Brandon Marlon, at The Blogs

Nov 23, 2024, 12:00 AM

Jewish History: 18 Key Battles (Part 3/3: Modern)

The Israeli War of Independence (1947–1949)—the war that never really ended. Wikimedia Commons.

The Modern Era The Israeli War of Independence (1947–1949 CE) – After 1,813 years in exile, the Jewish people would have to struggle to reconstitute a polity in its ancestral homeland. For 30 years (1917–1947) the British had controlled the...

Nov 21, 2024, 10:34 PM

Jewish History: 18 Key Battles (Part 2/3: Classical & Medieval)

Hasmonean hero Judah Maccabee fell at Elasah in 160 BCE. Generated via OpenArt AI.

The Classical Era Elasah (160 BCE) – The formidable Seleucid (Syrian-Greek) general Bacchides commanded 20,000 infantrymen and 2,000 cavalrymen mustered at Berea (B’eirot, modern al-Birah), south of Beit El. Nearby at Elasah, Hasmonean hero Judah Maccabee (“The Hammerer”) and 3,000...

Nov 20, 2024, 11:01 PM

Jewish History: 18 Key Battles (Part 1/3: Ancient)

Hebrew patriarch Abraham sets out to rescue his captive nephew Lot. Generated via OpenArt AI.

Jewish history, comprising 4,000 years, has no shortage of military engagements; indeed, the original Hebrew, the patriarch Abraham himself, took up arms and led fighters into battle to rescue his captured nephew Lot (Genesis 14:12-16). Yet for almost two...

Oct 23, 2024, 10:04 PM

Jewish History: 18 Controversies (Part 2/2)

Etrogim (citrons) of the Land of Israel. Source: Wikimedia Commons

Sturgeon: In 1798, Jeremiah Mattersdorf (Jeremiah Rosenbaum), chief rabbi of Santov (Abaújszántó, Hungary), participated in the halakhic controversy (mahloket) regarding whether the sturgeon (shtirl) species of fish—whose caviar is prized—is allowed according to Judaism’s dietary laws (kashrut); he prohibited...

Oct 22, 2024, 6:53 PM

Jewish History: 18 Controversies (Part 1/2)

Portrait of Moses ben Maimon, by Hila Ben Yitzchak. Source: Wikimedia Commons

It should come as no surprise that over the course of four millennia of Jewish history, numerous controversies (mahlokot) have animated Jewry and/or exercised its religious leadership. For a people so longevous, creative, and learned, this is to be...

Oct 14, 2024, 6:50 PM

Jewish History: The Apostates (Part 2/2: Modern)

"Portrait of Benedictus de Spinoza (1632-1677)", by anonymous (c. 1665). Source: Wikimedia Commons

The Modern Era A disciple of his father Samuel Margoliot, Antonius Margarita (Anton Margaritha) (c. 1490/1500–1542 CE) was a native of Ratisbon (Regensburg, Germany). His surname is a corruption of Margalita or Margolit/Margoliot. He hailed from a rabbinical family; his...

Oct 11, 2024, 10:31 PM

Jewish History: The Apostates (Part 1/2: Classical & Medieval)

"The Apostle Paul", by Rembrandt van Rijn (c. 1657). Source: Wikimedia Commons

While rebellion against the divine features in the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), the phenomenon of Jewish apostasy arose in earnest only post-biblically in the Hellenistic period, particularly during the Hasmonean era, when Greek civilization predominated and its culture allured an...

Jul 20, 2024, 3:24 PM

Heartland of the Homeland: Judea & Samaria

Map concept by Brandon Marlon. © Azrieli Institute of Israel Studies, 2021.

For the Jewish people, the ancient tribal territories of eastern Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim, and western Menasheh—also known as “Judea & Samaria”—form the very heartland of the homeland. In the contemporary political climate, ceding these foundational areas remains an ongoing...

Jun 24, 2024, 10:49 AM

Top 7 Lessons of 10/7

"The Cry of the Kidnapped", by artist Benzi Bronfman, painted to raise awareness of the urgency of freeing the hostages. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

Solve Problems Sooner When They Are Smaller, or Be Overwhelmed by Them Later When They Are Larger Hamas was founded by Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and half a dozen other militant Islamists in 1987 as an offshoot of the Palestinian...

Dec 1, 2023, 7:43 PM

Rafah: A Brief History

Rafah columns sketch by Archduke Ludwig Salvator of Austria, 1881. Source: Wikimedia Commons

While it does not feature in the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), Rafah (Arabic; Rafiah in Hebrew; Rapihu in Assyrian; Raphia in Greek) is an ancient seaside town along the Mediterranean coast. Like Gaza, the main site of Rafah was slightly...

About Me

Brandon Marlon is an award-winning Canadian-Israeli author whose writing has appeared in 300+ publications in 33 countries. He is the author of two poetry volumes, Inspirations of Israel: Poetry for a Land and People and Judean Dreams, and two historical reference works, Essentials of Jewish History: Jewish Leadership Across 4,000 Years and its companion volume Essentials of the Land of Israel: A Geographical History.