Beliefs and concepts
Israeli Learning Start-Ups Go Beyond the Classroom
JNS.org - School began again this week for Israeli children, many of whom had the spent the summer in and out of bomb shelters...
Israel’s Christian Friends Are the Candle in the Darkness
When I left Israel nearly six weeks ago for my annual trip to America the rockets had already begun to fall. Just two nights before my family boarded a plane for Chicago we were frantically...
Lev Tahor Haredi Group Leaves Guatemalan Town After Threats
JNS.org - About 200 members of a controversial Haredi sect of Judaism, Lev Tahor ("Pure Heart" in Hebrew), have left a Guatemalan village where they had settled in search of religious freedom after clashes...
An Open Letter to the Muslim World: What Would Your Grandfather Say?
Dear cousin, As relatives that go back thousands of years to our shared grandfather Abraham, let me get straight to the point. You are all believers of Allah -- a good G-d who created all human...
Images of Jesus as Christian, Jew, Criminal, and Divine: Conception Drives Perception
A few years ago I gave a talk on art, perception, and anti-Semitism to a...
Young Israeli Christians Complete First-Ever Summer Seminar
JNS.org - Thirty Israeli Christians have completed the first-ever summer seminar for Arabic-speaking Israeli...
Why It’s So Easy for Liberal Jews to Judge Israel
It never fails. Whenever Israel fights a war with Hamas in Gaza, you can be...
What I Hope to Hear at High Holy Day Services
It's often said the High Holy Days come either too late or too early, but...
Israeli Learning Start-Ups Go Beyond the Classroom
JNS.org - School began again this week for Israeli children, many of whom had the spent the summer in and out of bomb shelters during...
Israel’s Christian Friends Are the Candle in the Darkness
When I left Israel nearly six weeks ago for my annual trip to America the rockets had already begun to fall. Just two nights before...
Lev Tahor Haredi Group Leaves Guatemalan Town After Threats
JNS.org - About 200 members of a controversial Haredi sect of Judaism, Lev Tahor ("Pure Heart" in Hebrew), have left a Guatemalan village where...
An Open Letter to the Muslim World: What Would Your Grandfather Say?
Dear cousin, As relatives that go back thousands of years to our shared grandfather Abraham, let me get straight to the point. You are all believers...
Images of Jesus as Christian, Jew, Criminal, and Divine: Conception Drives Perception
A few years ago I gave a talk on art, perception, and anti-Semitism to a mostly Jewish audience at an adult education program in New...
Young Israeli Christians Complete First-Ever Summer Seminar
JNS.org - Thirty Israeli Christians have completed the first-ever summer seminar for Arabic-speaking Israeli Christian youths in Haifa. The program is designed to help young...
A Miracle in Our Times?
As I am landing in New York on my return flight from Israel - sadly, I should add; I really would have liked to remain...
Why It’s So Easy for Liberal Jews to Judge Israel
It never fails. Whenever Israel fights a war with Hamas in Gaza, you can be sure of a few things: The world media will condemn...
What I Hope to Hear at High Holy Day Services
It's often said the High Holy Days come either too late or too early, but never on time. This year, they couldn't be better timed. With all...
The Morality of Disproportionality
On July 11, the Rabbi Meir Baal HaNess synagogue in Tel Aviv was damaged when remnants of a Hamas-fired rocket landed on it, after it was, thankfully,...
Divorce the Personal From the Collective
The brouhaha surrounding the wedding reception of a Jaffa couple on Sunday evening is yet another example of ideology gone haywire. In this case,...
Ancient Coins From Time of Jewish Revolt Against Rome Unearthed
JNS.org - Ancient bronze coins dating back to 69/70 C.E., the time of the Jewish revolt against Rome, were discovered in an archeological excavation...
In Honor of Tu B’Av: Israeli Love in Numbers
JNS.org - Many more Israeli couples are living together and having children without getting married, and the number of unmarried mothers is on the...
Living With War in an Age of Perpetual Conflict
A broad consensus has emerged that Israel's withdrawal from Gaza, and the dismantling of Gush Katif, was a catastrophe that led to three Hamas wars....
