The Blogs | The Marketplace of Ideas

Apply for a Blog

In a recent episode of the 11th season of "Curb Your Enthusiasm," Larry David feels obligated to clean a Klansman's robe. (John P. Johnson/HBO)

Andrew Silow-Carroll

Larry David has never been more Jewish than in this season’s ‘Curb’

David’s character is sacrilegious and heretical, but to dismiss him as ‘self-hating’ is to miss out on the unmistakably Jewish conversation at the heart of the show

Esty Shushan, founder of the ultra-Orthodox women’s group Nivcharot shown in a promotional photo for Anna Somershaf's documentary film 'A Woman of Valor'

So how, in fact, do Haredi women behave?

Ultra-Orthodox feminists aren’t just changing their own communities, they are posing a wider challenge: Can new and different models be tolerated in the Israeli secular space?

Israeli soldiers attend a swearing-in ceremony as they are inducted into the Givati Brigade, at the Western Wall in Jerusalem Old City, June 23, 2016. (Flash90)

Sam Lehman-Wilzig

Too many IDF soldiers: What will replace universal army service?

With signs that a smaller, higher tech army is already on the way, there is an alternative that would even include the ultra-Orthodox and Arab sectors

Lara Logan with CBS's "60 Minutes", sits with U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Chris Corbin, assigned to the 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne), before conducting an interview at Eglin Base Air Force Base, Fla., March 18, 2013.(U.S. Army / Spc. Steven K. Young/Released)

Sheldon Kirshner

Lara Logan’s grotesque comparison: Fauci and Mengele

How could anyone who calls herself a journalist compare an upstanding, caring scientist to the Nazi war criminal known as the Angel of Death?

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, his wife Gilat and their four children at the Knesset on June 13, 2021. (Naftali Bennett/Instagram)

Joshua Koonin

Why the Bennett vacation story matters

The conduct of the Bennett family suggests that politics rather than a truly perceived grave threat of the Omicron variant drove the PM to curtail air travel

Man entering the mikvah. (Courtesy of Mayyim Hayyim/via JTA)

Ari M. Solomont

When my rabbi took me to the mikvah

Listen up educators: Back when sexual abuse was more hidden and we all had the luxury of naivete, my rabbi did everything exactly right by setting clear boundaries

Loolwa Khazzoom

At home in the Jewish body

I eventually realized that not only am I beautiful but that my ‘JewNose’ is a distinct part of my beauty – and I’m keeping the ‘JewFro’ and brown eyes too

See all Featured Posts

Blogs topics

Latest posts

Dec 5, 2021, 2:23 PM

Anatomy of a Chanukah Miracle

If there is one word synonymous with Chanukah it is the word Miracle – and the eight days of commemoration of the Miracles of the cruse of oil and the victory of the Maccabees also provide an opportunity for...

James M. Dorsey

Dec 5, 2021, 2:18 PM

Contradictory US human rights policies in Saudi Arabia and Iran raise questions

A cursory look at Saudi Arabia and Iran suggests that emphasizing human rights in US foreign policy may complicate relations but has little impact on regional stability or the willingness of protagonists to reduce tension and manage conflicts when...

Linda Pardes Friedburg

Dec 5, 2021, 2:14 PM

Chanukah: We Perpetuate the Light

Chanuka is a moving and magnificent holiday, both aesthetically and symbolically. Eight days of growing light, and of proudly and clearly celebrating our identities! We take a walk on our street after lighting the first candle, passing by the houses...

Dec 5, 2021, 2:11 PM

Is there a duty to shelter our enemies’ children?

A congregant recently overheard a story somewhere and asked me whether we Jews have the duty to rescue and shelter the children of antisemites. My immediate answer was: yes. And still is. Saving human lives is a supremely Jewish value....

Dec 5, 2021, 2:08 PM

Getting on the Road to Recovery

Just another car, driving down just another road - along the flat Western Negev, then climbing the Jerusalem hills on a rainy day. At times it was raining so hard that however frantically the windshield wipers attempted to keep...

Dec 5, 2021, 11:42 AM

IDENTITY CRISIS, Waymade University, India

International conference held at Waymade College of Education, India - 4 & 5/12/2021. Since the theme of our dicussion is Identity crisis, let me give you a few clues concerning my background: My father was Sephardic Italian, my mother British,...

Dec 5, 2021, 11:33 AM

“The Law of Supply and Demand” and our Portfolio

The law of supply and demand is a theory that explains the interaction between the sellers of a resource and the buyers for that resource. The theory defines the relationship between the price of a given product and the...

Herbert J. Cohen

Dec 5, 2021, 11:26 AM

Kosher Movies: The Forgotten Battle

When is a war really over? I am writing this as a new variant of Covid has just made its appearance. We thought the Covid pandemic was almost over and then the Delta variant appeared. And now there is...

Dec 5, 2021, 11:21 AM

Twinkling lights, candles glowing. . .

Happy Hanukkah! My neighbor gaily calls out as we pass each other walking our dogs. Her gracious home is beautifully adorned, trees strung with twinkling white lights, lamp posts festooned with dark green garlands, the scent of pine in the air. And...

Dec 5, 2021, 4:39 AM

Antizionist Disinformation: Tips for Hanan Ashrawi

A knife attack in the city of Jerusalem was recorded on camera on 4 December 2021 at approximately 16:30 (GMT +2), the details and description of the attack are fairly simple: A 25-year-old man was walking near the Damascus...

Load more