ReligionDispatches.org

Sarah Posner.

Breaking down the messaging and calls for change.

Sarah Posner.

As its inaugural conference approaches, conservatives aim to discredit J Street.

Louis A. Ruprecht.

You can either trust Rush Limbaugh or look at past awards for clues. 

Michael J. Baigent.

Finally, something Christians, Jews, and Muslims can agree on: Apocalypse. But as the theological end-time visions of the three Abrahamic faiths converge, it is not the wrath of heaven that threatens life on Earth, but all-too-human fundamentalism and fearmongering.

Kim Chernin.

In this lyrical excerpt, author Kim Chernin envisions a new solution that rises up from the Sinai desert nurtured by two little girls.

Shalom Goldman.

The religious right’s preferred presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee recently returned from a visit to Israel. What prompted Time to call it his first campaign stop in the 2012 race?

Kelly Hartog.

A powerful documentary, “Praying in Her Own Voice,” chronicles twenty years of struggle for religious equality at one of Judaism’s most sacred sites and asks: How can there be unity when half the population is silenced?

Shalom Goldman.

In both Israel and India, religious rituals governing purity and health are clashing with efforts to stop the “swine flu” virus from spreading and killing more citizens.

Shalom Goldman.

The staging in Jaffa of a controversial play with Jesus as central character is shut down by protests—but not for the reasons one might imagine.

Shaul Magid.

Israel’s Ultra Orthodox, or Haredim, do not share the theological assumptions of the settlers—but in recent years a purely pragmatic alliance has formed. What does this mean for Israel as a society?

Shalom Goldman.

Set against the backdrop of the recent closure of a Knesset cafeteria due to an unkosher cockroach, Shalom Goldman takes an entertaining and meandering look at the state of affairs in Israel. Touching on topics as disparate as the alliteration-happy Israeli media and racist policy proposals, Goldman brings into sharp relief some of the tensions in Israeli religious and cultural life, much of which remains at the mercy of the Orthodox rabbinate.

Ira Chernus.

A new study reveals that the majority of Israelis view the conflict with Palestine through the lens of fear, throwing their support behind a parade of bellicose and paranoid leaders. Until the cycle of victimhood and aggression is broken no amount of pressure from the U.S., vain military adventures, or Labor Party victories will alter the tragic stalemate in the region.

Gary Dorrien.

For Obama to steer us back to the softer side of Empire, withdrawing from Iraq and Afghanistan (and negotiating with Iran), he’ll have to overrule his key officials, Hillary Clinton and Dennis Ross, risk alienating Israel for its own good, and stand up to bracing public attacks. And he'll need a hand from a strong, anti-imperial religious and secular peace movement.

Ira Chernus.

Beneath the violence and inability to find peace in Israel/Palestine lie a series of narratives and myths American and Israeli Jews employ to understand the situation. One such narrative has shifted toward hope recently, but does it go deep enough?

Charlotte Gordon.

From a religious and biblical perspective, the sons of Isaac have long viewed the sons of Ishmael as potential enemies, and vice versa. Each side sees the other as the opponent in a battle for God’s single blessing. But—in fact—God invented the two-state solution in Genesis 21.

Dan Fleshler.

In an excerpt from a new book Dan Fleshler, an American Jewish activist from “the pro-Israel left,” explains the reluctance of Jewish liberals to criticize Israel on the human rights front, even when they share the rest of the world’s objections to Israeli behavior.

Adam Gregerman.

Benedict’s visit to Israel was marked by his refusal to acknowledge the history of Catholic anti-Judaism and its relationship to Nazi antisemitism. Politicians, rabbis, and journalists were indignant that the pope offered no apology while a cardinal was surprised to learn that an apology was expected.

Jonathan L. Walton.

A Jewish professor is under fire for comparing the suffering of Jews in WWII to the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza. Do these comparisons serve any purpose?

Rabbi Michael Lerner.

When representatives of many Arab and Muslim nations publicly applaud Ahmadinejad’s racist rant, the real losers are the Palestinians.

Benjamin Weiner.

Giving free rein to their follicles, a Conservative group of IDF soldiers defies powerful, state-sanctioned Orthodox Rabbinate.

Benjamin Weiner.

Seven Jewish Children, which tells the story of the recent Israeli war in Gaza, stirs up discomfort among some Jews, and support from others.

Benjamin Weiner.

Don't break out the Ram's Horn just yet, the Devil's in the details.

Elizabeth Shakman Hurd.

All nations contribute to the management and definition of religion so it’s neither necessary, nor possible, to identify any state as definitively “religious” or “secular.” To choose is largely political.

Bill Berkowitz.

Three of the top Apocalypse-watchers of the Christian Right have big love for Israeli Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu.

Joel Schalit.

An Israeli late show host's skit denying the virgin birth caused a furor among evangelicals and the Vatican. He had his reasons.