Springsteen’s Christian Super Bowl ad · Blinken’s nod to Syria · Jews and Druze’ · Yair Lapid could be prime minister · Ken Stern: ‘I wrote the IHRA Definition

[Times of Israel]( [The Blogs Weekly]( Thursday, February 11, 2021 [Itamar Rabinovich]( [Blinken’s nod to Syria]( [Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s statement Monday regarding Israel’s position in the Golan Heights has resonated in two contexts: as yet another indication of the change taking place in the US-Israeli relationship, and as a substantive statement on the issue at hand. When asked by CNN about the Biden Administration’s view of the Trump Administration’s endorsement of Israel’s annexation of the Golan, Blinken responded that “leaving aside the legalities of that question, as a practical matter, the Golan is very important to Israel’s security. ” He continued: As long as Assad is...]( [Bruce Springsteen’s Super Bowl ad: a powerful vision of unity — for Christians]( By [Jeremy Burton]( [A message built on a central image of a single faith contradicts the founders’ vision that people of all faiths are welcome and equal as Americans]( [Donald Trump and the time someone yelled ‘fire!’ in a crowded Yiddish theater]( By [Henry Abramson]( [The Senate’s case may rest on whether the ex-president’s call to ’fight like hell’ was a clear and present danger, as happened in 1887]( [The cracks in Yair Lapid’s glass ceiling]( By [Biranit Goren]( [His allies betrayed him, his partners left him and his opponents outshone him – but the Yesh Atid chair chose to remain silent. That’s exactly why he could well be PM one day]( [When the sheikh smiled]( By [Yaakov Kermaier]( [Our annual gathering to honor the special Jews-Druze relationship is on hold during the pandemic, but we can still (carefully) pray togetherÂ]( [Flying over the lockdown]( By [Shira Pasternak Be'eri]( [Stuck at home, I watched from my rooftop as wave after wave of birds headed south, soaring high overhead, powerful and magnificent. I was determined to find out what they were]( [The night of the attack]( By [Rivkah Moriah]( [Nobody ever knocked on my door and said ’I’m so sorry to have to tell you that your son Avraham David has been killed’]( [Kenneth S. Stern]( [We disagree about the Working Definition. That’s OK. Here’s what’s not.]( [What would you do if, out of the blue and more than sixteen years after the fact, three former colleagues posted an open letter falsely accusing you of making up a significant professional accomplishment – in my case being the lead drafter of the “working definition of antisemitism?” (First known as the EUMC “working definition of antisemitism,” it is now called the IHRA “working definition of antisemitism.”) My initial reaction to the open letter was surprise, and that this was both sad and silly. But then I saw the letter...]( [Alan Baker]( [This flawed decision turns the ICC itself into just one more Israel-basher]( [The Pre-Trial Chamber’s recognition of ICC jurisdiction over the Territories is an irreparable stain on the Court]( [Bishara A. Bahbah]( [12 legislative landmines on Biden’s path to restoring US-PLO ties]( [Decades of laws and temporary waivers pose an obstacle to a constructive US working relationship with the representatives of the Palestinian people]( [Sarah Bunin Benor]( [How do you say goodbye in Judeo-Arabic?]( [We’re running out of time to preserve endangered Jewish languages. Here’s how we can stop them from being lost forever]( [Ilyse Muser Shainbrown]( [So long, farewell Captain Von Trapp]( [For me, Christopher Plummer will always be the man who stood against evil when most of his countrymen embraced it]( [Suzanne Singer]( [Hershel Shanks served biblical archaeology with joy]( [The late founder of a popular archaeology magazine spread his lifelong passion for antiquities far beyond the elite halls of academic research]( CHOICE VOICES [Anna Harwood-Gross]( [Protecting yourself from an abusive therapist]( [Yes, invest the time to understand what drives your dysfunctional behaviors and painful thoughts – just be sure you know what it looks like when therapy goes wrong (5 tips)]( [Youval Arbel]( [Don’t turn Eilat and Ashkelon into oil cities]( [The environmental risk from an oil spill could be devastating – and, besides, it’s not worth jeopardizing Israel’s newly formed ties with its neighbors]( [Michal Slawny Cababia]( [It took aliyah for me to find my political home]( [The fact that I’m a Yesh Atid candidate for Knesset is proof to me of the Zionist dream, for we immigrants make a difference, on the ticket and across the country]( [Steve Brown]( [The hospital waiting room, in the time of COVID]( [We sat in those awkward chairs, surrounded by putty-colored walls , not wanting to be there, impossible to be anywhere else, longing to see our loved ones]( [Unsubscribe from this List]( Email not displaying correctly? [View in browser]( © 2021 The Times Of Israel, All Rights Reserved