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Stephen Stern

Stephen Stern

The Times of Israel (Blogs)

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A question for Mayor Mamdani about Israel’s history

A question for Mayor Mamdani about Israel’s history

You have consistently described Israel as a settler-colonial state. You have also said that while you support Israel’s existence, you cannot support...

26.07.2026 50

The Times of Israel (Blogs)

Stephen Stern

When some Christians made Common Cause with Fascism Against Communism

This piece builds on my recent piece on Édouard Drumont and Nick Fuentes by exploring Christianity’s complex relationship with fascism. It is easy...

15.07.2026 60

The Times of Israel (Blogs)

Stephen Stern

Rahm Emanuel Is Israel’s Bellwether, Not Zohran Mamdani

Rahm Emanuel’s speech has upset many in Israel. We hear familiar complaints that he does not love Israel, has little understanding of Israelis, and...

11.07.2026 60

The Times of Israel (Blogs)

Stephen Stern

The Antisemitism Nazism Eclipsed: From Drumont to Fuentes

Why did Democratic Party leadership look past a Maine Senate candidate with a Nazi tattoo? The question is striking because Holocaust films have...

09.07.2026 60

The Times of Israel (Blogs)

Stephen Stern

The Soul Killer and Capitalism’s Founder: Scottish Bad Boys Behind America

Adam Smith’s Oxford professors had a problem. Their promising student had become fascinated with David Hume. They had reason to worry. Hume’s...

22.06.2026 60

The Times of Israel (Blogs)

Stephen Stern

Martin Buber Goes To A Grateful Dead Show: The Ethics of Jewish Jam

What might Martin Buber and postmodern Jewish thought have to do with a Grateful Dead concert? At first glance, not much. One belongs to the world of...

23.05.2026 60

The Times of Israel (Blogs)

Stephen Stern

Monticello is Burning: Thomas Jefferson on Trial?!

Enslaved people have revolted. Smoke rolls across the Virginia hills while the author of the Declaration of Independence is dragged from the estate...

16.05.2026 80

The Times of Israel (Blogs)

Stephen Stern

Condemned to Meaning: Judging History Without Moral Ground

We speak as if judgment were simple, as if we could stand outside history and measure human action against timeless truths, but the moment we try to...

28.04.2026 90

The Times of Israel (Blogs)

Stephen Stern

The Limits of Spirituality: Does Religion Begin Where Feeling Ends?

From shared feeling to solitary obligation I showed my “God Wrestling” class—which traces how philosophers have wrestled with the idea of...

22.04.2026 60

The Times of Israel (Blogs)

Stephen Stern

The Middle East side Hustle: Podcast Hubris in the U.S.

One of the unexpected silver linings of the past decade has been the emergence of smart, accessible podcasts. Podcasts have become something like a...

09.04.2026 70

The Times of Israel (Blogs)

Stephen Stern

Narrative Collapse: As Jews are misread, the story refuses to break

As Jews are pushed, pulled, and misread across the political spectrum, the Seder restored the story that refuses to break This Passover many American...

06.04.2026 100

The Times of Israel (Blogs)

Stephen Stern

Leaving Egypt Was Step One: From Exodus to the Work of Jews United for Justice

I attended a pre-Passover seder hosted by Jews United for Justice at Baltimore’s Beth Am synagogue, and left with a clearer answer to a question I...

25.03.2026 100

The Times of Israel (Blogs)

Stephen Stern

Ritual as Refuge: American College Students Keeping Passover in Unsettled Times

A letter from Jewish Studies to Gettysburg College Hillel and Jewish students Chag Pesach Sameach, Hillel! It’s hard to feel celebratory right now....

20.03.2026 100

The Times of Israel (Blogs)

Stephen Stern

Martin Luther King Day Is a Call, Not a Pause, for Maryland’s Youth

17.01.2026 150

The Times of Israel (Blogs)

Stephen Stern

Everyone Hates the Enlightenment—Except When They Need It

07.01.2026 70

The Times of Israel (Blogs)

Stephen Stern

The Death of Effort: John Henry, Willy Lowman and the ChatGBT Student

27.12.2025 100

The Times of Israel (Blogs)

Stephen Stern

Democracy Is Fragile. American Jewish Women Founders are Holding the Line.

16.11.2025 100

The Times of Israel (Blogs)

Stephen Stern

Israel’s Theocratic Turn and the Fracture in American Jewish Ties

02.09.2025 70

The Times of Israel (Blogs)

Stephen Stern

It happened here: when the Ohio National Guard murdered protesting students

09.06.2025 90

The Times of Israel (Blogs)

Stephen Stern

American Jewry as Netanyahu’s mob is accused of genocide for aid denial in Gaza

28.05.2025 60

The Times of Israel (Blogs)

Stephen Stern