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What Is the Meaning of Jewish History?
August  

What Is the Meaning of Jewish History?

A brief history of Jewish history-writing reveals an abundance of partial and competing narratives, all too often missing a key ingredient.

The Life, Work, and Legacy of Israel's Most Beloved Poet
June  

The Life, Work, and Legacy of Israel’s Most Beloved Poet

Raḥel will be read, sung, and recited long after many excellent Hebrew poets of her age, men and women alike, have been confined within classroom walls.

Israel's Demographic Miracle
May  The Changing Face of Israeli Society

Israel’s Demographic Miracle

Birthrates are falling across the world, especially in developed nations—except in one. How did mainstream, middle-class Israelis start having children again, and what does it mean?

The May 1948 Vote that Made the State of Israel
April  

The May 1948 Vote that Made the State of Israel

A long-accepted wisdom has it that just days before the state’s birth, its founders settled two burning issues in a pair of closely decided votes. The wisdom is half-wrong.

The Church's Once-Notorious Seizure of a Jewish Child Is Back. Why?
March  The Mortara Affair Returns

The Church’s Once-Notorious Seizure of a Jewish Child Is Back. Why?

In play again are bitterly contested questions about the Catholic Church, about religion and politics, and—inevitably—about Christianity’s relation to Judaism and the Jews.

Has Israel Grown Too Dependent on the United States?
February  The U.S.–Israel Special Relationship & Its Discontents

Has Israel Grown Too Dependent on the United States?

Cracks are increasingly discernible in the famous “special relationship.” Can they be repaired? If not, could Israel’s national security survive the loss of American military aid?

Who's Afraid of the Museum of the Bible?
January  

Who’s Afraid of the Museum of the Bible?

Critics accuse it of threatening the separation of church and state; in truth, Washington’s new museum makes an invaluable contribution to American (and Jewish) cultural literacy.

Who Saved Israel in 1947?
November  

Who Saved Israel in 1947?

The usual answer is Truman—but it could just as easily be Stalin. In fact, thanks to Zionist diplomacy, it was both; and therein lies a lesson for the Jewish state today.

The Jews Will Have to Wait
October  The Little-Known Birth of American Middle East Policy

The Jews Will Have to Wait

In 1942 a band of Algerian Jews risked all to help the Allies invade North Africa. Then Washington betrayed them. Thus was born modern American Middle East policy.

What America Should Do Next in the Middle East
September  

What America Should Do Next in the Middle East

The policies of the Obama administration led to carnage in Syria, regional chaos, and the rise of Iran and its alliance with Russia. Can the momentum be reversed—without going to war?