Israel

Black and white image of the courtroom during the Eichmann trial

The Eichmann Trial 60 Years Later: What Have We Learned?

Rabbi A. James Rudin

April 9, 2021

April 11, 2021, marks the 60th anniversary of the opening of Adolf Eichmann’s trial, which coincided with the young Jewish state’s bat/bar mitzvah year of independence. These two events represent a microcosm of modern Jewish history.

Contested Utopia: Jewish Dreams and Israeli Realities

Rabbi Robert Orkand

Growing up in the years following the founding of the State of Israel, I, like so many of my generation, was taught that the new Jewish state was the fulfillment of a utopian dream: a Jewish homeland after almost 2000 years of exile.

Group of students standing in an ancient cave with a teacher at the front

Jewish History

Teaching the Biblical Period Builds a Foundation for Jewish Identity

David Alon

March 30, 2021

The Tanach is our owner’s manual. If we want to operate this complex thing we call Jewish identity, it’s probably worth reading the instruction book. Are we doing enough to engage on a daily basis with our ancient sources?

Pile of matzah atop a wooden platter next to a silver Kiddush cup

Zionism

The Dual Reckoning of Pesach: Don't Be Brutal, Don't Be Naive

Rabbi Josh Weinberg

March 24, 2021

The fact that in every generation some individuals and groups rise to try and destroy us, as we sing, does not give us carte blanche permission and justification to act brutally ourselves – as every Israeli soldier knows.

Knesset building against a blue sky with statue of a menorah out front

Religious Pluralism in Israel

The Israeli Government: Who Aren’t You Sitting With?

Rabbi Josh Weinberg

March 18, 2021

With just a few days left until Israel’s fourth general election in two years, we might ask: Is there a clever coalition calculus that will allow for regime change? Is there a way to avoid sinking into a repetitive Groundhog Day-esque cycle of do-over elections?