Kind: Reads

Over the last century, the vast majority of American Jewry became progressively, and seemingly inevitably, more secular. With an intermarriage rate of 72%, all signs have pointed to the imminent end of the largest and most important Jewish community outside of Israel – until now. 

Our institutions have already proved weak.

Representative Ritchie Torres of New York’s 15th congressional district has emerged as a leading pro-Israel figure among young progressives. Sapir Editor-in-Chief Bret Stephens interviewed him about his sometimes lonely support for Israel and what it says about the future of the Jewish state in Democratic politics. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. […]

It’s hard to overstate the extent to which the United States is founded on ideals that are philosemitic by conviction, design, and effect. The Puritans arrived in Massachusetts determined to make a New Jerusalem, modeled on the old: They settled their colony in towns named Salem, Sharon, and Rehoboth. Harvard awarded its first degree to […]

October 7, 2023 forever changed Jewish history. The cataclysm is so profound that it will take years to fully understand. Time froze. It is still October 7. We have not yet moved on. Our anguish is too raw, our fear and uncertainty too pervasive. We are still traumatized, unable to truly begin the healing process […]

I can see clearly now, the rain is gone.” I always loved this 1972 Johnny Nash hit for its optimism and upbeat tempo. Once the clouds are gone, he sees “the rainbow I’ve been prayin’ for.” For many of us, October 7 provided the same clarity — but without the rainbow. The shock was something we could […]

Plus: With 229 days to go, how to stay motivated without going crazy?

Ta’anit Esther is an act of mourning, prayer, repentance and remembrance, writes an architect, author and Israeli immigrant.

The most important biblical site you might not have heard of.

The convicted rioters are criminals, not hostages.

Trump fans don’t like how he demeans people. They’ll vote for him anyway.

The president clearly put Schumer up to bashing Netanyahu, but it's highly unlikely his strategy will work.

If there is any one word that can describe the emotional reaction of Jews to the sudden flood of antisemitism in America today, it is “betrayed.”

At the hearing, Caucus members- MKs and Ministers representing a wide range of Zionist parties- expressed the Caucus’s commitment to Israeli sovereignty over the entirety of the Land of Israel, and signed a proclamation rejecting the establishment of a Palestinian state west of the Jordan River.

Schumer is the Biden administration’s useful court Jew, serving the administration by kashering their increasingly hostile pressure on Israel. Schumer opened his speech by declaring his Jewish bonafides, referencing his family’s losses in the Holocaust and declaring himself a “shomer Yisrael, a guardian of Israel.” 

After Israel defeats Hamas in Gaza, should it try the Oct. 7 terrorists Eichmann-style in Jerusalem? Or, given Israel’s unfairly tainted reputation, might such a trial be seen as more “impartial” if it were held in Nuremberg?

The Purpose of Jewish Sovereignty by Rabbi Pesach Wolicki

One of the main themes of this book, and the direct subject of many of the verses in this book, is the promise of God to give the land of Israel to the people of Israel. This verse is one of many that reiterates God’s gift of the land. But it does more than that.  […]