tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8175468852285051706.comments2023-12-08T14:37:28.277-08:00jerusalem-blogMichael Zankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06682065646444618117noreply@blogger.comBlogger33125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8175468852285051706.post-62815545548387106272016-05-29T14:23:36.348-07:002016-05-29T14:23:36.348-07:00Thank you. I only today learned about this initia...Thank you. I only today learned about this initiative from a news report in The Times of Israel. Very exciting!brendahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09644207868701772966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8175468852285051706.post-86383957940922005832016-03-09T08:07:45.767-08:002016-03-09T08:07:45.767-08:00Good work, Michael. The work you and your colleag...Good work, Michael. The work you and your colleagues are doing gives me hope that common sense may be able to supersede faith-fueled entrenched resistance. Alane Shanksnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8175468852285051706.post-65776443946883734762013-12-20T17:26:21.277-08:002013-12-20T17:26:21.277-08:00Does it ever happen that a state in a position of ...Does it ever happen that a state in a position of power decides to do the right thing by "others" without being forced to, when to do so means it will lose some of its prerogatives? I think "you act because you can" pretty much sums up the behavior of nations, despite the window-dressing of ideologies. The US might be the best example of this, but examples are everywhere. Where are the counter-examples? Of course I agree with you that Israel SHOULD be ethical towards the Arabs, but I think we are whistling in the wind. It won't be unless it is forced to be, by what means I don't know. Sadly, Emily BergAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8175468852285051706.post-22917899017608572472013-04-30T07:11:14.722-07:002013-04-30T07:11:14.722-07:00Please feel free to use our annual Statistical Yea...Please feel free to use our annual Statistical Yearbook of Jerusalem (the one for 2013 will be published next week on Yom Yerushalaim). It is full of interesting data regarding most topics of interest related to Jerusalem. Please feel free to quote us and use any of our data. If any topic is of specific interest to you I am happy to condense the data, send you a summary or even provide and infographic for you to publish. http://jiis.org/?cmd=statistic.452 <br />מכון ירושלים למחקרי מדיניותhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02034091476035502976noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8175468852285051706.post-49705254541851671362012-11-10T19:59:41.965-08:002012-11-10T19:59:41.965-08:00It's a sad reality of Jerusalem described in t...It's a sad reality of Jerusalem described in this article. Jerusalem needs a peace agreement or it will remain a divided city.Jerozolimahttp://www.tomontheroof.com/blog/jerozolimanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8175468852285051706.post-23618097999489391212012-10-30T20:30:04.705-07:002012-10-30T20:30:04.705-07:00Religion plays a huge role in shaping identities, ...Religion plays a huge role in shaping identities, memories, hopes, and aspirations. It can play a constructive role in bringing moderate believers, interested in interfaith dialogue, to the table; it can mitigate extreme nationalism and contravene violence. But many people believe, with Christopher Hitchens, that "religions poisons everything" and we'd be better off--in the Middle East and elsewhere--without it. -- Rabbinic Judaism long maintained the Jews as an exilic people; or vice versa: Jews-deprived of political power-developed a system of religious law (oral Torah; halakhah) that allowed them to live devout Jewish communal and family-lives under the condition of political dependence. The same religious tradition can be read in different ways: some Jews (following Rav Kook) have imbued Zionism and the State of Israel with mystical qualities and redemptive powers. Others (following Rav Blau and Neturei Karta) reject this completely and would rather live under Palestinian sovereignty rather than speak of a secular state as the "beginning of redemption." -- The British, who ruled Palestine from 1917 until 1948, "religionized" the "native" Arab minorities to forestall the foment of a national movement that would have crossed religious boundaries. In the end (and in fact before the British took power) that strategy could not forever forestall pragmatic political movements toward national independence, such as Fatah, which includes Christians and Muslims and is basically secular in orientation. The rise of Hamas has re-religionized the conflict on the Arab-Muslim side, just as national religious parties in Israel (and religious Zionism since 1967 more broadly in the Jewish world) re-religionized Zionism. Evangelical Christians have stoked the tensions by supporting what they perceive as "Israel," by which they mean some millennialist dispensation, and avant-garde before the return of Christ. This, to me, is all quite disconcerting and some of the more troubling aspects of religion. Michael Zankhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06682065646444618117noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8175468852285051706.post-23536095453475884482012-10-12T08:18:40.425-07:002012-10-12T08:18:40.425-07:00what role does religion play in the conflict betwe...what role does religion play in the conflict between Israel and Palestine?