The challenges confronting American Jewry are multiple. Jewish continuity has many disparate aspects, among which are issues such as Jewish identity, education, marriage, aging, gender relations, the strengthening of communities, leadership, mobility, attitudes toward Israel, philanthropy, outreach, government relations, anti-Semitism … [Read More]
Category Archives: 2010
Conservative Jewry faces three major challenges. These concern its message, its quality control, and its structure. The definition of the message has become a priority in part because of the blurring of the boundaries with other movements. Quality control is … [Read More]
Unless there were a compelling reason to do so, one would not usually review a book that devotes only 6 of its 400 pages to a Jewish subject. In this case, the memoirs of the liberal politician Gerrit Zalm, the … [Read More]
The stream of books on Pope Pius XII continues. Dirk Verhofstadt, a Belgian journalist and author, recounts the major issues concerning this pope’s conduct during World War II. He bases his findings on the abundant literature on the subject. This … [Read More]
This small book – an essay of about twenty thousand words – describes a situation in 2009 about which the author says: “As far as I can judge, these were the largest anti-Jewish riots in Norwegian history. Even before and … [Read More]
In the mid-1990s there was a sudden renewed public interest in the issue of looted Jewish possessions during the war and their very partial restitution afterward. In the Netherlands, public interest in restitution issues gradually reemerged after several decades of almost … [Read More]
For most of his career as an Israeli Foreign Ministry staff member, Ambassador (ret.) Yehuda Avner was assigned to the Prime Minister’s Office carrying out sensitive tasks. Avner served as speechwriter and secretary to Prime Ministers Levi Eshkol and Golda … [Read More]
The number of Muslims in Canada has grown exponentially, while the size of the Jewish community has remained more or less stable. There are now 780,000 Muslims in the country, representing 2.5 percent of the total population, while the 373,000 … [Read More]
Many engaged Jews under the age of forty emphasize, more than their elders and predecessors, Jewish purpose. They have created new minyanim, expanded social justice activities, engaged in various cultural endeavors, undertaken Judaic learning singly and in groups, and established a … [Read More]
The Gaza flotilla was a well-thought-out provocation against Israel. The flotilla was falsely presented as an enterprise of humanitarian aid to a needy population. If that were indeed the case the organizers would have accepted Israel’s offer to dock the … [Read More]