Opinion | It’s Hard to Celebrate on Jerusalem Day
I want to celebrate that day when the walls that had cut the city in two came down, and we thought that East and West could merge. But it’s hard to celebrate in Jerusalem when right-wing, nationalistic politicians are putting up new walls.
Opinion | The Trouble With Holiness
The “miraculous” victory of 1967 returned major holy places in Jerusalem and the West Bank to Jewish control, including the Temple Mount in the Old City (known as Haram al-Sharif to Muslims), the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron and Rachel’s Tomb in Bethlehem. This unexpected bounty, like other seemingly wondrous developments, actually fueled intense friction between Jews and Muslims. Sadly, the miracle of Israeli control of the holy places over 50 years has reduced the possibility of a peaceful solution to the wider conflict.
Opinion | Can You Be a Zionist-Feminist?
For feminism and Zionism to coexist without contradiction, we must truly embrace a feminist movement that includes the lived experiences of all women, and we must expand our understanding of Zionism to include supporting the rights of both Israelis and Palestinians. Most important, we must engage in meaningful work with those with whom we may strongly disagree about Israel.
Conservatives Admit Non-Jews—and No One Blinked
With only a few exceptions, the days are long gone when individuals are shunned by their communities and even disowned by their parents as a result of intermarriage.
Learning From the Swastika Epidemic of 1959
I feel oddly comforted by remembering that, while purveyors of anti-Jewish sentiments have always pressed their advantage during unsettled political times, they always vanish back into their netherworlds.
Teaching at an Islamic School in Trump’s America
Early on in my tenure, I realized how much my Muslim students were like Jewish students 100 years ago.
Is Democracy Broken?
28 years ago political philosopher Francis Fukuyama famously declared “the end of history,”meaning that there would be “the universalization of Western liberal democracy as the final form of human government.” It was a heady time. The Berlin Wall was poised to fall...
Opinion // Why There Won’t Be a ‘One-State’ Solution
Trump’s use of the phrase opened up a debate about its many meanings.
by David Makovsky
It’s fitting that the Israelis and Palestinians, who cannot agree on how...
Opinion // Why Sodom Was Destroyed
Religious Jews should be first in line to help today’s refugees and strangers.
Opinion // How to Live with the Elephant in the Room
American Jews and American Muslims have had a lot of reasons lately to come together. But often when these two communities join forces, whether for joint action or for dialogue, there’s an elephant in the room—a pachyderm with a Palestinian on it.
Opinion // Destroying ISIS is Just the Beginning
Outsiders alone won’t be able to fix the multiple messes in the Middle East.
From The Editor — March/April 2017
When I left off writing in our last issue, anti-Semitism had made a startling comeback in the United States, and Steve Bannon, the former executive chairman of Breitbart News, was about to be installed as chief strategist to the new man in the White House.