Journalism by Jewish college students, for Jewish college students.
Matisyahu’s Twitter bomb is making the rounds. He shaved. He announced it with a photo and one of the most vaguely expressed personal statements he has ever issued. The argument now is over whether or not he dropped being a Hasid or being religious all together. The tweet is ambiguous – probably deliberately so. The…
It’s been a while since there has been a good bit of controversy about Jewish assimilation, but thankfully American Jews and Israeli politics are out of sync just enough to justify talking about it again. The latest blip, I think, challenges American Jews much more than any other public effort since the spread of the…
Though defeating Iran is a given, the costs of a war with Iran would be dramatically high. This much has to be made clear. Israel will never go it alone. The country does not have the assets currently to make any sort of unilateral assault sustainable against multiple foes at once. It would involve the…
We are coming out of the festival of Sukkot. To be honest, it is an oft-ignored holiday. It matches neither the trembling awe of the theme of freedom from Passover, nor the exhilarating celebration of victory in the lights of Chanukah. These two holidays could summarize what we want in an epic and idealistic event…
Israel is considered a pioneer. Its technological and medical developments might be the results of years of input from a culture of research and development. But even after one of the country’s top chemists’ latest Nobel Prize win, Professor Ehud Keinan of the country’s educational advisory board on chemistry has been very public with his…
In 2000, as my Jewish identity finally began to blossom and my awareness of current events followed suit, the Second Intifada broke out in Jerusalem. At that point, I decided pretty quickly I was interested enough, even invested enough, in Israel that I wanted to work on it for the rest of my life. That…
Benjamin Netanyahu was wise to immediately recognize the new Republic of South Sudan over the weekend. Some analysts saw it is as a convenient way to show Israel off as a consistent, ethical country. Recognizing a state which won its independence through negotiations is apparently the right message to send as it argues against Palestinian…
Representative Howard Berman of California called his bipartisan, multi-ethnic-supported bill “very unusual” considering the alliance sponsoring, but it really is not. His allies are of Lebanese descent, and include Reps. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), Charles Boustany (R-La.) and Nick Rahall (D-W. Va.). The four congressman, two Democrats and two Republicans, who are also one Jew and…
Turkey’s foreign policy has been a priority for its government the last several years, leading to internationally popular positions in the countries it aims to gain influence, plus the expansion of Turkish export and international business opportunities. But that policy is based on political stunts that were based more on public relations rather than real…
Israelis and Israel’s supporters often think of the region as collectively against the Jewish State. Absolute reviling by the region’s Arabs constitutes the general Israeli mentality. Lebanon once had Christian allies – a fantasy of the past. Iraq once had the forsaken Kurds – too busy with their own affairs. But that way of looking…
Analysis from the relatively objective Lebanese newspaper The Daily Star estimates Lebanon’s new cabinet is entirely made up of pro-Syrian politicians. Hizbullah has control over the coalition that leads the cabinet, and thus sway over the cabinet’s orientation. The new Prime Minister, Najib Mikati, is one of the richest men in Lebanon. But whether or…
Lebanon finally has a government, though the months of sectarian politics that preceded it have not gone away. This government is going to have a very difficult time unifying Lebanon, and it will likely fail. There is an awkward balance. While Hizbullah (and its Shiite ally Amal) are the dominant played in the political coalition…
Lebanon cannot form a cabinet. Since January, when Hizbullah withdrew its ministers from the cabinet and forced the cabinet to resign, Lebanon has not been able to put together a new government. It only has a “care-taker,” i.e. temporary government. The problem lies in sectarian divisions. Every political coalition in Lebanon by law has to…
Both Israel and the Palestinians have a precondition for negotiations to continue. The Palestinians want construction in the settlements to stop and the Israelis want the Palestinian Authority to recognize Israel as a “Jewish” state. The fact that these are the two things that the two governments have to declare publicly demonstrates neither side wants…
One would think that you cannot surrender your moral high ground in the Middle East. To do so is suicide so the thinking goes. It would be a display of weakness. And so no country owns up to its mistakes, much less its crimes. The Arab World that admits it created the Israel they whine…