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May 15, 2026, 10:37 PM

May 14, A Day That Will Live In Infamy

Why This Day Is So Meaningful...Especially For Me Fifty-two years ago today, my father died. He was fifty years old. Seventy-eight years ago today, Israel declared its independence — one of the most consequential moments in modern Jewish history. Somehow, I never...

Norman L. Cantor

May 12, 2026, 12:12 AM

Israel’s Struggle to Maintain Religious Pluralism

Israel's founders aspired – as proclaimed in Israel's declaration of independence – to a Jewish ingathering while assuring freedom of religion and conscience to all inhabitants. How would those mostly secular founders regard current efforts of an ultra-religious bloc...

May 8, 2026, 6:26 PM

Treasure Trove: Chaim Weizmann, Part 4 of the Independence Day Series

From the Herzl and Zionism Collection of David Matlow, Toronto (www.herzlcollection.com). Photograph by David Matlow.

This is the fourth part of Treasure Trove's celebration of Israel's 78th Independence Day. On May 14, 1948 David Ben Gurion read Israel’s Declaration of Independence and proclaimed the State into existence. The 37 members of the Moetzet Ha’am (the...

May 7, 2026, 9:14 PM

Inches to Metric: The Art of Debate

I grew up in an era where the Jewish community was completely tied to the Democratic party. Mom was a Socialist Democrat, Dad was too. Many in the Jewish community considered becoming a Republican an act of betrayal/conversion. Becoming a...

Apr 28, 2026, 11:59 PM

Israel’s most recent election polls: a hope for sanity.

Naftali Bennett and Mohammed Bin Zayed shaking hands (Israel Government Press Office through the AP)

As an Israeli citizen who considers myself a moderate, I follow the election polls with some interest. While I understand the limitation of polls, especially ones that are done months before the election, the most recent poll gave me...

Apr 23, 2026, 4:05 AM

A timeless pair

Yom HaZikaron and Yom HaAtzmaut: a pairing of days and meaning where one could not exist without the other. There may not be a more perfect summation on the tangible calendar for the intangible Jewish experience. It is a yin...

Apr 22, 2026, 6:36 PM

Celebrating Israel’s Scriptural and Historical Journey — Yom HaAtzmaut

Yom HaAtzmaut offers a moment to reflect not only on independence, but on the deeper continuity that has shaped the land of Israel. Understanding this region requires engaging with its foundational scriptural history and enduring indigenous identity. However, inherited—deviated—interpretations...

Apr 19, 2026, 4:37 PM

It Depends on Us: Realizing Declaration of Independence Promises

Many Israelis note Independence Day with activities that start with bereavement and culminate in a barbeque; that’s only natural in our reality. For me, the day is also an opportunity to consider whether the rights guaranteed by our Declaration...

Apr 17, 2026, 6:05 PM

Treasure Trove: Abba Eban’s Message from New York’s 1949 Yom Haatzmaut Celebration

From the Herzl and Zionsim Collection of David Matlow, Toronto (www.herzlcollection.com). Photograph by David Matlow.

Israel’s 78th Yom Ha’atzmaut (Independence Day) starts at sundown on Tuesday April 21. Most of us have grown up celebrating the miracle of Israel’s creation each and every year. Imagine what it would have been like to celebrate it for...

Feb 5, 2026, 1:36 PM

In(ter)dependence? Exploring Jewish connection through art and dialogue

'Tree of Life' Curtesy of Natalie Saadon

Since Sunday school, when I molded clay dreidels that immediately collapsed and painted slightly crooked murals on the walls of my synagogue, I’ve expressed my Jewish identity through art. I didn’t think of it that way at the time....

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