By Alexandra Piacenza How can Kabbalah, the system of mystical interpretation of Jewish scripture with roots in the 13th century, have a bearing on modern-day environmentalism? In the Kabbalistic view, God’s very act of creation has resulted in placing a sacred obligation on man to make right what is askew in the world. This obligation […]
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Jewish History
Gaza and the Palestine Crisis in History: World War II
By William R. Polk At the outbreak of World War II, both Palestinians and Zionists enlisted in large numbers — 21,000 Jews and 8,000 Palestinians — to help the British in their hour of need. But both kept their long term objectives firmly in mind: both continued to regard British imperialism as the long-term enemy […]
Gaza and the struggle for Palestine: the 1930s
By William R. Polk Annoyed but not deterred, the British Colonial Office decided in the 1930s, as it was then also doing in India, to crack down hard on the “troublemakers.” It put Palestine under martial law and brought in 20,000 regular soldiers to be quartered on rebel villages, blew up houses of suspected insurgents […]
Israel can’t Afford to Lose Jews Like Me
by DAVID H. SCHANZER for ISLAMiCommentary David Schanzer Writing in the New York Times . . . , columnist Shmuel Rosner labeled non-Israeli liberal Jews that are becoming more estranged from modern day Israel, as “fair weather fans” that Israel both can and should ignore. He is dead wrong on both counts. I am far […]
Gaza and the Struggle for Palestine: Historical Background (Pt. 1, a)
By William R. Polk Like many observers I am both sick at heart and emotionally drained from watching and reading about the horrible events in Gaza. Is there more to be said about them? Yes, I think there is if we hope to achieve a degree of security and peace. So, at the risk of […]
Reconciliation between Judaism and Islam is Possible
By Joseph Richard Preville via IslamiCommentary Israeli-American businessman, scholar, and activist Rabbi Shai Har-El’s new book — Where Islam and Judaism Join Together: A Perspective on Reconciliation (Palgrave Macmillan, 2014) — is a powerful meditation on how Jews and Muslims can discover the path to reconciliation, especially in the turbulent Middle East. Har-El shows how […]
On Eve of Pope’s visit to Israel, Radical Israeli Settlers attack Christian Village
(By Quinn Coffey) Just weeks before Pope Francis’ first official visit to the Holy Land, a number of Christian holy sites in Israel and Palestine have been targeted in ‘price tag’ attacks by the radical Israeli settler movement. These attacks have been increasing since 2008. Just weeks before Pope Francis’ first official visit to the […]
Will Russell Crowe as Noah help Egypt Separate Religion and State?
(By Juan Cole) Darren Aronofski’s biblical epic “Noah” is already provoking controversy in the Muslim world, and has been preemptively banned in three Gulf states. Biblical figures, such as Abraham, Noah, David, and Jesus, also feature in the Qur’an, which sees sacred history as the serial dispatch by God to humans of messengers who remind […]
The Wailing Wall, Jerusalem c. 1900 (Photo of the Day)
The Wailing Wall, Jerusalem, c. 1900 (From Gertrude Bell, Syria: The Desert and the Sown, 1908)