A Rejoinder
I didn’t know that there was anyone left in the academic world who held as simplistic view of history as the one that Eric Alterman espouses in his response to my review (“Context and Content,” Winter 2023). The historian’s job, he says, “is not to voice disapproval or approval” of anything. Consequently, he endorses “nothing and no one in this…
We Are Really Not One
Allan Arkush must be developing quite a reputation for himself as JRB’s chief of its pro-Israel thought police—I suppose I should be honored. Joshua Cohen went on to receive a Pulitzer Prize for a recent book for which Arkush attempted a no-less comically inept attack in these same pages. Sadly, he has not improved with practice. I suppose it’s possible…
Purim at JRB
This Purim at the Jewish Review of Books, we’re turning things a little upside down. A Jewish review of books? Why stop there? We’ve collected three fun and funny reviews…
A Comic Megillah?
Megillat Esther has long balanced the comic and the graphic in its content and interpretations. A new Koren graphic novel takes the challenge a bit more literally.
Pessimism Not Despair: A Reply to My Critics
"Just as the turmoil aroused by Israel’s new government has overlooked the Palestinian issue while concentrating on a more immediate crisis, so have the responses to my article."—Halkin writes back.
Which Religious Zionism—and Which Cliff? A Response to Hillel Halkin
The ripple effects of the recent Israeli elections and their outcome are being felt throughout Israeli society. Hillel Halkin raises many valid concerns about the consequences of the election, but…
Some Calming Words
Hillel Halkin shouldn’t be so worried. Democracy is still alive and kicking in Israel. The Israelis who didn’t vote like him aren’t stupid. They’re no less wise, humanitarian, and upright…
What Zionism Delivered
Ever since what Hillel Halkin calls my “bloc” lost Israeli elections, I have tried various therapies to manage my disappointment—and fear. I visited Susya, the ancient town near Hebron, examining…
Jeremiah’s Dilemma: A Response to Hillel Halkin
There is not much I can disagree with in Hillel Halkin’s portrait of the present cultural and political moment in the State of Israel. His despair captures the mood of…
The World is Round
The heckler’s guide to beating an antisemite.