(OPINION) The news only seems to get worse whenever Jews venture online, even when digging into their social-media feeds, said Rabbi Sharon Brous, in a viral sermon at her progressive IKAR (“essence”) congregation in Los Angeles. If the Holocaust is the “dominant psychic reality of the Jew,” it's impossible not to view news reports through “Shoah-colored glasses.”
Read MoreThe ongoing war between Israel and Hamas is rooted in decades of mistrust and animosity between Jews and Muslims. To get a better understanding of this war and how we got into the present situation, here are seven books about Israel and the region.
Read More(ESSAY) It’s been nearly three weeks since the attacks and Israel seems to be a country transformed. The turnaround from a nation bifurcated by protests for and against judicial reform just last month to one united by social cohesion has been extraordinary. Yet, the trauma from the Oct. 7 terror attack unleashed by Hamas that killed 1,300 civilians remains.
Read MoreThe heated discourse about the deadly rocket explosion at Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza is rooted in the centuries-old religious hatred underlying the current war in Gaza. Immediately after the blast, journalists accepted Hamas’ account blaming the Israel Defense Forces for the deadly attack.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Many in the media continue to get this story wrong. For many, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is treated like a political story. It was a story about land. It was about colonization. It was about human rights. It may be about all those things, depending on whom you ask, but it’s also a story about Jews, Muslims and sacred sites in the Holy Lands. In other words, it’s a religion story.
Read MoreAs Israeli forces mount a ground invasion of Gaza following last week’s Hamas attack on thousands of civilians, Christians across the Holy Land called for both sides to “de-escalate this war” and end this “new cycle of violence.” Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant leaders said the violence following Hamas’ surprise attack on Israel on Oct. 8 that killed 1,300 Israelis should come to an end.
Read MoreA week after the attacks and the number of dead Israelis has topped 1,300, making it the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust. In response, Israel has been bombing Hamas targets and directed the evacuation of northern Gaza, a region that is home to 1.1 million people, in anticipation of a possible ground assault.
Read MoreLess than a week after Hamas attacked Israel, there is a debate in the Arab world as to whether the war crimes carried out by the terror group — including raping girls and abducting elderly women — should be condemned by practicing Muslims.
Read More(EXPLAINER) Two days after Hamas launched an unprecedented attack against Israel, fighting across the country and in Gaza continued. Some 900 Israelis have been killed since Saturday and more than 2,600 others have been wounded. How Israelis and Palestinians got here has been years in the making.
Read More(ANALYSIS) The parallels were striking — and surely not coincidental. Exactly 50 years and a day after being taken completely off guard by a coordinated military attack by its neighbors — Egypt and Syria — Israel was again caught by surprise.
Read More(OPINION) Heartbreak. Shock. Agony. Devastation. Confusion. Rage. These are just a few of the emotions flooding the hearts of millions of Israelis in the midst of an unprecedented terrorist attack by Hamas. This is a time to stop and pray for the merciful intervention of God.
Read MoreA 16th-century Torah scroll went on display at the Riyadh International Book Fair. The exhibit, which included 25 other rare historic manuscripts, was seen by tens of thousands in the Saudi capital. It was another sign of a newly-evolving willingness in the region to embrace ecumenicalism as a bridge between erstwhile enemies.
Read MoreOnly 35% of Israelis, a new report found, think “a way can be found for Israel and an independent Palestinian state to coexist peacefully.” The latest Pew Research Center survey, which was conducted in March and April of this year, represents a decline of nine percentage points since 2017 and 15 points since 2013.
Read More(ESSAY) Growing up in an assimilated Jewish home, I was ignorant of the most fundamental observances of Judaism’s holy days, I didn’t even know what an etrog was. It takes considerable learning to appreciate the holy fruit is a fair value at $55. I’ve been engaging in that self-education, one mitzvah at a time, for a few decades.
Read More(OPINION) Here’s why we fast on the holiest day of the Jewish calendar — but we don’t always pray, repent or ask for forgiveness.
Read More(ANALYSIS) On Sept. 13, 1993, the world watched as Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat shook hands on the White House lawn. It was a stunning moment. The famous handshake between adversaries marked the beginning of what became known as the Oslo Accords, a framework for talks between Israeli and Palestinian representatives, mediated by U.S. diplomats.
Read More(REVIEW) Adam Sandler’s latest comedy starring his daughters has some incredible conversations around faith and family — but is crushed under the weight of a mountain of painfully unfunny jokes and a thoroughly unlikable protagonist. “You’re So Not Invited To My Bat Mitzvah” features Sandler’s daughter Sadie as Stacy Friedman, a teenager who wants to have the best bat mitzvah ever and to kiss the boy of her dreams.
Read MoreThere were 200 synagogues in Latvia before World War II. Peitav-Shul is the only synagogue building to have survived both the Nazi and the Soviet occupations of Riga. The bright blue interior, built in 1905, is decorated with Egyptian and Assyrian-Babylonian geometric patterns. The Aron Kodesh (the Holy Ark), where the Torah scrolls are kept, faces Jerusalem. A marble pulpit faces the congregation.
Read MoreWhile the 2,000-year-old ossuary is seemingly genuine, the underlying issue is whether its Paleo-Hebrew inscription is the real deal or a clever fake replete with ersatz patina that was planted to fool experts.
Read More(OPINION) In the new film, Jones confesses: "I don't believe in magic, but a few times in my life I've seen things, things I can't explain." But after a life wrestling with sacred mysteries, he concludes: "It's not so much what you believe. It's about how hard you believe it."
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