Tag Archives: liberalism

2 Camps At War/Being Born in Israel

Posted on October 5, 2023 by zjb

  Society is an organism that builds upon the coming together, pulling apart, and coming together of group life. At moments of political crisis, the shifts are vital and volatile. In this light, Israel today would represent a case-study of … Continue reading →

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Israel (Democracy-Autocracy) Flow Chart

Posted on August 19, 2023 by zjb
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(Torah Trumps Life) Haredi Response to Covid and Uncivil Religion

Posted on July 28, 2023 by zjb

I wrote this essay, “Torah Trumps Life,” trying to get a handle on the catastrophic Haredi response to Covid during year-one of the pandemic. It is my contrubution to this special issue on Jewish Thiought in Times of Crisis, edited … Continue reading →

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(Zionism) Secularism Democracy Religion (Israel)

Posted on July 24, 2023 by zjb

In real-time, Israel has become a huge laboratory-experiment for the study of religion, politics, law, and society; a small and ugly petri-dish for the study of contemporary Judaism and Jewishness. Elected in November 2022 and with passage of the first … Continue reading →

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Spinoza Passover Hebrew Republic

Posted on April 5, 2023 by zjb

This Passover at a time of global and religious reaction, let’s be done with political theology. And let’s remember Spinoza, the exodus from tyranny, and the blueprint of a Hebrew commonwealth, based on the Bible, in which religion and state … Continue reading →

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Religion and Violence (Horror)

Posted on March 29, 2023 by zjb

It should be obvious that there is, of course, no single or linear-causal relation between religion and violence. As argued by Religious Studies scholars, this is a modern secular myth. Attentive to difference, one could note that there is civil … Continue reading →

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(Religious Dictatorship) Tikvah Funds Anti-Democratic Coup (Israel)

Posted on March 24, 2023 by zjb

I’m including below a notification sent to my email from the Tikvah Fund and this link here to an op-ed written by Elliot Abrams and Eric Cohen in the Jerusalem Post in support of the judicial coup in Israel. Long … Continue reading →

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(Secular Icons) Poster Protest Art (Liberal Israel)

Posted on March 23, 2023 by zjb

An article here at Ha’aretz about a group of graphic art and design people creating posters against the regime coup in Israel. The activists formed a group whose work is offer at this Hebrew language FB page: Democracy Will Win” … Continue reading →

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(Bnei Brak) Haredi Religion & Secular Protest (Israel)

Posted on March 21, 2023 by zjb

This thread in Hebrew by Alon-Lee-Green from Omdim b’Yahad contains a lot of negative pushback. But Green explains why going to demonstrate this coming Thursday in Bnei Brak and doing so under the banner “No Democracy, No Torah” might be … Continue reading →

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(Democracy) Red Line (Jerusalem)

Posted on March 16, 2023 by zjb

Artist-activists draw a red line in Jerusalem connecting the Russian Compoun and the Supreme Court The organizer released this startement in Hebrew which I google-translated: A red and pink stripe will be painted along the way, marking the inseparable connection … Continue reading →

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