Blogs that stirred souls and nourished minds in 2022 * Israel’s security concerns * Toxic witch-hunting blacklists * My story in a Polish movie * Hanukkah wrap-up

[Times of Israel]( [The Blogs Weekly]( Thursday, December 29, 2022 From the blogs [Voices of 2022: A dozen posts that moved and shook us]( By Miriam Herschlag Just in case you missed them: superb offerings from The Times of Israel blogs that touched hearts, stirred souls and nourished minds Amir Avivi [For this government, security threats must outweigh politics]( [Given the flurry of critical editorials by leading newspapers around the world condemning the right-wing Israeli government and those who will lead it, even before it has been and as it is being sworn to office, I wish to re-focus attention on the harsh security reality that Israel faces along its borders and from within. The Persian elephant in the room needs to be acknowledged. So far, diplomacy and sanctions have failed to prevent the Islamic State of Iran from becoming a nuclear threshold state. By most assessments, Iran will...]( Benyamin Moalem [The outgoing government’s unsung right-wing virtues]( What could explain the right’s failure to laud the Lapid-Bennett team for increasing security, blocking the Iran nuke deal and curbing inflation? David Bernstein [How American Jews should navigate Israel’s new political reality]( 3 key ways to move forward in your relationship with the Jewish state, even if you find its new leadership and their promises distasteful Analysis Naomi Chazan [Noam’s witch-hunting blacklists: frightening, pathetic, distracting]( Toxic lists like these are not new, but their publication is a reminder of the misogynous and homophobic currents sweeping the new government into power [CRM]( [Falling in love with Judaism]( By Gerald Sussman Often our first reaction is to attack their sincerity, but a Shabbat spent with Jews in Cameroon showed us something joyous and genuine Samuel Lebens [Orthodoxy in the age of culture wars]( [We are living in an age in which mainstream political discourse is more tribalistic, less civil, more fragmented, less open to correction, and less sensitive to evidence and careful argument than at any time in recent memory. It is in this context that Modern Orthodoxy has recently come in for some criticism from some of its own members. For example, the politically conservative podcaster and author Ben Shapiro recently penned a lament about "Modern Orthodoxy's Moral Failure," largely about what he takes to be the failure of various segments of...]( [‘March 1968’ is a Polish movie. It’s also my story.]( By Tom Sawicki When it became impossible to keep living there, my family left. The one parting gift from Poland was making us give up our citizenship Top Ops Erica Brown [My Peloton Hanukkah inspiration]( When the instructors say they see me, it’s sappy, but it works: my holiday workout made me feel visible as a Jew, despite the baseless hate out there Elizabeth Karpen [Nice try, Peloton, but no cigar]( The feel-good ’Hanukkah’ class didn’t mention Jews, Judaism, or antisemitism, missing the unique Jewishness of both the holiday and the hatred Steven Moskowitz [Hanukkah’s unwanted miracles]( I celebrate the small army’s defeat of an empire – and then I recall how the Maccabees oppressed their less zealous fellow Jews Jennifer Moses [The eight gifts of Hanukkah]( As we dispel the darkness with the flames that are defiance in the face of endless antisemitism… can we also have some presents?! [The Blogs Weekly]( [facebook]( [twitter]( [instagram]( [View in browser]( [Contact support](mailto:support@timesofisrael.com) [Advertise with us](mailto:advertise@timesofisrael.com) Were you forwarded this email? [Subscribe here]( [Unsubscribe]( from this List © 2022 The Times Of Israel, All Rights Reserved