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![]() Sam Lehman-WilzigThe Times of Israel (Blogs) |
Major political issues tend to raise profound questions of political philosophy. The current, ongoing controversy in Israel over “judicial reform”...
An increasing number of voices in Israeli society, and even within the new government, are calling for transmuting the country into an “authentic”...
In Jewish law, saving a life (pikuach nefesh) is virtually the highest value. Indeed, for this purpose we can transgress almost every commandment...
Some of Israel’s leading ultra-Orthodox and Orthodox rabbis have lately attacked homosexuality in very aggressive terms. Indeed, with Israeli...
Is bald, significant lying about one’s past or future enough to disqualify an elected official? Quite coincidentally, this question has arisen the...
The word “halakha” (Jewish Law) stems from the root “to walk.” And indeed, for the past 2000 years since it began to expand (some would say...
Imagine opening your favorite newspaper (Times of Israel?) and catching this leading headline: “9.5 million Israelis yesterday enjoyed their...
In my post last week, I argued that Israeli politics (similar to that of other countries) is driven first and foremost by “identity” and not...
With Israel’s Left recently suffering an electoral debacle, the knives are out, and punditry is running riot. The problem with almost all the...
The title of this essay might be a bit strange, but it expresses an astounding fact. This month the entire world’s population just reached the 8...
Much ink has been spilled lately on the question where do Meretz and Labor go from here? Should they merge or try to resuscitate individually?...
Israel’s 2022 election result seems to indicate a resounding “mandate” to govern for Netanyahu and his future coalition partners. That’s an...
Whether you’re thrilled or despondent over Israel’s election results, there’s something else the results indicate that’s good news for every...
Once in a while a novel contemporary technology raises new questions regarding an ancient biblical story. This week’s Torah reading is a case in...
With elections coming up very soon in Israel and the U.S., an important question arises. But it’s a question that is hardly ever asked: should we be...
My 97-year-old mother passed away last Friday. I don’t intend to eulogize her here (although her remarkable life is interesting enough), but rather...
Jewish conventional wisdom views the holiday of Sukkot as a time to reflect on life’s transience. From the coziness of our home and daily life, we...
The extreme right in Israel has been around at least since the 1980s (e.g., Meir Kahane) but its political weight has been close to nil – until now....
Two state solution. One state solution. Green Line. Purple Line. Autonomy. Sovereignty. These and other terms are thrown around quite glibly as...
The party lists for Israel’s upcoming elections are now set – a good time to reflect on a little remarked-upon phenomenon: party names. A...
Do you have any idea what is going on in Israel these days regarding COVID-19? Israelis certainly don’t, as the topic seems to have dropped off the...
This past July, the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), one of the most influential political organizations in the United States, held...
This is the final of my weekly series of essays that looked at all seven major factors influencing the extent to which a country will flourish or...
In evaluating a country’s future, the seventh and last important element is whether it has social diversity and pluralism – the focus of my...
In this essay, I will analyze the extent to which Israel constitutes a “Learning & Adapting Society,” the last of the seven central elements...
Last week I discussed in-depth the fourth factor (of seven) – “The Activist State” – underlying national competitiveness and dynamism...