School Day One: Dispatch From Another Israel
The entire scene makes me proud of Israel, this one and only Jewish State, in which quality education and caring for its youngest children are such high priorities.
Opinion | Will Evangelicals Abandon Israel?
A potentially transformative current is running just beneath the surface of evangelical Christian life in North America—one that may have troubling implications for Israel.
Opinion | Why Netanyahu Barely Commented on Charlottesville
I’m not surprised that it took Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a full three days until he said anything about the events in Charlottesville. Or that, after three full days, he said, basically, nothing.
Opinion | Politicians Love Jerusalem—But What About Jerusalemites?
Once again, our city has been taken over by jealousy. Once again, it has been reduced to little more than a humiliated pawn in the hands of politicians who, in their attempts to own this city, are willing, quite literally, to let her die.
The Strange Tale of the First Arab Journalist to Visit Israel After the ’67 War
Among those disembarking the Scandanavian Airlines flight on July 23 1967 in Tel Aviv, was a thin, bearded man in his 30s named Waguih Ghali. Like the other passengers, he walked into Lod airport—and stopped at the passport control counter. “You mean,” the clerk said, double checking that he had heard correctly, “that you are Egyptian?”
Visual Moment | A Forgotten Ottoman Way Station
The Ottomans ruled what is now Israel for 400 years, and during that time they made some iconic contributions to the man-made landscape. Sultan Suleiman I (a.k.a. Suleiman the Magnificent) completed the current walls of Jerusalem’s Old City in 1541. The Jaffa Clocktower, finished in 1903, was built to celebrate the silver jubilee of Sultan Abdul Hamid II. Over time, innumerable Ottoman buildings have been lost, replaced by those of British or Israeli design, just as they in turn had replaced those of the Crusaders, Mamluks, Byzantines, Romans, Hasmoneans, Greeks, ancient Israelites, Babylonians, Assyrians and Philistines.
Sheldon Adelson: Playing To Win
Sheldon Adelson’s newspaper, Israel Hayom, changed the course of Israeli politics and moved the country further right.
Will the hard-charging casino magnate have the same luck in Las Vegas?
The Week Before the Six-Day War
I arrived in Jerusalem as a reporter five days before the war. When I asked directions in English of a woman on the street near the King David Hotel, she looked at me sharply and said, “Haven’t you gone home yet?” When I said I had just arrived, she nodded and pointed out my destination. The King David itself, I would learn, had gone overnight from 86 percent occupancy to one percent.
American Jews, Don’t be Surprised by Bibi’s Kotel Flip-Flop
North American Jewish leaders say they are shocked that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has canceled the Kotel compromise and agreed to promote the Orthodox conversion bill. They shouldn’t be.
Celebrating Ramadan in Umm al-Fahm
After nearly 70 years of statehood, most Jews don’t know the most basic information about the holiday that our neighbors celebrate. Is this the best we can do?
The Jazz Kibbutz: A Brief History of Israel’s Jazz Scene
Israel’s jazz scene has been around since British mandate times, but really came into its own in the 90s. Thanks to trailblazers like Avishai Cohen, Omer Avital, and Avi Lebovich, Israel’s jazz music is now celebrated internationally for its quality as well as its diversity – Israeli jazz is nearly as big a jumble of cultures as Israel itself. “It’s very ‘exotic’ to the American or European ear,” says Barak Weiss, “but it’s still accessible because it’s based on American music.”