Sitemap - 2024 - Israel from the Inside with Daniel Gordis
Those quintessentially Israeli moments that you know you'll never forget
The fire that wasn't extinguished
Building Israel's future by bringing young people and lone soldiers to the Galilee
When does a cri de cœur become liturgy?
Exhausted by war, Israelis want one (or two) more front(s) addressed before it's over
"If there's still hope in the world ... I'd give everything for it."
A National Day of Appreciation for the IDF Wounded
"The people screaming 'Demokratya' are actually terrified of democracy"
Harry Davidowitz finally gets his street—and there's a story there
One simple but stunning statistic to conclude our week
"We're winning!", people now say. There's a bounce in Israelis' steps once again.
The fall of Assad in Syria: A danger for Israel, or an enormous opportunity?
The Himmelfarb School's chilling list
Dekel Shalev reflects on the Israel she knew, the Israel that was, from her new home in Denver, CO
A year into this war, can Israel overcome its domestic toxicity? Gil Troy is optimistic.
At what point is an immigrant to Israel a genuine Israeli? Ever?
Headlines (and advertisements) from this weekend's press speak volumes
Had everything gone according to plan, what was Sinwar hoping would happen on October 7?
"And the wheat sprouts again..." The first wedding in Be'eri since October 7th
What in the world is a "secular yeshiva," and how did such a place come to be?
"The state of the State": We begin with Matti Friedman
Getting married? Want someone to pay for your entire wedding? Talk to Bank Leumi
"November 5th was the worst day of the war since October 7th. By far."
Israel's Declaration of Independence foresaw Emanuel Macron
The "Stand Up Nation" has always reached out, never more so than today
"Israel" was sending "shelichim" to America before there was an Israel. Who knew?
"10/7: 100 Human Stories"—Lee Yaron's new book about October 7 does something very different
A word of profound thanks to a friend and colleague ... and a heartbreaking exhibition
"The glass is a quarter full ... and somehow, we're still here."
The Israeli rock star who will be heard in many synagogues this Yom Kippur—and why it matters
Rescuing food to save not only Israelis, but Israel, too.
"I know that I was lucky to have loved"
Looking back is hard to do ...
A year without words: A terrible year ends, a new year begins; so we wonder, as we do every year ...
"Hamas should never have been allowed to develop as it did."—So why did it?
"The Return of History" — from the Jewish Review of Books
"Morning has broken" — but we dare not forget the night
"If I had a sermon ...." (or if I had to listen to one)
Israel's great civic and Jewish awakening—is it good or bad for Israel's liberalism?
Those limestone slabs tell a story, one that now matters more than ever
Eight months later, how have things changed? How are we different? Or not?
"When the heart cries, only God hears"
Healing Israel's souls: we share two very different sorts of projects
"What was shocking about the tunnel video was what we didn't see in it."
American Campuses, Zionism and Jewish (and non-Jewish) Students—Now for the Good News
American Campuses, Zionism and Jewish (and non-Jewish) Students—Now for the Good News
The North Is Next. The Question is "When Will Next Be?"
"The Voice of Your Brother's Blood Cries Out." But Is There a Deal to be Had?
"Shalom, First Grade!" Or Not.
In a stunning new novel, Israel gets swallowed by a black hole.
When Israel Buried Hersh Yesterday
When there is simply nothing adequate to say ...
"It Must Be Said: There is No Military Solution to our Situation"
The Madwoman in the Rabbi's Attic—What the Women of the Talmud Have to Teach Us
The People's Army Goes on a Charm Offensive
An Israeli iconic poem, rewritten so it drips with cynicism, as the hurt here deepens
Are the Newly Inspired Reservists the Key to Hope for This Country's Future?
Jon Polin: "An Appeal to My Religious Zionist Brothers"
What Does the "Right" Think is Right?
"A people is contending here for its existence," said Herzl. Zionist passions, then and now.
Voices searching for faith and meaning, even in desperate times
What is Hezbollah planning, and what's taking so long?
In the midst of our sorrow, the voices of Jewish women have become a source of strength
How did we get here, and more importantly, how are we going to get out?
When your world is destroyed, where do you go? What do you do? Where do you build a future?
"After the rain, comes the spring"—a new Lament over Beeri.
"No national trait is biological," says Amotz Asa-El. So why have the Jews fought 12 civil wars?
"On the seventeenth of Tammuz, the walls were breached"
"Ani lo yachol yoter," he said. “I cannot go on.”
"I honestly don't know how you are all still standing ..."
"Maybe Copernicus never knew what love is"
There's a home-front, too, and small Israeli businesses are getting some much needed help
Turns out, a war can have a playlist
An Israeli Perspective on American Jews at this moment—hard choices, stark realities
From "Phew, we might just avoid war in the north" to "We need to go to war, and right away"
Israel's Black Panthers: The Radicals Who Punctured a Nation's Founding Myth
An army increasingly under scrutiny, but still filled with extraordinary people
"Share your vision for the future of this region"—an assignment none of us could complete
In today's Israel, there's no such thing as "just another Graduation"
Israel has high birth rates, right? And that's great, right? Think again!
"For me, the hardest thing is holding onto hope"
You actually can go home again—but in cases like this, it's a heartbreaking return.
Who was Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook, and why is he still so iconic a century later?
