Disturbed. Thursday. Reports on the incident: two wanted Palestinian suspects of terrorism shot to death despite surrender to Israeli Border Police. A video clip from the scene: Jenin. I tell myself not to submit to curiosity. I refrain from…
Category: Other
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In the Twilight Zone – Between Human Rights Violations and Friends
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Desperation gives rise to wishful thinking, science fiction, and spiritual trust
Wishful thinking is more wishful than thinking; science fiction is more fiction than science; and spiritual trust is more spiritual than trust. There is only so much despair most people can take. It’s sad but telling when a science reporter (my…
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Gaza Strategy: Post-name Metrics – 4
Part Four: The Ideological Ecosystem in Gaza: Lessons from Kurdistan Armed capability and administrative control do not fully explain organisational resilience. A supporting ideological ecosystem fixes grievance, prescribes duty, and allocates…
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Survivor Series – klitah, pleitah, and seridah
In a standard Chumash, at the end of every Parashah there is a comment from the Masoretes that tells the reader how many verses were in that particular Parashah and provides a mnemonic for easily memorizing that number. In general, these…
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Pakistan’s new power structure is a threat Israel can’t ignore
Pakistan has entered a dangerous new phase. With Field Marshal Asim Munir now assuming the unprecedented dual role of Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Defence Forces, the country has effectively placed all military power—army, air force and…
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Jacob Without Illusions
Jacob Without Illusions: An Existential Reading of the Torah Jacob is often presented as a righteous man whose morally ambiguous actions are absorbed into “the divine plan”. In a literal reading, everything he does — deception, flight,…
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In Oslo, Human Rights Meets Its Own “Scream”
Life imitated art last week in Oslo—and not in a good way. At a panel on human rights and humanitarian groups, two iconic Norwegian images materialized before me: the iridescent Northern Lights and the raw angst of Edvard Munch’s The Scream….
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Fighting the Virus Without, Fixing the Void Within
The hatred we face has shed the skin of race theory and donned the cloak of “social justice,” confusing a generation of young Jews whose connection to their people has grown hollow. To survive this latest strain, we must do more than defend our…
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‘Startup Nation’ or ‘Exit Nation’?
A tip of the kippah to the architects of Zionism — those stubborn visionaries who believed a battered people could build a modern state out of desert, memory, and sheer human will. They dreamed of a country that would gather Jews from around…
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Yakov’s Doubts
Yakov Avinu’s dream of the ladder with angels going up and down, was meant to give him assurances that Hashem would always be with him. He awoke from this dream with great joy and optimism. Nevertheless, his humility made him doubt that he…
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