Category: Other

Few metaphors from psychiatry map as neatly onto international politics as kleptomania. The disorder, defined by a compulsion to steal without need or rational gain, mirrors the behaviour of states and leaders who cannot resist the urge to…

Every time American presidents have imposed a pull-back on Israeli forces — as Obama, Biden,  and Trump have all done, Biden multiple times — it has cost ordinary Gazans heavily. The same can be expected to prove true of the present…

In a week celebrating Israel’s cutting-edge climate innovation, AgriPass, an Israeli agtech startup, took home first place at the Climate Solutions Prize 2025 (CSP) Dealroom, a high-profile competition connecting global investors with…

When I visited the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC), one exhibit stopped me in my tracks. It described European traders arriving in Africa to exchange goods with African rulers and merchants. This surprised me,…

The Two-State Illusion Will Never Work — All of Israel Is Destined for Redemption

For decades, the two-state illusion has been the centerpiece of international diplomacy in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It’s been proposed, debated,…

At one of the October 7th commemoration ceremonies I recently attended, I ran into an old friend. We greeted each other the way Jews greet each other now: Nu, when do you think the deal will pass? Are you optimistic?

We imagined what Simchat…

Today, in the heart of Amsterdam, the Rav Aharon Schuster Synagogue opened its doors for a solemn and emotional commemoration of October 7th, which was the darkest day in recent Israeli history.

The Rav Aharon Schuster Synagogue, located on…

In order that future generations may know that I made the Israelite people live in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt—I, Hashem, your G-d.

לְמַ֘עַן֮ יֵדְע֣וּ דֹרֹֽתֵיכֶם֒ כִּ֣י…

Each year on Succot, Jews around the world take up the Arba Minim — the Four Species — and wave them in six directions. It’s a striking ritual, ancient in form yet timeless in meaning. The etrog, lulav, hadassim, and aravot are more…

Growing up in London, I lived the old joke: you wait hours for a bus, then five arrive at once. So it goes with the Jewish High Holidays (Chagim) in September and October. This year’s schedule is relentless — Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday,…