Category: Religion and State in Israel

On Jewish worship, mourning, and celebration on the Temple Mount. It is time for establishment of a synagogue to solidify Jewish/Israeli rights on Har HaBayit.
I cannot tolerate the demonizing of brave Religious Zionist women, wives and mothers of courageous soldiers – who have led campaigns for the passage of an effective and enforceable haredi draft law.
Alas, there will be no real military draft of haredim (Ultra-Orthodox Israelis), so taking a moral stance against this outrage is all that can be done.
The Jewish People everywhere are sorely in need of much greater public and private Shabbat observance — the wide mental spaces, healing calm, and unifying potential embedded in G-d’s great gift of Shabbat. Indeed, the reinvigoration of Jewish and Zionist identity underway in Israel (including Shabbat observance) must be embraced by Diaspora Jewry too, since it is under assault by radical forces from without and self-annihilationist forces from within.
What better moment than the eve of Tisha Be’Av – at ten months distance from this country’s contemporary national catastrophe of Tisha Be’Av magnitude – to remind oneself of the Biblical warnings against the politics of defamation? Such politics have been tried before in this country with disastrous and tragic results. Time to maximize Israeli heart and minimize hatred…
It is critical to defiantly distinguish haredi ideology regarding military service from authentic Torah ideology. To rigorously reject haredi dogma on this matter and debunk haredi distortion of religious sources. To me, doing so is no less an obligation for the sake of the “honor of Torah” than it is an emotional and social imperative.
David M. Weinberg is a think tank director, columnist and lobbyist who is a sharp critic of Israel’s detractors and of post-Zionist trends in Israel. Read more »
A passionate speaker, David M. Weinberg lectures widely in Israel, the U.S. and Canada to Jewish and non-Jewish audiences. He speaks on international politics and Middle East strategic affairs, Israeli diplomacy and defense strategy, intelligence matters and more. Click here to book David Weinberg as a speaker

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