Elections 2.0 might be a good idea * The tolerant Belgium I loved is gone * We Orthodox Jews desperately need gay rabbis * My life on a needle

[The Blogs]( [The Marketplace of Ideas]( Weekly Highlights Thursday, May 30, 2019 [A few pointers for the political parties of 2019]( By [Shoshanna Keats Jaskoll]( [Elections 2.0 is a chance for parties to up their game, like, say, adding more women to the list, or ditching that sex offender]( [Michael Hilkowitz]( [Depraved Bibi used Ethiopian Jews as bargaining chips]( [Israel’s prime minister offered an MK a galling ’Sophie’s Choice’: Betray your party or abandon your community.]( [Nathan Lewin]( [Bribery charges against Netanyahu wouldn’t hold water in a US court]( [Bibi and Sara allegedly did favors in return for positive publicity. Under American law, such a quid pro quo is not a crime]( [William Echikson]( [The tolerant Belgium I loved is gone]( [It’s not just the rise in anti-Semitic incidents that worry me, it is the failure of the Belgian politicians to denounce them]( [Daniel Landes]( [We Orthodox Jews desperately need gay rabbis]( [I ordained a gay rabbinical student because requiring people to hide or ’cure’ their sexuality violates the Jewish notion of Law]( [Harry Maryles]( [Ordaining an openly gay Jew]( [Some lines can never be crossed no matter how much compassion one has for one’s fellow man. You cannot change Jewish law]( [My life, on a needle inside an egg]( By [Mike Polischuk]( [You reached for immortality and had a child, who is now tied to the raw, pulsating muscle of your heart. That’s your life from now on.]( [Melissa Landa]( [‘P is for Palestine’ is not for children]( [Sure, it’s an alphabet book with cheerful illustrations, but those pictures are also an insidious attempt to indoctrinate kids against the State of Israel]( [Ksenia Svetlova]( [Economic peace? Not while the ice cream is melting at the checkpoint]( [Trump’s ‘Deal of the Century’ offers Palestinians financial incentives in return for giving up their dreams of sovereignty — that’s a pipe dream]( [Ilana Kaufman and Ari Kelman]( [Jews of Color and who counts in the Jewish community]( [Our new study shows US Jewry is a whole lot less white than you might think and helps ensure everyone is being honored and served]( [David Sedley]( [Happy birthday, Al Capone]( [To take the census, Moses had to know everyone’s age — go try finding that out when no one has a birth certificate (Parshat Bamidbar)]( [Baruch Frydman-Kohl]( [The day I met the Columbia astronauts’ families at the Israel Museum]( [On Ilan Ramon’s salvaged diary, the remnants of the Enoch scroll, and the ancient quest to reach beyond our limits]( [A story to tell to my great grandchildren]( By [Miriam Terlinchamp]( [It will be about how the generations who came before them responded to the pain in our world in three tangible ways]( [Aryeh Ben David]( [What’s missing from the Jewish conversation? God]( [I once asked a rabbi: “How is your personal relationship with God?” Speechless, his face went white. Then, before he answered, I asked him a second question: “When was the last time you were asked that question?” This time he could answer: “Never.” I have raised this question countless times with rabbis over the past 10 years, hoping to hear something different. And yet - rabbis who have been in the field for 10, 20, and even 30 years have all reacted the same way. In the last five years, since...]( more Choice voices [Shayna Goldberg]( [Questions never asked]( [The world of Orthodox women’s Jewish education has changed rapidly, and it’s made my career, but too many were left behind]( [Jay Ruderman]( [Memorial Day: Equal, but not identical]( [Tens of thousands of Jews died wearing US military uniforms and defending the American dream, but that dream is not yet our reality]( [Eilleen Eisenberg]( [Wait… so you mean this isn’t a date?]( [I knew just how that romantic dinner with the rabbi would go… (I couldn’t have been more wrong)]( [Yuval Shany]( [The weakest constitution in the world]( [The Override Clause would provide the government with yet another legal avenue for restricting Israelis’ fundamental rights]( [Dan Ornstein]( [Want to save democracy? Begin by studying Talmud!]( [That massive Jewish text is a call to take no claim of truth for granted, and to hold those in power to the highest standards of decency]( [Kovi Skier]( [Be happy: We got a second chance]( [Israel was poised to swear in a government rife with corruption and extremism. With new elections, we dodged that bullet]( [Unsubscribe from this List]( © 2019 THE TIMES OF ISRAEL, All Rights Reserved