Observation ·
The scholar of Russian literature harkens back to a famous warning to Americans about deep-seated tendencies that could lead their nation into societal sickness.
Monthly Essay ·
American Jews feel betrayed by the very institutions they helped build. It’s time for young Jews to go to colleges and universities that welcome and embrace them.
Monthly Essay ·
As America's universities catch fire and its Jewish students grow more fearful, the field most likely to have something to say has remained silent—or worse. How did it go wrong?
Observation ·
Compared to the wit of the anti-Vietnam slogans of the late 60s, the anti-Israel chants of today are aggressively tedious. What does that say about the chanters?
Response ·
Judaism has the resources to confront artificial intelligence, if Jews are prudent about how to use them.
Monthly Essay ·
As both sides escalate by the day and as the fighting in Gaza simmers down, many Israelis are growing convinced that full-scale war with Hizballah is unavoidable. Are they right?
Observation ·
A practicing Orthodox Jew, the late senator lived his faith; no political triumph ever seemed to dent his graciousness.
Response ·
Jews can help the wider world fight the excesses of artificial intelligence, but in order to do so they need to learn how to speak about such matters in a language non-Jews understand.
Monthly Essay ·
AI has the potential to change the way Jews study Torah, observe Jewish law, work with rabbis, and teach their children. Will Jews resist those changes or welcome them?
Observation ·
Of all the actors that have taken the world stage since October 7, the Houthis are surely the most surprising. Where did they come from and what do they want?
Observation ·
Two or three thoughts on the “dehumanizing” discourse.
Observation ·
Images of bloodshed in Gaza should upset anyone with a healthy moral sense. But they don't help determine whether the actions that brought these scenes about were ethical.
Observation ·
Interviews with Norman Podhoretz and Elliott Abrams recreate the foreign-policy debates of the cold war, and illuminate Kissinger's attitudes toward Israel and the Jewish people.
Response ·
Heinous violence meant to force everyone to choose sides has long been the recourse of a radical minority that fears time is not on its side.
Monthly Essay ·
How generations of Arab thinkers and leaders tried to turn the humiliation of their losses to Israel into a springboard to launch their nations into an enchanted new age.
Observation ·
Will the administration’s new strategy to counter anti-Semitism camouflage its own inaction?
Response ·
What else but turn to the past in search of some historical precedents for the current situation, and of what was done successfully then.
Response ·
The best bet to fight far-right anti-Semitism is to hope that America's lapsed Christians return to the pews.
Response ·
The cultural chaos of the current era seems to map perfectly onto the anxieties of the 19th century. The same goes for today's flavor of anti-Semitism.
Monthly Essay ·
How America’s far right found its anti-Semitic voice and figured out its true identity.
Observation ·
Open ties between the two nations are in everyone's interest, but it will take serious intent and deft maneuvering from America to get there. Is the administration up to it?
Response ·
Insects may be welcome on European plates, but not kosher meat.
Response ·
As Christianity has receded in Europe, a movement has grown to invest culinary life with a moral meaning that runs counter to biblical faith.
Response ·
Europeans discomfited with the idea of animal cruelty could abstain from meat. But accusing halal and kosher butchers instead absolves the conscience and keeps the foie gras flowing.
Monthly Essay ·
Israel's court is abnormally powerful and has caused half the nation to lose faith in its government. Reform will help, as long as it doesn't cause the other half to do the same.
Response ·
Instead of placing ourselves as the main characters in another mighty civilization’s story, our task remains to plough our own furrow, and reap our own harvest.
Observation ·
Religious organizations need a voice inside the federal government. Is the twenty-year-old office still up to the task?
Monthly Essay ·
Jewish teachings have shaped Western civilization from the beginning. How can Jews build schools that encourage the rising generation to take this responsibility seriously?
Observation ·
Why is a silly new documentary about anti-Semitism that breathlessly reveals David Schwimmer has "never felt white, ever" getting such a rapturous response?
Observation ·
As 2022 comes to a close, we’re looking back at some of our favorite stories from this year. Today, we focus on Israel, Jews across the world, and on contemporary politics.
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