The essence of any country, as I (and not necessarily others) see it, is not the ethnic composition of the population, but rather the country’s “culture”. I – and many others – very much want to preserve the “nature” of the current state of Israel in many cultural ways: Language is just one example, and […]

There is a countrywide protest in progress now all over Israel. It has been going on for several weeks now, and the main slogan calls for “social justice”. The protest is generally based on economy issues. The middle class finds it harder than ever to survive these times, let alone acquire a decent place to […]

I often stumble upon the famous argument “Who is a Jew?” (or, rather, “What is a Jew?”). Unlike other related terms, Jewishness is used to express several very different things. In many countries of the world, there is some order in things. Let’s take Belgium for instance: You can be a Belgian citizen, while from […]

June 2011 — Israeli Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General Benny Gantz, has issued an order replacing the words of ‘Yizkor’, the famous Israeli military memorial prayer. For many years it has begun with the words “Let the people of Israel remember its sons and daughters”, and from now on it should start with “Let God […]

“In India, as elsewhere in our darkening world, religion is the poison in the blood. Where religion intervenes, mere innocence is no excuse. Yet we go on skating around this issue, speaking of religion in the fashionable language of ‘respect’.” — Salman Rushdie In took the Unites States ten years or more to settle the […]

The argument can go both ways, and indeed it does, very often. What’s more, there is lots of criticism heard from religious people, of things associated with secularity. Have you heard that schools of the secular sector introduce more violence? Do you know that secular people as a whole are blamed for maintaining weaker relationships […]

“Us, and them. And after all we’re only ordinary men.” – ‘Us and Them’, Pink Floyd, Roger Waters Using passive voice is a great thing, a must for skillful politicians and salesmen. “Promised Land” and “Chosen People” are both amazing expressions without needing to explain who promised and who chose. So, who are God’s chosen […]

The Hebrew version of this short article was written by Ora Lev-Ron and Shmuel Bartenstein. It appeared on the Hofesh website under http://www.hofesh.org.il/articles/chagim/independence.html. Israel was declared an independent state on Friday, the 5th of the Hebrew month of Iyar, at 4pm. David Ben-Gurion, the first Prime Minister, delivered the declaration speech. Most Israelis were glued […]

Many years have passed since then. The following quotes are from today’s most important Israeli Orthodox Jewish newspapers and from statements made by current ultra-Orthodox Jewish leaders: “He who sues his friend in their secular court – his sin is unforgivable.” (Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, book published in 1981) “Thus, a harsh edict, almost incurable, in […]

“My definition of a free society is a society where it is safe to be unpopular.” – Adlai E. Stevenson Jr. You’ve probably heard of the term “Separation of Church and State”. What does it mean? For many it means exactly what it says: Let each and every religious person (or community) go about their […]