Even before the Zionist movement began in the 1880s, a handful of East European Jews started a Hebrew literary renaissance. Quite a few of these pioneering writers, figures like Hayyim Nahman Bialik and Micha Yosef Berdichevsky, had studied at the Volozhin yeshiva, which, during its relatively short lifespan, became the archetypal talmudic academy. The first generations of readers of this new Hebrew genre, moreover, were likely largely made up of Volozhin students and alumni. In conversation with J.J. Kimche, Marina Zilbergerts explains what made this institution unique, and its complex relationship with a literary movement that set itself up in opposition to tradition. (Audio, 59 minutes.)

Yesterday, the Iranian foreign minister flew to Geneva to meet with European diplomats. President Trump, meanwhile, indicated that cease-fire negotiations might soon begin with Iran, which would presumably involve Tehran agreeing to make concessions regarding its nuclear program, while Washington pressures Israel to halt its military activities. According to Israeli media, Iran already began putting out feelers to the U.S. earlier this week. Aviram Bellaishe considers the purpose of these overtures:

The regime’s request to return to negotiations stems from the principle of deception and delay that has guided it for decades. Iran wants to extricate itself from a situation of total destruction of its nuclear facilities. It understands that to save the nuclear program, it must stop at a point that would allow it to return to it in the shortest possible time. So long as the negotiation process leads to halting strikes on its military capabilities and preventing the destruction of the nuclear program, and enables the transfer of enriched uranium to a safe location, it can simultaneously create the two tracks in which it specializes—a false facade of negotiations alongside a hidden nuclear race.