Mandatory army service and religious exemptions from such service constitute one of the most provocative issues in Israeli society. This has been a hotly debated topic since 1948, when David Ben-Gurion authorized the postponement of the draft for a small…
Off Campus
A confrontation: the Israeli Rabbinate and Democracy
Perhaps no Israeli institution has garnered as much criticism lately as the Israeli Rabbinate. In the last several weeks, a series of scandals and controversies have left the Rabbinate reeling under intense public scrutiny. Among several recent controversial decisions is…
Ariel Sharon: a look at Israel’s recently deceased war hero and controversial politician
After the painful protraction of death for eight years, Ariel Sharon, 11th prime minister of Israel, passed away Shabbat afternoon in the Sheba Medical Center near Tel Aviv. While in office, Sharon suffered a stroke in January 2006 that left…
MERS virus post-hajj
The big scare from October has died down: only one confirmed case of MERS-CoV has been reported in connection to the Muslim hajj (pilgrimage) to Mecca and no pandemic has developed from infection-bearing pilgrims returning home and contaminating thousands of…
The changing dynamics of Jewish education
The perpetuation of Judaism throughout the millennia has largely relied on one of its most important tenets: education. The Talmudic tractate Kiddushin (“Consecrations”; 29a) dictates that a father is obligated to teach his child three things: how to earn a…
Ultras and La Familia: Israeli football culture
In Israel, your politics determine everything — where you sit in synagogue, what falafel stand you frequent, and especially what football (soccer) team you support. Israeli football culture, stemming from longstanding traditions of European football hooliganism and city pride, takes…
Eden Atias murdered, American media forgets
Controversy is quickly brewing over purportedly skewed media coverage of the fatal stabbing of 19-year-old Israeli soldier Eden Atias on a bus en route to Tel Aviv. The suspect is a Palestinian teenager, residing in Israel illegally. The main catalyst…
Nobel Prize in Chemistry delivers painful reminder of Israel’s recent brain drain
On October 9, 2013, three men were awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, two of whom were Israeli. In fact, Arieh Warshel and Michael Levitt are the fifth and sixth Israelis to attain this honor within the past decade, an achievement of impossible statistical…
Idan Raichel Performs at UCLA
On October 10, the Idan Raichel Project performed a sold-out concert at UCLA’s Royce Hall. It was sponsored by the Center for the Art of Performance at UCLA, the Younes and Soraya Nazarian Center for Israel Studies, UCLA Asia Institute,…
Israel’s new Finance Minister Yair Lapid: no qualifications, no experience
When searching for candidates to fill an available employment opportunity, a firm will invariably include, in bold print, a section entitled “Qualifications” within the job description. The purpose of this vital and ever-powerful section is, above all, a time-saving one…