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 […]

And again… elections in Israel. What do you know. And the “new star” this time is an extreme-right party. The name? “Religious Zionism”. The agenda? Depends on whom you ask. The candidates of “Religious Zionism” have two faces. One face they present to their usual voter base. With them they discuss religion, religious laws, religious […]

Mazel Tov! A new war was born. Leaders, who have been in office for very long time, so it appears, have success going to their heads (or as they say in Hebrew: The urine has gone up to their heads). And like almost everywhere else, there is also the Jewish point of view. And I’m […]

There is a new government in Israel. For the first time ever, the prime minister of Israel is a formally religious man, wearing a traditional “kippah” (the Jewish religious head cover). He wouldn’t work during the Sabbath, unless some emergency life-saving issues. He prays several times a day as required. He eats only kosher food. […]

There is a big thing in Israel against Reform Judaism (a.k.a. Progressive Judaism). The opposition comes mainly from Orthodox Jews, but they have managed to indoctrinate many others into considering Reform Jews as some sort of evil. In fact, you can find many statements emphasizing that Reform Jews are “even” worse than “Goyim” – the […]

The recent couple of weeks have been chaotic in Israel. Even though the struggle against Covid-19 seemed to succeed – new challenges have popped, in particular the war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip and its implications inside Israel on the relationships between Jews and Arabs. This is not the proper place to describe the […]

This is the Middle East here, which means: If you don’t get religious coercion from one side – you get it from the other. Israel has just gone through its 4th elections within a period of two years. One of the main issues is the ancient religious rules that are mixed with modern Israeli law. […]

Rumor has it that during the “Black Plague” in the Middle Ages there were those who blamed the Jews for its spread, because of the lower mortality among them, which was associated with the religious customs of washing hands. Much water has flown since then, even in Jordan River. And nowadays? Miraculously, various elements related […]

Tens of thousands of Breslev Hasidic Jews intend to fly to Ukraine, to the town of Uman, in order to attend the yearly ceremony near the grave of their rabbi. This is generally an extremely crowded event, and the people in charge of public health in Israel want to prevent this madness from taking place, […]

The big parties in the Israeli parliament (the “Knesset”) quarrel over the image of the future government. One of the main issues? Things associated with a bit more separation of church and state. In particular: Public transportation in the weekends, the right of every couple to get married regardless of religious constraints, compulsory basic education […]