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Ballot papers of various political parties are displayed at the Central Elections Committee warehouse in Shoham, ahead of Israel’s upcoming general election, October 14, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Seth Farber

The soul of the nation: What Israel’s election is really about

Judaism mandates our leaders’ active participation in the community’s survival, from the strategic future to the rule of law, the draft, and a robust Oct. 7th inquiry

Foreign Minister Gideon Saar and Rabbi Avi Schwartz (Courtesy Rabbi Avi Schwartz)

Avi Schwartz

The lesson of Oslo: A fragile Knesset majority can imperil our nation’s future

Gideon Sa’ar’s account of the parliamentary arithmetic behind the Accords convinced me Israelis must vote with only one issue in mind: security

Masked extremist Jewish settlers clash with Palestinians during the annual olive harvest in the village of Abu Falah, near Ramallah in the West Bank, where several people were injured in an attack by Israeli settlers, October 16, 2026. Photo by Flash90

Kenneth Brander

Olive theft betrays Avraham’s moral legacy: A response to Rabbi Lior

The rabbi who ruled that Jews can steal the fruit from their Arab neighbors’ trees contradicted not only Jewish law, but also Torah values

Paula Slier reporting during the Yellow Vest protests in Paris, 2018-2019, as a fire burns in the street behind her. (Personal archive)

Paula Slier

France is burning and immigrants are being blamed. I’ve seen this before

I saw looters ransack Paris shops 8 years ago. Now, amid fresh riots and claims of antisemitism, the rush to judgment feels familiar

Party head Moti Leitner greets supporters at an election campaign rally of the Charedi Public party at the International Convention Center in Jerusalem, ahead of Israel’s upcoming general elections, October 17, 2026. (Chaim Goldberg/ Flash90)

Yehuda L. Oppenheimer

Fear is silencing the Charedi Public’s attempts at discussion

I’m running for Knesset and want to explain my passion for the new Haredi party, but it’s inviting threats. That’s coercion, not the Torah’s model of dispute

(Getty Images via JTA)

Jonah Platt

Jewish nonprofit leaders should be paid like corporate CEOs

High NGO salaries have sparked outrage. But why should serving the Jewish community mean accepting less?

An election campaign billboard for the Likud party is displayed along a roadside in the northern Israeli city of Nahariya, ahead of Israel’s upcoming general elections, October 16, 2026. (Sharon Leibel/Flash90)

Aron Heller

Vote right, if you wish. Just don’t vote for Bibi

Make no mistake, this election is not about right versus left. It’s about right versus wrong

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George Papasimakis

Oct 22, 2026, 2:32 PM

The Turkey-Libya Accord: Threat to Israel

Visual representation of claims and maritime zones in the Eastern Mediterranean. Source: ProtoThema English

The geopolitical architecture of the Eastern Mediterranean is fracturing. With the Libyan Parliament’s recent moves to ratify the controversial Turkey-Libya maritime memorandum, the threshold of regional stability has been breached. Analysts routinely frame this as a technical bilateral dispute...

Dorothea Shefer-Vanson

Oct 22, 2026, 2:32 PM

Our Sicilian Adventure

The trip we had planned to celebrate our sixtieth wedding anniversary (an achievement not to be sneezed at) did not get off to a good start. The Catania airport, where we were supposed to land, was closed because of...

Oct 22, 2026, 2:26 PM

“Parenthood” Parashat Lech Lecha 5787

When Abraham leaves for the Land of Israel in response to G-d’s command, he does not travel alone. He takes his wife, Sarah, his possessions, and his nephew, Lot. Lot’s presence is more than a biographical detail. Abraham is...

Sherwin Pomerantz

Oct 22, 2026, 2:23 PM

6 Days to Elections: Time for a Change

Monday was a noisy day in the air above Jerusalem. All afternoon and evening we heard the continual din of jet aircraft overhead. For the record, we do not have commercial flights overflying the city so we know when...

Lawrence Maximo

Oct 22, 2026, 2:18 PM

Macron’s twilight and the darkness that frightens Paris

Well, well, well, President Macron. It seems the teacher is finally receiving his lesson. Since October 7, Emmanuel Macron has risen to the status of undisputed world champion of unsolicited advice to Israel. A virtuoso of exhortation, a maestro of...

Oct 22, 2026, 1:59 PM

The soul of the nation: What Israel’s election is really about

Ballot papers of various political parties are displayed at the Central Elections Committee warehouse in Shoham, ahead of Israel’s upcoming general election, October 14, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Judaism mandates our leaders' active participation in the community's survival, from the strategic future to the rule of law, the draft, and a robust Oct. 7th inquiry

Oct 22, 2026, 1:43 PM

A Land to Live Up To

Stand on Mount Hermon in winter, surrounded by snow. Travel south through the green hills of the Galilee, past the Mediterranean coastline and the wooded hills of Jerusalem, towards the Judean Desert. Further south lies the Dead Sea, the lowest...

Oct 22, 2026, 1:43 PM

Litvaks East of Eden

We want a labor force–– that’s why Hispanics came, and are the ones, of course, whom some now choose to blame, as God blamed Eve and Adam, though Adam delved and dug. The apple He forbade ’em contained a lethal bug. Their status, legal im- migrants, was fast...

Oct 22, 2026, 1:40 PM

Hungary: Still a Friend, No Longer a Veto

Seventy years ago, on October 23, 1956, students took to the streets of Budapest. Workers joined them, then families, and thousands of Hungarians who had grown tired of being told what to think and how to live. They wanted...

Eliezer Avraham

Oct 22, 2026, 1:35 PM

Lech Lecha: The Emptying Before the Promise

AI generated image

Before Avram could become Avraham, he had to leave behind the land, possessions, identities, and certainties that defined him. Lech Lecha teaches that G-d's greatest promises often begin with a sacred emptying, creating space not only for a new...

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