The war, which has killed tens of thousands, laid waste to the Gaza Strip and shredded Israel’s reputation abroad, could soon be over. We explore how people have grappled with faith over the past two years.
Letting go: Jews retire yellow ribbons, dog tags and other hostage symbols with gratitude and grief
Like most synagogues, Congregation Beth El in South Orange, New Jersey added new rituals after the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks that killed 1,200 in Israel, saw another 251 taken hostage and launched a grinding war between Israel and Hamas.
Jack Graham says never-Trumpers should rethink now
President Donald Trump’s role in securing a peace deal between Israel and Hamas should cause never-Trumpers to change their minds, according to Dallas megachurch pastor Jack Graham. On Monday, Oct. 13, as hostages and prisoners were exchanged in the Middle…
Join the flotilla of God’s resistance
In the spirit of reading other people’s mail, specifically 2 Timothy 2:1-14, I present a letter to the faithful when it feels like the world is on fire. To the dearest faithful, blessed doubtful, foolishly hopeful, the ragamuffins and the…
American Jews and Muslims celebrate ceasefire deal, but cautiously
As the first phase of a ceasefire between Israel and Gaza appeared imminent, major religious groups, Jewish, Muslim and Christian, issued near-unanimous statements of relief and gratitude. But they also tempered their statements with notes of caution.
Kinship. Apathy. Disgust. U.S. Jews on post-2023 Israel.
The two years of war in Gaza and the attacks in Israel, and the world’s reaction to them, have angered, confused, devastated and challenged many American Jews.
How ‘holding space’ became a post-Oct. 7 mantra of grief and comfort
As Sukkot and the anniversary of the Oct. 7 attacks approached, I received separate emails from two different Jewish organizations with what to me was an unfamiliar use of the word “holding.”
What I’ve learned since October 7, 2023
On October 7, 2023, Hamas — elected to power in 2006 — launched a major attack on Israel from the Gaza Strip, firing thousands of rockets and sending fighters across the border. The assault targeted Israeli towns and army bases near…
In Uman, annual Rosh Hashanah pilgrimage is clouded by arrests of yeshiva students in Israel
Yaakov Bermann made his way from Jerusalem to this Ukrainian city in time for Rosh Hashanah this year, when the population swells with pilgrims seeking to pray at the grave of the Hasidic rabbi Nachman of Bratslav.
UN Inquiry Concludes Israeli Actions In Gaza Meets Legal Definition Of Genocide
On Sept. 16, the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel, a subsidiary body of the Human Rights Council, concluded, on reasonable grounds, that Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza…
UN commission of inquiry accuses Israel of genocide in Gaza and urges global action
A team of independent experts commissioned by the United Nations’ Human Rights Council has concluded that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, issuing a report Tuesday that calls on the international community to end the genocide and act to punish…
Trump on Israel: ‘They’re not winning the world of public relations’
President Donald Trump said that backing for Israel in Congress had declined during the country’s military campaign in Gaza, telling The Daily Caller that Washington’s pro-Israel lobby no longer has the hold on Capitol Hill it once did.