Daniel Polisar is the executive vice-president and a member of the faculty at Shalem College in Jerusalem.
Featuring wars, peacemakers, two cultures, pogroms, plays, four ages, wild problems, caves, magic, letters, American conservatives, liberal parents, radical children, and more.
This week, in Basel, the World Zionist Organization convened to commemorate the 125th anniversary of the First Zionist Congress. What was the original meeting like?
Three reasons that explain why Theodor Herzl succeeded in igniting an international movement while others, like Leon Pinsker, netted only a small, struggling organization.
Five more of our regular writers pick several favorites each, featuring Stalingrad, the master, Margarita, parasitic minds, infectious ideas, dust, heaven, Zoom, traveling light, and more.
Seven of our regular writers pick several favorites each, featuring sieges, spies, cultural revolutions, family papers, useful enemies, new fields of inquiry, and more.
Israelis are neither blind to Netanyahu’s flaws nor fooled by his diversions. They chose him because he best reflects their political values and best secures their interests.
Letters, antidotes, eternal lives, outcasts, secret worlds, pogroms, and more.
Spy games, catch-67s, lionesses, smugglers, patriots, setting suns, and more.
The story of Theodor Herzl and the First Zionist Congress, convened 120 years ago on this date.
Egypt and Jordan had strong leaders committed to peace; the Palestinians don’t. That makes the views of ordinary Palestinians all the more significant, and worrisome.
Western statesmen and politicians have long asserted that the two-state solution commands majority support on the ground. Most Palestinians say otherwise.
Six months after the current wave of violence began, some observers think it might be running out of steam. But what next?
The “occupation” isn’t enough to explain the views they hold on Israel, Jews, and the desirability of violence.
It’s time to take a close look at an often ignored subject: what ordinary Palestinians think about Israel, Jews, and terrorist attacks on civilians.