Torah as Nazi Notebook Cover
Haaretz has a fascinating piece on a Nazi officer’s notebook, which was covered by a fragment sliced from a Torah scroll. It was given by the Nazi officer’s son to Moti Dotan, the head...
Iraq, Chateaubriand, and the Festival of Our Freedom
The month of Nisan is upon us, and our preparation for the Festival of Freedom is entering its final, frenetic state. The war in Iraq, foundering on the shoals of the primitiveness of Arab...
Israeli election, view from a Shas driver’s seat
Hodesh tov. I put in an intense 48 hours during the Israel election,(1) first handling media issues then (2) as part of a team driving cross-city and cross-country to get stranded voters to their...
G. Gordon Liddy and the Ultra-Orthodox
The G-Man had a guest on his show today discussing the election results, which I happened to hear for five minutes during the drive back from an appointment. In those five minutes I heard...
Israeli Elections: Coalition Economics
Along with the political rejection of the hard right, the electorate also repudiated Thatcherite, or free market economics, along with the man most closely identified with it, Binyamin Netanyahu. Even within Netanyahu’s own Likud...
Israeli Elections: The Morning After
This morning, we know that Ehud Olmert will be the next prime minister, and that Binyamin Netanyahu’s chances of ever again being prime minister are close to nil. Throughout the campaign Olmert and Netanyahu...
Charedi Unit Nabs Suicide Bomber
In today’s Jerusalem Post: The haredi Nahal unit of the IDF captured an 18-year-old Palestinian suicide bomber wearing an explosive belt at the Beka’ot roadblock in the Jordan Valley on Wednesday afternoon. The belt...
Israel Election Results (Updated Periodically)
Jerusalem Post says turnout reached 63%, while Channel 2 says 62%. With 99.67% of the votes now counted, JPost and Israel National News report: 28 Kadima, 20 Labor, 13 Shas, 12 Israel Beiteinu, 11...
Israeli Elections: Low Turnout Strengthens Small Parties
Israel Channel Two now estimates final voter turnout will be 60%, which is the lowest in history for the Israeli Knesset. The previous low, according to Israel National News, was 69%. The only other...
Artscroll Is Not To Blame
The blame for any perceived shortcomings with Artscroll does not belong with Artscroll. The real culprit is far more sinister. My recent post on pictures of Gedolim of previous generations unpredictably invited a large...