Today’s political camps in Israel appear to be driven by a series of ironies. A loose coalition of parties who are ambivalent to the state’s existence sit in a coalition with the most nationalist parties.

In 2020, Haifa approved a proposal to name a street after Umm Kulthum, recognizing her as one of the greatest voices in Arab music. The decision, supported by Hadash, sparked a wider debate in Israeli society over memory, identity, and Jewish-Arab coexistence in one of Israel’s most mixed cities.

Revisionist Zionism emerged in the early 1920s from a profound rupture with the dominant currents of the Zionist movement. While the labor tendency favored dialogue, gradual compromise, and social institution-building, the revisionists championed a sharper line - one grounded in clarity of purpose and uncompromising political will.

Socialist Zionism - also known as Labor Zionism - emerged in the late 19th century as one of the driving forces of the Jewish national movement. It developed in Eastern Europe between the 1880s and 1900s, fueled by three major tensions: the rise of antisemitism across the continent, the limits of Jewish emancipation in modern states, and the economic precariousness of Jewish communities in Eastern Europe.

Jerusalem can be named in one word: connection. Stones reach for the sky. Pilgrims reach for one another. Prayers in many tongues rise through the same air and find their way to the One who hears them all. In a season of grief and fear, the city whispers the same invitation it has offered for generations. Come closer. First to God. Then to one another.

When Israel declared independence in 1948, its new education system wasn’t built from scratch, it was anchored in 3,800 years of Jewish history. From biblical times to modern Zionism, the Jewish return to its ancestral land and the centuries-long yearning for it shaped how the state approached educating its youth.

“Not by might, nor by power, but by My spirit, says the Lord of Hosts.” - Zechariah 4:6. For decades, Israel has been celebrated as the “Startup Nation," a hub of entrepreneurship, innovation, and high-tech ingenuity. A desert that bloomed, Israel's tech ecosystem is largely considered a model of resilience and growth. And, that label is well-earned. But, it only tells part of the story.

Amid the noise of geopolitics, military strategy, and shifting alliances, the spiritual dimension of Israel’s regional role is often overlooked. And yet, I believe it is the deepest and most enduring. As a rabbi, a teacher, and the director of the Ohr Torah Interfaith Center and Blickle Institute, I have seen with my own eyes that when faith enters the conversation, not as a problem to be managed but as a foundation to be embraced, a door opens. Not just to peace, but to purp

Translated into: Kfiah Datit. Kfiah: coercion/force Datit: Religious. Israel was founded with the unique challenge of integrating diverse...

Degel HaTorah (Banner of the Torah) is an Israeli Ashkenazi Haredi political party. The party was founded by Rabbi Elazar Shech in 1988 after a split from Agudath Israel, due to political differences. From its creation to 2022, Knesset members had varied from 2 to 4.