Agnon, retirement was never an option.
Not Dead Yet: The Remarkable Renaissance of Cantorial MusicTuesday, December 25, 2012 by Allan Nadler | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
After a half-century of steady decline, two unlikely Jewish groups are reviving hazzanut.
Where Did the Gaon Go?Tuesday, December 18, 2012 by Lawrence Grossman | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
Eliyahu Stern's new book portrays the Vilna Gaon as Eastern Europe's Moses Mendelssohn. But can the ascetic, who backed the persecution of Hasidim, seriously be associated with individualism and democracy?
Partition, Then and NowTuesday, December 11, 2012 by Allan Arkush | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
Since the beginning of the Zionist project, the partition of the land into two states has never found enthusiastic support among either Jews or Arabs.
A Meditation on Maoz ZurMonday, December 10, 2012 by Ismar Schorsch | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
In this 1988 essay, Ismar Schorsch writes that the much maligned final stanza of Maoz Zur, which calls for divine retribution against Israel’s enemies, illustrates a distinction between redemption within history and the ultimate redemption, which must come from without.
The Sigd Festival Comes Home to JerusalemWednesday, December 5, 2012 by Shai Afsai | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
On the Sigd, Ethiopian Jews would walk to a mountaintop and pray to return to Jerusalem. Now they are in Jerusalem, and the Sigd is a national holiday in Israel.
Editors' Picks
Isaiah Berlin's Liberal Zionism Arie Dubnov, Jewish Chronicle. An advocate of individual liberty, Isaiah Berlin defended Zionism not for liberating the Jewish nation but for giving individual Jews a choice: whether to live in Israel or the Diaspora.
Israel’s Lobby: The American People Meir Soloveichik, Weekly Standard. There are millions of Americans who “have no idea what the word 'kishkes' means, but whose concern for the state of Israel is bone-deep."
Refreshing Tu Bishvat Elli Fischer, Jewish Week. "Diasporic Jewish existence is like a dried fruit: flavor and freshness are sacrificed in the interest of durability and portability."
Sing to the Lord A New Song Samuel Lewis, Musical Opinion. Israel not only punches above its weight in classical music, but has also cultivated a unique musical voice.
Israel's First Election Leah Abramowitz, Moses Yekutiel Alpert, Orthodox Union. "After 2,000 years of Exile, actually since the six days of Creation, we have never had an opportunity as today—that we can go and vote in a Jewish State." (1949)
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.”
Israel's Unrepresented Anglos Jonathan Gimpel, Jerusalem Post. Unlike other minority communities in Israel, the Anglos are not united as an interest group. But they are united in their ideals—as the rise of Jewish Home testifies.
Havah Nagilah: From Niggun To Cliché Chavie Lieber, JTA. Today, it is the clichéd stuff of American weddings. But it began in Europe as a Hasidic niggun, and picked up its words in 20th-century Palestine.
Martin Gilbert's Legacy Michael Pinto-Duschinsky, Standpoint. With his monumental works on the Holocaust, Zionism, and Winston Churchill, Martin Gilbert deserves to be celebrated as not only a great Jewish historian but a great English historian.
Israel’s Second Joseph Liel Leibovitz, Tablet. Placed in charge of rationing food in the nascent State of Israel, Dov Yosef was widely hated and readily forgotten. But no one went hungry.