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A newborn holding onto an adult's thumb. (iStock)

Leah Herzog

Connecting to the Creator

When a woman is pregnant, she houses and nourishes a new world, a new soul. When she gives birth, she suffers a loss, by definition. I know this too well (Tazria)

Centrifuge machines in the Natanz uranium enrichment facility in central Iran, in an image released on November 5, 2019. (Atomic Energy Organization of Iran via AP, File)

Ephraim Asculai

With Iran, we are at a nuclear crossroads

As Iran nudges its uranium enrichment perilously close to weapons-grade level, an existentially threatened Israel would have to go it alone

I'm standing on the far right in this first picture. (courtesy)

Michael Roth

Did I want to be a paratrooper? Clearly

I made aliyah in 1975, became a lone soldier hosted by a kibbutz, and I found almost everything about the land seductive at that age

Ben Gurion (left) signing Israel's Declaration of Independence, held by Moshe Sharet, with Eliezer Kaplan looking on.

Yosef Blau

When loyalty to the group means bad behavior gets excused

The biblical forbears set a high bar for loyalty without losing clarity of right and wrong. Israel needs to balance that same sense of fairness

Customers enjoy dining at restaurants after they were recently re-opened, in Tel Aviv on March 07, 2021. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)

Kenneth Jacobson

This Independence Day, let’s hear it for normalcy

It’s one of the goals of Zionism – a normal state for the Jewish People – and this year there’s lots to celebrate on that score

Talya Woolf

73 reasons to love Israel

Lightning-speed vaccination, random acts of kindness, and 7 ways to eat a Krembo – just some of the wonders that make this place thrilling

Illustrative aerial shot of Saudi desert. (iStock)

Miriam Herschlag

Thoughts on Israel at 73 while flying over the Saudi desert

On this, the independence day of an old-new country, our governance may be ailing, but the hallmark ‘superabundant force’ of democracy is alive and kicking

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Apr 16, 2021, 7:22 PM

The Dreyfus Legacy of France

The mockery of justice in the case of neglected murder of Sarah Halimi First, the disclaimer to make: I do like France very much. Its culture, its landscapes, its distinct style and charm. I grew up with admiration of France’s...

Allen S. Maller

Apr 16, 2021, 6:52 PM

Ramadan and Yom Kippur fasting are holy healthy diets for sawm/tsom

The following article appeared on the Islamicity website. The Swiss Muslim Academic Dr. Tariq Ramadan states: “The philosophy of fasting calls upon us to know ourselves, to master ourselves, and to discipline ourselves; the better to free ourselves. To fast...

Apr 16, 2021, 6:48 PM

Vital perspective on renewed US aid to UNRWA

The US Government has announced the renewal of aid to UNRWA, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, which the UN created as a "temporary" entity in the wake of the Israel War of Independence, to help half a...

Moshe-Mordechai van Zuiden

Apr 16, 2021, 6:16 PM

Judaism against anti-democratic fallacies of people being of different qualities

With tension between Judaism and Democracy, look at whose side G^d is! First of all, the Mishna is very clear. Proper inter-human relations are the prime focal point of the Jewish 'religion.' It is part of the 'worship' that G^d...

William Hamilton

Apr 16, 2021, 6:12 PM

For goodness sake

I recently learned that it took a full year to find witnesses to testify at the Eichmann trial back in the early 1960s. Why? Because those who survived were worried their stories would not be believed. The atrocities they...

Apr 16, 2021, 6:10 PM

Wine of the week: Ostal Cazes Rose 2020 (Minervois, rose)

In the 18th century the port of Bordeaux was the second largest port in the world after the port of London. With direct access to the Atlantic Ocean, the port of Bordeaux was able to ship cereals, cocoa, sugar, spices,...

Apr 16, 2021, 6:08 PM

Iran sanctions relief will lead to proxies, while sanctions will only be skirted

With a new Democratic administration set in place in the United States, (and the same, old Iranian regime), prospects for a newfangled version of the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) are on the table. But what is in...

Avigayil Halpern

Apr 16, 2021, 5:55 PM

For #MeToo transgressors, the only cure is banishment

NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 27: Dozens of protesters against the confirmation of Republican Supreme court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh gather outside of Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer's office on the afternoon that the nation is watching Professor Christine Blasey Ford testify against Kavanaugh on September 27, 2018 in New York, New York. As people around the country watched, Ford gave emotional testimony about the alleged sexual assault before the Senate Judiciary Committee Thursday morning. Kavanaugh has strongly denied all of the sexual misconduct allegations against him and is to be questioned separately at the same hearing later in the day. The protesters were to deliver a letter of thanks to Schumer's office for his vote against Kavanaugh. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images via JTA)

Banishing someone 'outside the camp' is a key part of a community’s response to sexual violence.

Apr 16, 2021, 5:49 PM

Can we be brave for Agunot?

A friend of mine, who was an agunah (a Jewish woman who is stuck in her religious marriage as determined by Halacha) until very recently, sent me this song. It resonated with her, and with me. Despite having finally being granted...

Apr 16, 2021, 5:48 PM

Invited to Grow

Regular Tefilla, badly translated as "prayer", is pre-programmed for us three times every day. Of that small minority of us who actually take advantage of this opportunity, surely less than half can even roughly understand/translate what we're saying, and...

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