There are issues in the life of a nation and a country that must not be turned into pawns in an internal political game and must not be cashed into tactical coins. One of them, if not the foremost among them, is the foundational idea of the State of Israel, the unique nation-state of the Jewish people, which practices the…

What does “loyalty” mean? Loyalty to whom? The way in which these bills use this term implies that loyalty requires, as a necessary condition, the rejection of a concrete, identifiable alternative. Thus, for example, loyalty between two marriage partners requires the rejection of loyalty to other partners. In the realm of religion, loyalty to God is not compatible with loyalty…

The Left is not alone. The Right also imposes its own forms of cherem. The Im Tirtzu organization has threatened to pressure donors to boycott Israel’s universities if the universities don’t act according to the organization’s wishes. Another form of cherem may be seen in the decision of some members of the Right to advocate refusal to serve in the…

The question of who should perform conversions in Israel is critical, both symbolically and practically. Symbolically, conversion is the only way to join the Jewish people; accordingly, whoever is authorized to convert people serves as a gatekeeper, with a monopoly on determining membership in an exclusive club. Practically, the gatekeeper’s decisions have a profound impact on the identity of potential…

Recently, however, MK David Rotem of the Yisrael Beiteinu party took up the mantle of this issue and is to be congratulated for this. As the political party supported by the vast majority of Israeli immigrants from the former Soviet Union, Yisrael Beiteinu is largely promoting this bill due to its relevance to a large percentage of its constituents. However,…

Quick Navigation Introduction Conversion, the process by which non-Jews become Jews, has always occupied an important place on the Jewish agenda. From a theoretical standpoint, conversion is a fascinating phenomenon in many respects: religious and national, historical and social, philosophical and psychological. From a practical standpoint, conversion is an important social institution that is vital for Jewish continuity. Jewish attitudes…

Responsibility for combating crime is placed, first and foremost, on the various law enforcement authorities: the police, the prosecution, and the courts, which do much, but can still do more. However, in parallel, the onus to act against crime is on each and every citizen and community. How? A sample of four headlines that have besmirched our image recently include…

On the surface, the Israeli marketplace of ideas crosses a very deep divide that splits us into two camps—”democrats” and “Jews.” In practice, only a tiny fringe element objects to the state defining itself as “Jewish” and seeks “a state of all its citizens.” Similarly, only a small, marginal group opposes a democratic state and favors an alternative vision, like…

The ongoing financial crisis, however, has confronted us with a very different reality: the people most engaged in calculation – whom we entrusted with the responsibility of managing every aspect of our lives, from retirement to natural disasters – acted systematically and persistently in a dangerous manner that eventually led to the collective suicide of some of the most established…