A perennial discussion in the cauldron that is Middle Eastern politics concerns the degree to which a sovereign Palestinian state, should one ever be created, would be democratic. The … more

Say this for Amnesty International: its outrageous report alleging that Israel is an “apartheid state” has brought nearly all of the Jewish world together to condemn the … more

One of the more curious responses to Amnesty International’s Israel Apartheid report last week came from the Anti-Defamation League. On Monday, the heads of Amnesty held a press conference … more

In the course of a few days in January 1942 — 80 years ago — Hitler’s henchmen, including SS chieftain Reinhard Heydrich, Adolf Eichmann and other top members of the Third … more

During Barack Obama’s presidency, when diplomatic tensions between Israel and the United States sank to rarely seen lows, the term “Israel-Firster” was concocted by the Jewish … more

In 1860, a relatively unknown one-term congressman named Abraham Lincoln stunned the country by prevailing over three prominent rivals — William Seward, Salmon Chase, and Edward Bates … more

The Choshen Mishpat, worn by the Kohane Gadol, is one of the more fascinating bigdei kahuna (garments of the kohanim) described in our parasha, Tetzaveh: “And you [Moshe] shall make a … more

My interest in the relationship between a person and his or her clothing goes back to my early days in graduate school. I was taking a course on human personality, under the tutelage of a … more

With parshat Tetzaveh, something new enters Judaism: Torat Kohanim, the world and mindset of the priest. Rapidly it becomes a central dimension of Judaism. It dominates the next book of the … more

It’s been a banner couple of months for those who participate in daily Torah-study programs. Mishna Yomit completed and restarted its six-year cycle in December; Nach Yomi completed and … more