Jewish diaspora

Religious IDF Israeli soldiers pray during a training of the Ultra Orthodox Unit at the Givati Brigade near the Israeli city of Beit Shemesh, September 27, 2017. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Can religious Zionism overcome its addiction to state power?

A new book tries to salvage a religious ideology used to justify a violent secular state. But the messianic belief in power is a hard drug to abandon.

By Shaul Magid November 10, 2021

Orthodox Jews participate in a Sukkot prayer at the Or Pashut synagogue, in the northern Israeli community of Kadita, near Safed, Sept. 26, 2018. (David Cohen/Flash90)

With the Nation-State Law, Israel’s religious right is deciding who is a Jew

Israel's Nation-State Law does not see Judaism as a diverse religion, but as an identity that guarantees supremacy over other people — including other Jews.

By Etan Nechin December 20, 2020

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seen during a visit to the Western Wall, Jerusalem, April 1, 2019. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

No Bolsonaro, visiting Yad Vashem doesn’t make you a ‘friend of the Jews’

Brazilian leader Jair Bolsonaro’s visit to Israel this week is just the latest step in Netanyahu’s warming relations with a new cadre of authoritarian leaders. By Sergio Storch Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s four-day visit to Israel demonstrates just how important the South American country has become to Netanyahu over the past few years. The trip includes…

By +972 Magazine April 3, 2019

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People walk by a mural depicting a combination of the Israeli and German flag on the Berlin wall, March 13, 2016. (Noam Revkin Fenton/Flash90)

Creating a radical Hebrew culture — in the diaspora

Israeli artists and authors abroad are beginning to create an alternative Hebrew culture that challenges norms and national borders. Israeli politicians, on the other hand, aren’t so pleased. By Mati Shemoelof Over the past few years we have been witnessing the growth of an alternative Hebrew culture, both independent and diverse, outside of Israel. Just recently two Hebrew-language…

By +972 Magazine August 19, 2016

Education Minister Naftali Bennett speaks at Yedioth Ahronoth's Stop BDS conference, March 28, 2016. (photo: Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)

Naftali Bennett’s vision: Equality through Jewish supremacy

Behind all the pretty words, Bennett’s speech at the Israel Prize ceremony reveals exactly what he’s after: a Jewish nationalist theocracy. By Gil Gertel During last Thursday’s annual Israel Prize ceremony, Education Minister Naftali Bennett gave a speech laying out his vision. He called for the establishment of a national, Jewish state, and in order…

By +972 Magazine May 20, 2016