It’s Time to Take Antisemitism Seriously, Says Colleyville Synagogue Cofounder
On January 15, Anna Salton Eisen watched as four members of Congregation Beth Israel, the synagogue she helped found in 1998, were held hostage for 11 hours.
On January 15, Anna Salton Eisen watched as four members of Congregation Beth Israel, the synagogue she helped found in 1998, were held hostage for 11 hours.
Eric K. Ward, executive director of Western States Center and senior fellow with the Southern Poverty Law Center and Nadine Epstein, Moment editor-in-chief, grapple with the complicated conversations taking place around the Holocaust today and lay out some of the many “channels” of the complex relationship between Blacks and Jews in the U.S., starting in the early 20th century through today. Ward and Epstein introduce The Wide River Project, a yearlong, joint initiative of Western States Center and Moment that will take a deep dive—and fresh look—into the art, history and issues that both unite and divide the Black and Jewish communities.
As classmates in law school, Amy and David only spoke to each other sporadically, but they always had their eyes on one another. It wasn’t until their final year that sharing a ride to work and a confession by David finally brought them together.
Thirty members of the Sayeret Matkal, the elite commando unit of the IDF that rescued hostages from a hijacked flight in Uganda, share their memories of the rescue in a book, newly translated from the Hebrew.
Angela Merkel, who just stepped down as German chancellor after a remarkable16 years, has redefined the image of a woman leader. A pastor’s daughter raised in Soviet-controlled East Germany, Merkel worked as a research chemist before entering politics and rising to become the unofficial leader of the West. Award-winning journalist Kati Marton, author of The Chancellor: The Remarkable Odyssey of Angela Merkel, shares how Merkel helped shape Germany into what some call the world’s moral center, and explores her legacy—including allowing Middle Eastern refugees to enter Germany while the world looked away. She also discusses the rise of the far right Alternative fur Deutschland (AfD) and Merkel’s complicated relationships with other world leaders such as Barack Obama, Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin. Marton is in conversation with Amy E. Schwartz, Moment’s Book & Opinion Editor.
The apparent noninvolvement by any Jewish lawmakers raised eyebrows in some sectors of the American Jewish community, but proponents see another tool in the fight against antisemitism.
Over the last few weeks, pro-Israel activists shared a fair amount of Schadenfreude as they followed the news of Unilever’s financial troubles.
What we’re reading—and watching—this week.
Can we reconcile security with our Jewish values? How can we welcome prospective new members if we are afraid to open the door to anyone unknown?
Henry Kissinger laid the groundwork for American diplomacy in the Middle East almost 50 years ago through his efforts to end the Yom Kippur War and his “shuttle diplomacy” with Israel, Egypt and Syria.
In his new book, Master of the Game, Martin Indyk, former U.S. ambassador to Israel and special envoy for Israeli-Palestinian negotiations under President Obama, takes an in-depth look at how American diplomacy operates behind closed doors and how Kissinger’s design for Middle East peacemaking remains key to brokering peace in the region. Indyk is in conversation with former CBS News correspondent and Moment contributor Dan Raviv, coauthor of Friends in Deed: Inside the U.S.-Israel Alliance.
I heard a female voice, a voice that seemed to be addressing me. “Hi, how are you today?” It was, to my astonishment, the sabra from the hotel lobby.