The Jewish path back to Israeli democracy * Telling the full story of Rabbi Druckman * Santos lies, Machiavelli sighs * Is the dictionary antisemitic?

[Times of Israel]( [The Blogs Weekly]( Thursday, January 5, 2023 From the blogs [The Jewish path back to Israeli democracy]( By Yossi Klein Halevi I’ve been part of the Israeli story for too long to despair – sooner or later, this coalition of destruction will unravel Moshe Shoshan [‘Our hands have shed this blood’: We must tell the full story of Rabbi Druckman]( Those of us who revere the late rabbi must learn from his failures too, and resolve to never again accept as leader an unrepentant protector of sexual criminals Joshua Hammerman [Everyone’s a little bit Jew-ish, except George Santos]( ’Ish’ is a useful suffix, because so many of us are blends of many things, including Jewish heritage, but falsely claiming your family fled the Nazis is a new low [Santos lies, Machiavelli sighs, and we get the leaders we deserve]( By Stephen Daniel Arnoff This lost, lonely young man and his complacent community teach us an essential lesson about leadership: We all stand on the shoulders of giants Jeremy Ben-Ami [J Street and what it really means to be pro-Israel]( I would be glad to meet publicly with those who disagree and discuss civilly our views of US-Israel relations, Israel’s future, and the organization I lead Yitzhak Klein [Moving their cheese: politicians vs. bureaucrats]( [What’s the proper relationship between professionals in government bureaucracies and their elected officials? First, a relevant anecdote: In July 1938, President Roosevelt, concerned by the rising threat of war in Europe, invited his senior generals and admirals to the Oval Office to discuss what America should do to prepare. The president put forth his proposal: “We need to build 30,000 airplanes!” Like puppets on a string, the brass hats assembled around the table nodded up and down. The president hath spoken . . . One senior officer was not present. The Army...]( Guy Goldstein [Is the dictionary antisemitic?]( Did Hebrews inhabit ancient Palestine? A deep dive into Dictionary.com’s definitions for ’Jew,’ ’Israel,’ ’Hebrew,’ ’Zionism,’ and, of course, ’Jeroboam’ [You are not a banana peel]( By Yael Davidowitz Created in the divine image, humans are intrinsically holy and their bodies must be treated with respect. Why, then, are they being disposed of as fertilizer? Avi Weiss [Jews do count: Stop anti-Jewish hatred]( I look to political leadership and grassroots activists, to pulpit rabbis and the general public to make so-called antisemitism utterly and always unacceptable Yosef Blau [The coalition is throwing mental health professionalism to the winds]( UTJ’s agreement to eliminate the standard of qualifications for therapists puts the psychological health of the country at risk. It must be stopped [Our food system’s resilience is cracking]( By Michal Bitterman Note to the new government: Israel discards millions of tons of food a year at a cost of billions of shekels – policies and plans are urgently needed more choice voices Anat Thon-Ashkenazy [Making the anti-discrimination law discriminatory]( Here’s how to make the law protecting vulnerable populations meaningless: Add 3 amendments that infringe on the right to human dignity and the value of equality Sally Abrams [2022: This year’s indispensable voices on Israel and the Jewish people]( With so much excellent content out there, I limited my list to those whose insights in the years’ stories gave me a burst of inspiration or a jolt of uncertainty Michael Marmur [A government that uses Torah as a spade to dig with]( With Israeli democracy under assault in the name of Judaism, we – rabbis from across the denominational spectrum – are compelled to speak out Nadiv Mordechay [Splitting up ministries will undermine effective governance]( It’s worth asking whether these structural changes are reasonable and aimed at improving government functioning, or only at satisfying politicians’ hunger [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 © 2023 The Times Of Israel, All Rights Reserved