In the wake of the ultra-Orthodox rejection of the proposal to establish a new prayer space south of the Western Wall plaza for use by non-Orthodox denominations, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu finds himself forced to make a dangerous decision. On the one hand, if he pushes ahead with the new prayer space, he will imperil his political partnership with the…

This article was orginally published in the Washington Post on July 4, 2016     The writer, a human rights activist and former political prisoner in the Soviet Union, is chairman of the Jewish Agency for Israel. Perhaps better than anyone else of our age, Elie Wiesel grasped the terrible power of silence. He understood that the failure to speak out,…

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Religionization! Religionization! To read the newspaper headlines in Israel, to view its documentary films and attend its expert panels with academics, a stranger might think that upon landing at Ben Gurion Airport, he or she will have arrived at nothing less than a Hebrew-speaking version of Iran. According to those who fear for Israel’s Jewish and democratic…

The Ahad Ha’am once said, “More than the Jewish People have kept Shabbat, Shabbat has kept the Jews.” Today, Jews continue to keep and maintain the Shabbat. However, not everyone interprets what it means to keep and maintain Shabbat in the same way. What does Shabbat and its observance look like in the State of Israel? Can every individual enjoy…

What do the two candidates for the American presidency — Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump — have in common? Almost nothing at all — except that their children are married to Jews. So while it is not yet clear how the future leadership of the Free World will look, there will most definitely be toddlers running on the White House…

Shavuot, celebrated June 12-13, is the “Rosh Hashanah of conversion.” On this holiday, we read the story of Ruth the Moabitess, the first and most famous Jewish convert. As such, in Israel, in the days leading up to the holiday, there is a proliferation of events, conferences and public debates on conversion and Jewish identity. Unfortunately, while all of these…

Two weeks ago we memorialized those lost in the Holocaust, last week we remember the soldiers who have fallen in battle, Israelis and Jews from all over the world who sacrificed their lives to secure Jewish sovereignty in the land of our forefathers. It’s no coincidence that these dates were aligned by the State. It’s a trajectory of history, but…

Despite these problems, and without minimizing their importance, the overall picture of the Jewish nation-state, as it prepares to celebrate its 68th birthday, is one of tremendous success. Israel is a place where blessings abound, a dream-come-true for every Jew throughout history. If I could choose where and when to be reborn as a Jew, I would pass up all…

What is the difference between these two situations? Are there any connections between them? The story of the Exodus from Egypt is driven by miracles — a burning bush, a river of blood, flaming hail, a sea split asunder. The natural course of reality is suspended and the stage of history is given over to forces that are propelled by…