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December 5, 1949 Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion declares in a Knesset speech that “Jewish Jerusalem is an organic, inseparable part of the state of Israel” and that Israel rejects any attempt by the United Nations to declare Jerusalem, Israel’s “eternal capital,” an international city outside Israeli sovereignty. Ben-Gurion speaks amid U.N. debates about how to […]

Assembled by Ken Stein and Eli Sperling Emory University and Center for Israel Education kenstein@israeled.org or kstein@emory.edu Hicham Alaoui “Failed Dream of political Islam,” LeMonde Diplomatique, November 2018. https://mondediplo.com/2018/11/02arab-world Anadolu Agency, “Israeli saz player gives Jerusalem the sound of Turkey,” Hurriyet Daily News, November 30, 2018.  www.hurriyetdailynews.com/israeli-saz-player-gives-jerusalem-the-sound-of-turkey-139307 Irad Atzmon Schmayer, “Locust Schnitzel? Israeli High-tech Firms Cooking […]

Israeli NGO, IsraAID, is sending an emergency response team to California to help communities affected by the unprecedented fires that have killed 80 and destroyed over 13,000 homes and buildings. More than 1,300 people are still listed as missing. After a request from local communities, IsraAID is to conduct a needs assessment of the population in affected areas, promote community resilience and recovery, and distribute relief items to families currently staying in temporary accommodation after losing their homes in the fires.

Over recent weeks, a serious debate has taken place on the pages of Mosaic Magazine on Israeli-Chinese relations. First came a detailed study by Arthur Herman, a respected scholar on aspects of Israeli foreign policy. Then came stern warnings from one of America’s best “China hands,” Dan Blumenthal, that “Israel’s Embrace of China is Sorely Misguided,” and from a strong and steady friend, Elliott Abrams, who wrote that “Israel mustn’t let its economic relationship with China threaten its political relationship with America.”

Begin da la bienvenida a la audaz iniciativa de Sadat, buscando poner un fin al conflicto con otros estados árabes por medio de acuerdos negociados. Begin invita a otros líderes árabes a negociar de la manera en la que Sadat lo estaba haciendo.

As Israel enters its eighth decade, the delicate balance between the state’s two dominant characteristics – Jewish and democratic – has arguably never been more contested. Recent steps perceived to have upset this balance have had implications not only inside Israel, but also vis-à-vis Israel’s relationship with Diaspora Jewry. The Israeli governments backtrack on the Western Wall/Kotel compromise has alienated many Reform and Conservative Jews the world over. The recently-passed Nation-State Basic Law raised concerns about a growing illiberal Israel putting particular Jewish values over more universal values like equality and democracy. The memory of 1967, to say nothing of 1948, increasingly becomes more abstract. Both Israeli society and Diaspora Jewry have undergone significant changes in the intervening decades.

Overall, Israeli public attitudes toward the Reform and Conservative Movements in particular and pluralistic expressions of Judaism in Israel in general are positive. Sympathy is highest among secular Israelis on the political left and center, turning to mixed feelings or neutrality among traditional Israelis on the center-right and hostility among the Orthodox and Haredi on the political right. A majority of Israeli Jews favor granting recognition and equal rights to progressive Jewish communities.

Scholars Asher Susser, Yitzhak Reiter, Yaron Ayalon and Rachel Fish discuss Zionism’s emergence, evolution, and its impact on Jewish and Israeli identity.

Professor Asher Susser describes the neighborhood of the Middle East, Arab nationalism, and the changing relationships of the region’s states with Israel.

Sea usted judío o no, aprender y familiarizarse con la historia y el futuro de Israel es un ejemplo poner el control de su destino en sus propias manos. Cada individuo está en su derecho de creer en una idea, de ser libre, de elegir su propio destino, y si es necesario, también de morir […]

On October 21, 2018, Jordan’s King Abdullah II informed Israel that he would not renew two annexes of the 1994 peace treaty between Israel and Jordan that leased the territory of Naharayim and Zofar to Israel. Many factors contributed to this decision, including Jordan’s anger over its exclusion from issues related to Jerusalem, the Temple Mount, and the recent diplomatic talks with the Palestinians. The single most significant factor that led to this decision, however, was Abdullah’s need to shore up his legitimacy in the aftermath of the protests and social unrest that erupted in Jordan over the summer.

Assembled by Ken Stein and Eli Sperling Emory University and Center for Israel Education kenstein@israeled.org or kstein@emory.edu Adnan Abu Amer,  “Have Palestinians given up on resistance?” Al-Monitor, October 26, 2018. https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2018/10/palestinian-poll-support-armed-resistance-negotiations.html#ixzz5VfZvi5PS Entsar Abu Jahal, “How Palestinian Exports of $1 Billion Impact Trade Deficit,” Al-Monitor, October 31, 2018. https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2018/10/palestine-exports-increase-israel-economy-trade-deficit.html Anna Ahronheim, “The Most Vegan Army in the World,” Jerusalem Post, October 3, 2018. https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/The-most-vegan-army-in-the-world-568595 […]