Judaism and Politics

Menachem Butler responds to Michael Bernstein's article about the propriety of placing flags in shul sanctuaries.

The biblical figure of Esther is often interpreted by traditional and modern commentators as a heroine of active leadership. Naama Sadan offers a novel perspective, according to which Esther confronts national crisis in female-coded ways, triumphing and saving her people through internally-focused activism.

Raphael Jospe and Zach Truboff write regarding recent articles that have driven conversation.

Ethan Schwartz reviews Yitchak Etshalom’s new volume on the prophet Amos, considering ways in which the author succeeds and fails to recreate the divine roar of Amos’ message.

The propriety of celebrating the downfall of enemies presents a complex web of questions and seemingly contradictory Jewish texts. Michael Kurin makes sense of this subject and proposes a framework for applying it to matters of Israeli public policy.

Jeffrey Green assesses Daniel Boyarin's "Traveling Homeland," Jewish texts and Diaspora in modern terms.

Roy Pinchot responds to Zach Truboff's article decrying the ethical and spiritual costs of the war.

Yosef Blau and Jonah Winer respond to Ari Zivitofsky's recent article regarding the alleged abuse of Palestinian prisoners at Sde Teiman.

As Juneteenth sparks another round of discussion of blacks and the American experience, Chaim Trachtman compares and contrasts the Jewish and Black experiences in America through the lens of Jason Mott’s Hell of a Book.

Fix the Israeli Rabbinate, says Elli Fischer, but first identify the problem.