The Western Wall Taught Me a Lesson – And It Wasn’t What You’d Expect

By Elizabeth Zakaim October 14, 2016

There it was – the Western Wall, hakotel hama’aravi.  The sun was hanging over the top of the wall, reflecting off the stones at my feet. As I stood in front of the holiest sight in Israel, I realized I was waiting for something, some reaction to the realization that I was finally at the…

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Baseless Hatred, Tisha B’Av, and the Gaza War

By Jonathan Katz August 5, 2014

During the Nine Days preceding Tisha B’Av, the 25-hour fast commemorating the destruction of the Temples in Jerusalem,we reflect on baseless hatred (sinat chinam). The Talmud teaches us that it was the baseless hatred among the people Israel that partially brought about the destruction of the Second Temple. (Along with, you know, high-level political drama…

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Restore the Northwest Semitic Altar: On Using Archaeology in Jewish Practice

By Jonathan Katz July 8, 2014

  It happens frequently when I go to a new synagogue now. Someone gives a dvar Torah or a talk on the Torah portion, and uses a verse to talk about how different Jews were from all their surrounding peoples. Or there is a discussion of an Israel trip, in which the (justice-obstructing) magic of…

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A Failure of Sense and Torah Study: On the “Indigenous” Argument

By Jonathan Katz May 21, 2014

So my last article– discussing the historical parallels between Israel today and White South Africa pre-1994 – went mildly viral. It was something I was not prepared for: I had expected the typical (warm, exciting, and fairly big, but nevertheless decidedly niche) response a New Voices article garners: a few dozen Facebook “likes,” no more…

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Sacrificing Everything for Forgiveness

By David G. March 7, 2014

Last week, God’s Presence entered the Tabernacle, marking its completion as well as the end of the Book of Exodus. In this week’s portion, Vayikra, we open what could be considered the most difficult book of the Torah–Leviticus– with the teaching that the main purpose of the Tabernacle is as a place for sacrifices. Right…

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From Costa Rica to Israel

By Zach C. Cohen January 23, 2014

San José is an ugly city. The streets are lined with storefronts due for a paint job. Trash and dog droppings line the sidewalks. Every afternoon, like clockwork, the tropical weather brings in a rainstorm that puts most Sunday showers stateside to shame. At night, drug dealers and (legal) prostitutes roam the streets. In this…

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South Park Brings Peace to the Middle East… For 10 Minutes

By David G. November 20, 2013

I have a confession. For all my self-proclaimed desire to rise above the profane, I absolutely love South Park. While the majority of this last season has been a bit of a disappointment for me, the creators of South Park offered up a true gem recently with the episode, “Ginger Cow. “ For most, I…

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Jerusalem (and some Minor Reasons Why Palestinian Independence will not End the Conflict)

By greback April 13, 2011

Not Actual Photo This September, the Palestinian Authority will attempt to gain recognition as an independent state via a vote in the United Nations’ General Assembly. It is taking a a page out of the playbook of the Zionist movement and the leadership of what would become Israel. This time, the Arabs will support a…

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