What happens when an ancient holiday is rebranded for modern audiences?
For Israelis, Hanukkah was reinvented as a celebration of Jewish heroism, of our ability to persevere against overwhelming threats, with the Maccabean warrior as the precursor to the IDF. In contrast, in North America Hanukkah has been rebranded as a universal battle against religious suppression, with the Hanukah lights as beacons for interfaith ecumenism and religious tolerance. What does this dichotomy say about the two largest Jewish communities in the world?
Israel’s National Holidays, Yom HaShoah, Yom HaZikaron, and Yom Ha’atmaut, commemorate the last century’s major upheavals of Jewish history. While these days are meant...
The criminalization of Israel is becoming a mainstay for growing parts of the progressive American Jewish discourse. Many liberal American Jews accuse Israel of...
Disagreement is a cornerstone of the Jewish experience. But across the political spectrum, Jewish discourse around Israel has moved beyond the realm of disagreement...