Foreign Affairs | Israel’s Complicated Dance with Putin
Vladimir Putin has earned his reputation as a dictator, but he has often behaved warmly toward Jews.
21
Sep
13
Apr
The Violent History—and Remarkable Transformation—of Jewish Life in Ukraine
When Russia attacked Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin stated that his goal was “denazification.” Historians agree that there is no substance to this claim—and that by invoking Nazism, Putin is attempting to weaponize the trauma of World War II to justify an invasion, and the many lives it has cost.
08
Apr
Young Ukrainian Artists Respond to the Invasion
Animator Crow Ra and collaborator Remy Slimp on their experience fleeing the war. “The more you know who you are, the stronger your magic is.”
24
Feb
Russia and Ukraine Explained with Ambassador Ivo H. Daalder and Robert Siegel
Ivo H. Daalder, president of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs and former U.S. Ambassador to NATO and Robert Siegel, Moment special literary contributor and former senior host of NPR’s All Things Considered, discuss Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
06
Aug
Natan Sharansky Recovering From COVID
Natan Sharansky, hero of the Soviet Jewry movement and former head of the Jewish Agency, is recovering from a rough case of COVID-19. Sharansky, 73, who served in several top positions in the Israeli government and Knesset, contracted the virus despite being fully vaccinated in Israel eight months ago.
In a brief post on Facebook Friday, Sharansky confirmed that he and his wife Avital are recovering from COVID-19, thanking those who had offered help and expressed concern. “We are happy to report that we are slowly growing stronger and hope to go on improving,” Sharansky wrote. A friend who visited Sharansky on Friday said that he “looks like himself” again.
Sharansky, according to an aide, tested positive for COVID-19 upon landing at Ben Gurion Airport on July 22, following a brief two-day visit to Washington, DC. He...
05
Jan
Israel’s 2021 Oscar Submission: Asia
Israeli director Ruthy Pribar describes her newly released debut feature film Asia as “not easy to watch,” but she hopes it conveys the message that “even when in the darkest part of your life, you can see beauty.”
01
Dec
Talk of the Table | Why Feminists Should Eat Dairy on Hanukkah
Hanukkah is associated with the bravery of the Maccabees, the group of heroic Jews who rebelled against the Greek-Syrian empire, defeated it against all odds and rededicated the Temple in Jerusalem. They lit a menorah with a little oil that lasted for eight days, sentencing us to centuries of eating fried food to excess.
But there is an interesting feminist alternative to this male-dominated and oil-laden narrative. For some, Hanukkah is a time to celebrate the courage of a Jewish heroine, a woman who defeated, against all odds, a powerful enemy with her wit, daring—and some salty cheese.
This is the story of Judith, a rich and beautiful widow who lived in the Judean town of Bethulia more than two and a half millennia ago. When the army of Assyrian King Nebuchadnezzar led by Holofernes invaded,...
07
Oct
‘A Memory of an Illusion’: A Talk With Russian Activist Masha Gessen
Did you know that Israel is not the only Jewish state in the world? Deep in the territory of the Russian Federation, close to the Chinese border is the other Jewish state: Birobidzhan.
05
Nov
Putin’s Jews
Mina Yuditskaya Berliner, a retired teacher of German, could be forgiven for feeling surprised when one of her former students invited her for tea after almost half a century. Berliner, now 94, hadn’t seen him since she made aliyah to Israel from the USSR in 1973. But in 2005, the former student came to Israel to visit—an official visit, no less, the first ever made by a Soviet or Russian leader.
05
May
Opinion // Our Loss Is Putin’s Gain
Carl von Clausewitz, the imposing German general whose theories about war remain influential nearly 200 years after his death, observed that “public opinion is won through great victories and the occupation of the enemy’s capital.” Not anymore.