The focus of our story has returned to the land of Israel, where it is once again a time of controversy. Despite the population growth, the economic hardships and the security challenges, the most divisive political issue of the early 1950’s was whether to accept reparations from the reborn German state. Here is an exploration…
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Taking a break from the flow of history to think about a pressing current issue. Where does the breakdown of classic understandings of identity and authority associated with the postmodern age leave Am Yisrael? If you want to watch the second half of the webinar on this topic and hear about the blessings of postmodernism,…
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We spoke about the suburbs and the shadows, now it is time to talk about Zionism. The ‘Golden decade’ was a time of reorganization in general, and particularly in relation to the newborn State of Israel. Here is an episode whose characters will seem strikingly familiar today – non-Zionists, Zionists and anti-Zionists.
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The decade after World War Two was a Jewish decade for America. Not only did the Jews achieve the suburban dream, but their culture stepped right into the middle of the American mainstream. Nonetheless, there were two things which dimmed this Golden Decade – the Red Scare and the shadow of the Shoah.
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1945 to 1955 is known as the ‘Golden Decade’ of American Jewry. Here is the first of three episodes that aim to fill in the Jewish Story on the western side of the Atlantic. The question for today is – did the move to suburbia make the Jews white?
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In part two of this exploration of Israel’s seventy year constitutional crisis we take a look at the revolution of 1992 and how it contributed to today’s battles. As a special bonus I included a little bird walk along the lines of the Torah’s commandment for a king.
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If I asked you whether Israel has a constitution are you sure that you would know the answer? This episode is the first half of answering the question by delving into the history of Israel’s 1949 Constituent Assembly. Picture by Hugo Mendelson – This is available from National Photo Collection of Israel, Photography dept. Government…
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Every once in a while you have to get out of the house, and even out of the box. Where better to do that than Jerusalem, and who is a better partner than Yehudah Hakohen. Here is a free-flowing conversation on Jerusalem, redemption and the process in which we find ourselves day. In honor of…
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Every value has a boundary and every state a border, which means that often we have to fight to maintain them. Here is the story of Israel’s struggle against infiltration in the 1950’s and the moral complexity of retaliatory raids. Not an episode for the faint of heart.
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In 1949 Israel was in the dangerous position of winning the battle and losing the war. Though ceasefire agreements were in place, peace remained elusive. This episode opens an examination of the questions of international legitimacy, national cohesion and border conflicts which characterize the state even today.
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