From Israel's worst day ever, to one of its most glorious
Does Israel have a social contract? And if it does, who owes what to whom?
"If Lebanon captures this area, I'll live on the other side of the border"
"Is this the State of Israel, or is this the Shtetl of Israel?"
"Inclusivity, not exclusivity, is the new pathway to genuine Israeliness"
"The Jews are Coming" looks back, while Samer Sinijlawi looks forward.
"Israel is at the beginning of a dangerous period that requires a new road map"
"The Story of Road 1 Tells Us How We'll Eventually Recall the Challenges of Today"
We're Bedouins. When someone comes into our home, we protect them. Period.
"The video and the shoal"—more fallout from that video of the female kidnapped soldiers.
"It's true, everyone here looks normal, but this is a kibbutz of superheroes."
"Three generations of rot. Is the academy in the west beyond repair?"
Ron Arad is back in the news, because his wife has a warning for the hostages' families
October 7th was "the first time that a Jewish army has stopped a pogrom"
"What gives you hope for this country?" One answers the Holocaust, one says a baby just born
A patchwork quilt of grief and loss
"Now it's our generation. Now it's our turn."
To celebrate, or not to celebrate: that has become the national question
"Believe me, the army doesn't care if your son gets killed."
When there became here, and then became now
What's worth fighting for, or against? Young Israelis and those in the West could not disagree more.
Before the war, we'd planned a post on this new, happier side of drones.
"I saw the American progressive movement ... as an ally. That was a mistake."
"Every day that passes, we're creating more Hamas fighters, because we're giving them no future."
From IFTI's archives, March 21, 2021: "What if there's never going to be peace?"
"If they're at the beach, the war is over. And if the war is over, let's admit the war is over."
One video, less than forty seconds long, has thrown a country back into agony.
"I still believe that our problems do not start and end with our external enemies"
"Because in each generation, they rise up against us to destroy us."
"Home alone" ... never has Israel, in such deep danger, been so leaderless
A country prepares for .... Shabbat? Or .... ?
Six months ago, we did not imagine that this was where we could be
The losing battle against delegitimization just took a mortal hit, some Israelis believe
"Even if you have family kidnapped in Gaza, I'm not going to let you burn this country down."
"We are the families of the winter of '23"
"There's no recess in captivity"
"There is no other democracy where the national archive reports to the seat of power."
"Please, Lord, watch over him... When, my boy, will you return to me?"
"A month ago, she asked me if Omri is still her father. That's the question that finished me."
"We apologize for being kidnapped." It ought to be made up for Purim, but it's not.
What's the "Jewish" in "Jewish and Democratic"?
The "Bring Them Home" protests heat up, but there's another group that's not coming home
"Brigadier General Dan Goldfus should be fired, but not in our world"
Striking in its beauty, the Dead Sea is actually drying up and disappearing
"The dumbing down of Israeli politics has erased its Jewish wisdom"
How will histories of Israel portray 2023? As the beginning of the end, or the start of Israel 2.0?
"Letter of life, sign of life"
The "shrunken hearts" we're learning to live with
"The next elections are going to be make or break for the future of Israel."
"Tomorrow it will be over"—a song that captures Israel's mood, and long history of loss, perfectly.
I was wrong when I said that the police would never water-cannon the families of hostages
"With great sorrow, we've chosen to leave"
With apologies to Rodgers and Hammerstein, "How do you solve a problem like ... Gaza?"
"He's going to fight for his reputation, he's going to fight to shift the narrative...."
"It doesn't smell of death anymore, so the birds have started to return."
"It feels like they've returned from a different planet"
Two Israeli plans to end the war by this spring now emerging
"We should never have sent in humanitarian aid. They want aid? Then let the hostages go."
Meet Captain 'B'—the first Israeli Arab woman in an IAF airborne unit
"They see hiring Hamas terrorists as a mark of diversity"
She was healthy and full of life when she was kidnapped, and this is what they did to her ...
Turns out that there IS life after death ... at least for tanks ...
Everywhere, all the time. ....
The Soul of Israel: Lost in Translation
"Transparent uniforms," they call them. The war that's being fought by the women at home.
"I was among those people who made the country weak, who hurt people."
When Natan Gross became Ma'ayan Gross—and continued to serve in her original combat unit
It's all in the shape of the Lamed: how to read the reservists' protest.
When a new Israel emerges, it will be thanks to people like this.
"It's as if Hamas attacked on October 7, but then disappeared"
A brief story of a fender-bender, and then: The most documented pogrom in Jewish history
The "Noa's" of Israel band together
"Building a life from what remains" — Israelis begin to look beyond the war
When the going gets tough, Israelis get funny
"I have spent nearly every one of the last 91 days inside a Merkava 3 tank with my IDF reserve unit"
"When it comes to the lives of those who are fighting with you ... you know what you need to do."
"I felt uncomfortable from the beginning because there is no such thing as destroying Hamas."
The "Black Sabbath" meets Israeli music
"This reality is no longer tolerable. ... It's time for your sons to enlist in the IDF."
When Jews become uncomfortable praying for Jews: "Two Rabbis, One Broken Heart"
"Values in Conflict—Negotiating the Impossible in the Israeli Hostage Crisis"
"Ethics of our Fathers" meets "Ethics of our Fighters." How we mesh the two.
2023 was without question the worst year in Israel's history