Jewish History

Committee on Academic Freedom, North America, Middle East Studies Association | – Representative Mike Johnson Speaker of the House of Representatives Representative Hakim Jeffries Minority Leader, House of Representatives Dear Speaker Johnson and Minority Leader Jeffries, We write on behalf of the Committee on Academic Freedom of the Middle East Studies Association […]

Islam

Never Forget: Jews and Muslims have Often imagined themselves in History as Siblings and Allies

Anouar Majid

Excerpted from Tingis. Historically, and even theologically, Jews have always been closer to Muslims than they were to Christians. It was in Muslim lands, the late eminent historian Bernard Lewis told us, that Arabic “became the language of science and philosophy, of government and commerce, even the language of Jewish theology when such a discipline […]

Israel/ Palestine

Does Compromise show Weakness or Strength? – A Surprising finding in the Talmud

Shamai Leibowitz

Growing up in Israel, the prevailing mentality surrounding me everywhere I went was that compromise shows weakness. The message was clear: compromise is a “Diaspora thing,” but for us Israelis – we stand strong, we take “what is ours,” and we don’t back down. But my father Elhanan Leibowitz OBM (of blessed memory), whose yahrtzeit, […]

Antisemitism

Confessions of an Ex-Zionist: My Judaism will not stand for the Mass Slaughter in Gaza

H. Scott Prosterman

Oakland, Ca. (Special to Informed Comment; Feature) – I grieve for the people of Israel and Palestine, both of whom are being abused and terrorized by their own governments and leadership. Hamas is not a legitimate government, and is not Islam. Zionism is not Judaism. Hamas and the Israeli government have used their own people’s […]

Israel/ Palestine

Why so Many Jews Denounce Israel’s War on Gaza

Yakov M. Rabkin

By Yakov M. Rabkin ( Pressenza ) – A profound division exists between Zionist advocates of Israel on the one hand, and both secular and religious Jews, on the other, who reject Zionism and thus the very idea of a separate state for the Jews. Most Jews must be somewhere in between. For years, they […]

Israel/ Palestine

How Jewish Nonviolence can help guide the Path forward on Israel-Palestine

Waging Nonviolence

Rabbi Lynn Gottlieb ( Waging Nonviolence ) – In an article entitled “What does Jewish law say about the war between Israel and Hamas,” Jay Michaelson explores biblical, talmudic and medieval sources to answer that question, noting the long arc of rabbinic tradition bends toward nonviolence. In Jewish life, the normative perception of Torah is […]

Antisemitism

How individual, ordinary Jews fought Nazi Persecution – A New View of History

The Conversation

By Wolf Grune, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences | – In Nazi Germany, Hertha Reis, a 36-year-old Jewish woman, performed forced labor for a private company in Berlin during World War II. In 1941, she was evicted by a judge from the two sublet rooms where she lived with her son and […]

Christianity

Sinead O’Connor’s Music and Life were infused with Spiritual Seeking, From the Hebrew Prophets, to Rasta, to Islam

The Conversation

By Brenna Moore, Fordham University | – When news broke July 26, 2023, that the gifted Irish singer Sinead O’Connor had died, stories of her most famous performance circulated amid the grief and shock. Thirty-one years ago, after a haunting rendition of Bob Marley’s song “War,” O’Connor ripped up a photograph of Pope John Paul […]

Antisemitism

When it Comes to Defining Antisemitism, it’s Official: the IHRA, which forbids Criticizing Israel, is no Longer the only Game in Town

Georgia Recorder

Joe Sterling ( Georgia Recorder ) – The battle over a controversial definition of antisemitism that forbids criticism of Israel has taken a new turn in Georgia and the rest of the country, thanks to the Biden administration. That’s good news for those of us who oppose giving that one definition the force of law. […]