Lincoln, the film, is a tour de force of American constitutional history as well as an amazing portrayal of the intricacies of presidential decision-making. The film takes the viewer into the most detailed inner workings of presidential, personal, and political choices surrounding the end of the Civil War and the moral choices leading up to … More »
Learning from One Another: A Democracy of Spirit
When Ruth Calderon, a member of Israel’s Knesset for the political party Yesh Atid, delivered her first Knesset speech after the recent Israeli elections, a video of the event went viral. Calderon masterfully taught a passage of Talmud, deriving from it a lesson about prioritizing human relationships. She argued that our sacred books belong to … More »
Democracy and Halakhah in Israel
Yair Sheleg: Israeli law, as in any Western concept, puts at its center the idea of human equality — certain basic rights of equality — and therefore “the discourse of rights.” Jewish law, or halakhah, on the other hand, puts at its center the idea of sanctity, and thus the obligations imposed on human beings.
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Are Schools Anti-Democratic?
Judd Kruger Levingston: Adult leaders in schools can foster a democratic environment by giving students authentic and legitimate opportunities for written and spoken expression in a free press, in the classroom, and through the arts. … More »
Should Washington Promote Middle-East Democracy?
Matthew RJ Brodsky: Generally speaking, the countries of the Middle East do not possess the preconditions for a successful democracy — namely, a vibrant civil society, state institutions, a strong middle class, respect for the rule of law, concepts of individual liberty, and an independent judiciary. … More »
The Politics of Compromise
Ethan Felson: We enjoy a rich pluralistic tradition of argumentation and debate within the Jewish community. But while we thrive on this vocal pursuit, we are now witnessing the emergence of a new partisanship. It is buoyed by the belief, sometimes grounded in reality, but often clouded by fantasy, that every decision made, every speaker heard, every word of every resolution will have a profound impact on world events. … More »
Money and Democracy
J.J. Goldberg And so we ask: Is there a Jewish ethic of campaign finance? There are two ways to approach the question. On the one hand, how could there be when our sages (of blessed memory) never considered the possibility of a popularly elected presidency, much less multimillion-dollar election campaigns with 30-second television spots? On … More »
Judaism as a Source of Democratic Thought
David Saperstein
Four key values necessary for democracy are found in Judaism’s view of human society. … More »
On Jewish Aggregators
Marc Smolowitz “Copyright is, in my view at least, critically important to a healthy culture. Properly balanced, it is essential to inspiring certain forms of creativity. Without it, we would have a much poorer culture. With it, at least properly balanced, we create the incentives to produce great new works that otherwise would not be … More »