by Ariella Mendlowitz | f 27, 2017 | The Portion of Tazriah
The bitter debate between David Ben-Gurion and Menachem Begin over monetary reparations from Germany was one of the most divisive issues confronting the young State of Israel in the early 1950’s. Despite Begin’s strong opposition, the Knesset approved the deal with...
by Ariella Mendlowitz | f 20, 2017 | The Portion of Shemini
Within hours of Har Habayit falling into the hands of the IDF on the second day of the 1967 war, Israel Radio broadcasted a warning issued by Chief Rabbis Unterman and Nissim for Jews not to enter the Temple Mount because of its intrinsic holiness. IDF Chief Rabbi...
by Ariella Mendlowitz | f 6, 2017 | The Portion of Tzav
In 1936, the Peel Commission questioned David Ben Gurion, then head of the Jewish Agency, concerning Jewish rights to the Land of Israel. “Three hundred years ago, a ship called the Mayflower set sail to the New World,” the future prime minister reminded the...
by Ariella Mendlowitz | f 30, 2017 | The Portion of Vayikra
Between 1962-1967, Rav Soloveitchik addressed the conventions of the Mizrachi movement. Speaking in Yiddish, the Rav explained that the Israeli flag is infused with Kedusha: The blue and white flag, soaked with the blood of thousands of young Jews who fell in...
by Ariella Mendlowitz | f 23, 2017 | The Portion of Pekudei
Just before the High Holidays in 1965, Elie Weisel, then a young journalist in Israel, traveled to the Soviet Union to report on the state of Russian Jewry. He wanted to see first hand whether the testimony against the Soviets was accurate. Also, after decades...
