There is currently a huge debate in Israel about an issue that has great potential to bring down the government: The obligatory army service (conscription) of ultra-Orthodox Jews, a.k.a. “Haredim”. Ultra-Orthodox Jews in Israel do not currently enlist in the IDF, while the conscription law applies equally to the rest of the Jewish population. The […]

Hamas and Hezbollah are known terrorist organizations, but just like ISIS they are also religious terrorist organizations. The ideology that drives them is mainly a religious-Muslim ideology. The leaders of Hamas, like other religiously oriented fanatics, are convinced that God is with them. The decision-making process of the movement’s leaders (and Sinwar in particular) is […]

Prof. Dan Mahler passed away on April 16, 2024. Dan Mahler was a freedom fighter, an honorary member of the Hofesh (Freedom) – The largest secular Israeli NPO, and one of its founders. Dan Mahler was also an educated man, broad-minded, and with many interests. He was a plastic surgeon and medical consultant; He was […]

Here is a summary of the recorded remarks of the Jerusalem Faction leader Rabbi Zvi Friedman from last week: It is better for us to remain under the British occupation [1948], and not in a secular Jewish state. I’d rather Arabs kill my grandchildren than that they be secular. Secularism is worse than death. It […]

There are also some beautiful things in religion. In almost every religion. Although the religious believers think that the religious laws originate from “God”, in practice they were of course phrased by different people at different times and places, and usually with good and rational reasons – similarly to modern laws. “Thou shalt not kill”? […]

“And Judah said unto Onan, Go in unto thy brother’s wife, and marry her, and raise up seed to thy brother. And Onan knew that the seed should not be his; and it came to pass, when he went in unto his brother’s wife, that he spilled it on the ground, lest that he should […]

I’m not sure to what extent this is also the case in some other countries, but the political division into “right” and “left” in Israel largely (even if not perfectly) corresponds to a citizen’s “religiousness”. And the affiliation seems relatively clear: “Religious” Jews (of any kind) will usually associate themselves with the “right” wing, while […]

Israel is a country trained in suffering from terrorism. It’s therefore very common to meet guards at the entrances of public buildings and institutions, searching for hidden weapons (or other dangerous things) in the belongings of people entering the place. Israel is also a country trained in suffering from self-religious coercion. Therefore, some of these […]

My country is being robbed. There is no other way to describe it. A mixture of extreme religious parliament members together with some other self-proclaimed democracy experts gathered to turn this paradise into hell. They promote the notion of how good the idea is to control any supreme court’s decision. They seriously talk about “God” […]

I have heard this line of thought several times — You talk with a religious Jew about the borders of the State of Israel, you raise all kinds of considerations: The need for a Jewish majority, the need for secured borders, the much-needed support of the various countries of the world, the Palestinians, the economy […]