Many of you may have noticed that this site hasn’t been accepting comments today. The…
People are starting to to take notice of Fred Jerome’s new book, Einstein on Israel and Zionism. I reviewed the book here a couple months ago, but now it has gotten the attention of David Billet at The New Republic and Adam Kirsch at Tablet. Both are apparently Zionists, and both seem unwilling to grapple with the important issues the book raises.
Shas is an important part of Netanyahu’s coalition, representing the religious nationalist right. The spiritual…
Wednesday evening begins Tisha B’Av, or the Ninth Day of the Hebrew Calender month of Av. This is the saddest day of the year in the Jewish religion. On this day, the First Temple was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 B.C.E., and the Second Temple was destroyed by the Romans in 70 C.E..
Many Jewish sages stated that the Temples were destroyed because of sinat hinam, or causeless hatred. Their lack of concern and compassion led to a destructive disunity among the Jewish people. So along with many other Jews, I will communally mourn tomorrow night to reflect on the tragic events of my people, as well as the tragedies that have occurred and continue to occur to all peoples.
The second reason I will mourn is more personal. On Sunday, my 18 year old cousin will leave American and move to Israel (make aliyah). After a three month stay at a kibbutz acclimating into her new nation, she will be joining the Israeli Defense Force (IDF).
"Closed military zone" that includes outpost (photo: Joseph Dana) From Haaretz: Some 200 people, mostly…