ReligionDispatches.org

Orly Halpern.

Netanyahu’s decision to declare two holy sites located in the Palestinian Territories and once shared by Jews, Christians, and Muslims “national heritage sites” triggers violence and conflict.

Shalom Goldman.

Many Israelis and Jews took to Avatar with aplomb, likening it to Kabbalah and turning out in record numbers in Israel. But it remains to be seen how Jews and Israelis will respond to Palestinian protesters who, dressed as the film’s besieged protagonists, aim to position themselves in the hearts of observers as the sympathetic underdogs.

Diane Winston.

The recent firing of a progressive leader by the Jerusalem Post has lit up the international press. If Israel is entering its own McCarthy era, as many fear, it is not without American support—on both sides. So where’s the American media coverage? 

Shalom Goldman.

Famous for his use of TV to spread the message, Oral Roberts—friend of Israel's first prime minister, David Ben Gurion—helped to popularize the notion that the newly founded State of Israel was an indication that God still acts in history and that events prophesied in the bible were at hand.

Shalom Goldman.

20th century Jewish aspirations for a revived national home were supported by three centuries of Christian enthusiasm—bolstered by biblical literalism—for the return of the Jews to "their land." In this excerpt from the newly-released Zeal for Zion, Shalom Goldman traces the Christian roots of Zionism.

Mark LeVine.

The Israeli ambassador to the US recently joined the American right charging that pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian J Street put the very “survival of the Jewish state” into question. Indeed, recognizing the full humanity of Palestinians would require a radical transformation of Israeli, Zionist, and even Jewish-American identity.

Shalom Goldman.

The reactions to the English-language publication of a book deemed “a scandal” reveal as much about the politics of contemporary Israel (and of its relation to the American Jewish community) as they do about the history the book describes. It’s not that Shlomo Sand believes that the Jews are not the chosen people—he argues that they might not be a people at all.

Linell Cady.

Author Bruce Feiler is back from “walking the Bible” and is roaming the country, tracing Moses’ footsteps. But in his eagerness to make the prophet into a unifying symbol, he misses the true complexity of the relationship between religion and the secular in America.

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.