Yehudah Mirsky

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Nov 2, 2023, 11:32 AM

The nonviolent resistance that hardly ever was

People chant during a pro-Palestinian demonstration outside of the White House in Washington, Saturday, Oct. 14, 2023. (AP / Jose Luis Magana)

What does nonviolence mean when the goal is not to change your opponents' minds, but rather to make them disappear?

Sep 27, 2020, 12:52 AM

On Yom Kippur, what if we can’t forgive our enemies?

ILLUSTRATIVE: Right-wing demonstrators from the "la Familia" movement clash with police as they hold a counter protest against anti- Netanyahu demonstrators in Jerusalem on July 30, 2020. (Olivier Fitoussi/FLASH90)

At this time of rage and rancor, it’s hard not to hate – truly hate – those whom we oppose. Can we just let ourselves off the hook this year?

Mar 27, 2020, 6:47 PM

Social distancing, modesty, and solidarity

When we distance ourselves from those we know, we protect people we'll never know, yet that same distance yields new ties, given that broad responsibility for all

Jan 17, 2016, 2:40 PM

Condemning fanaticism is the easy part

It's easy to condemn radicals like those who celebrated the Duma murders -- talking with them is harder, but necessary

Nov 5, 2015, 2:12 PM

How do we want to live‭?‬ The meanings of Jewish belonging in our time

Reflections on identity‭, ‬solidarity‭ ‬and faith after the collapse of traditional frameworks in‭ ‬the modern era‭

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About Me

Yehudah Mirsky is Professor of Near Eastern and Judaic Studies at Brandeis University and the author of 'Rav Kook: Mystic in a Time of Revolution.' He served in the Clinton administration as special advisor in the US State Department's human rights bureau. He studied at Yeshivat Har Etzion and Yeshiva College and received rabbinic ordination in Jerusalem where he lives with his family. He tweets @YehudahMirsky.