In praise of the yeshiva — and yet something crucial is missing
Late in my year at yeshiva, I was proud of my spoken Hebrew until I realized I hadn’t learned the 2nd-person singular feminine; it hadn’t come up.
When Native Americans were the lost tribes of Israel
The lost tribes and indigenous Americans made a convenient couple: a history without real people for real people without a history.
Leonard Cohen’s Last Words Summon The Spirit Of The Poet
Cohen had been riffing on death and resurrection for decades and always kept an open mind.
Why Everything You Think You Know About Christian Zionism Is Wrong
Far from being anti-Semitic, Christian Zionism was fostered and shaped by American Jews and the Israeli government.
Rashida Tlaib’s Comments Weren’t Anti-Semitic - They Were Philosemitic
We Jews should pray for Palestinian advocates as sensitive to our histories and needs as Tlaib is.
Michael Oren’s Trainwreck Interview Shows Israelis No Longer Care What We Think
Michael Oren may sound confused and vacuous, but he doesn’t think he has to care what you think.
Robert Alter And The Art Of Biblical Disappointment
Alter was cool. His books came out, not in the faux-gilt, bombastic volumes of frummy publishers but with the cultural cachet of New York brand names.
A Thrilling Israeli Spy Story, But Is It Accurate? Or Moral?
Matti Friedman tells a thrilling tale of post-Holocaust derring-do. Maybe he should have skipped the hasbarah.
In Defense Of Education, Against Hucksters And Sorcery
American culture lies to us about teachers. Educator Ilana Blumberg tries to give us some truth.
Ilhan Omar Is Not Anti-Semitic. She’s An Anti-Imperialist.
The twitter controversy denouncing Ilhan Omar as anti-Semitic can be better understood when looking at her other liberal foreign policy views.