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8175468852285051706.post-61033495431933173212012-01-15T19:52:53.267-08:002012-01-15T19:52:53.267-08:00Nice article. Perhaps next trip you could visit th...Nice article. Perhaps next trip you could visit the world renown zoo, the largest mall in the Middle East, Malcha, taste the fabulous burger at Focaccia Bar with goose breast and avocado, or the home made ice cream at Cacao below the Cinematech Theater after viewing a vintage film, gasp at the breathtakingly beautiful stained glass windows by Chagall at Hadassah Hospital, visit the Israel and Bible Lands Museums, oh, and yes, perhaps you could even squeeze in a synagogue service.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8175468852285051706.post-75118363729766735302011-11-16T05:22:44.591-08:002011-11-16T05:22:44.591-08:00Indeed the people/Audience voice was to be heard, ...Indeed the people/Audience voice was to be heard, Taking sides is not importance here.Mediation Expertshttp://www.alternativelaw.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8175468852285051706.post-34424453433169328742011-07-23T03:29:36.283-07:002011-07-23T03:29:36.283-07:00Ramadan Says:
Your article is amazing I got an ef...<a href="http://www.liveislamonline.com/category/ramadan" rel="nofollow">Ramadan</a> Says:<br /><br />Your article is amazing I got an effective knowledge from you article. I want to read more about your other articles on IslamGulraiz23https://www.blogger.com/profile/04077920575445666126noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8175468852285051706.post-53611972301525534382011-07-18T15:12:24.798-07:002011-07-18T15:12:24.798-07:00Islamic Wallpapers Says:
Your Pictures are good an...<a href="http://www.islamicwallpapers.net" rel="nofollow">Islamic Wallpapers</a> Says:<br />Your Pictures are good and i want to see more Islamic wallpapersGulraiz23https://www.blogger.com/profile/04077920575445666126noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8175468852285051706.post-85343034450733865512011-07-06T15:51:55.644-07:002011-07-06T15:51:55.644-07:00Thank you! This was in response to a conversation ...Thank you! This was in response to a conversation with a student who's been working on anthropological approaches to pilgrimage, especially Victor Turner.Michael Zankhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06682065646444618117noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8175468852285051706.post-51888491056252633372011-07-06T15:41:09.286-07:002011-07-06T15:41:09.286-07:00What immensities you have here compressed into a p...What immensities you have here compressed into a pretty finite set of well chosen words. Thank you for this vibrant and illuminating triptych.Tomas Kalmarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09347789141178173787noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8175468852285051706.post-88486700823479693322011-06-21T03:48:27.391-07:002011-06-21T03:48:27.391-07:00Thanks for taking this opportunity to discuss this...Thanks for taking this opportunity to discuss this, I feel fervently about this and I like learning about this subject.<a href="http://www.thecorporategurus.in" rel="nofollow">MBA College near the chandigarh</a>henryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08180035343726711042noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8175468852285051706.post-4834967380848475882011-05-24T08:04:17.400-07:002011-05-24T08:04:17.400-07:00What I don't understand is, how can Israel or ...What I don't understand is, how can Israel or for that matter Israelis support any deal that have to do with a Hamas-Palestinian government that fails to recognize Israel's own existence, (as if Jews had no right to exist)? No matter what Israel decides to do, it will not achieve peace with a people who do not wish for peace.<br />http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/hamas-obama-will-fail-in-forcing-us-to-recognize-israel-1.363393<br /><br />Hamas continues to be influenced by another authoritative Islamic country (Iran) who's menacing and hatred for Israel is bottomless, proven time and time again by the influence of Mr. Ahmadinejad. Jerusalem is at the center of gravity for all that is happening and dispute for centuries and it is unlikely that peace will ever be achieved, unless governed by a higher authority. President Obama has done nothing but bow down to Muslims, their will, without asking for any accountability in return, the superficial requests are mediocre at best. Millions upon millions of dollars are dumped in Islamic-theocratic fundamentalism countries, i.e.: Pakistan, while their core repeatedly hates everything America stands for, any freedoms that America enjoys. Americans must return this country to past conservative values if they wish to not perish themselves. President Bush, despite his many flaws, fully backed Israel. There was no doubt in the minds of Israel's enemies that America would stand shoulder to shoulder with her should anything ever happen. <br /><br />Today not only does this doubt Mr Obama has create weaken this relationship, but strengthens Israel's enemies in cogitating Israel's demise. Dr. Michael Savage provides an interesting theory on Obama's actions:<br />http://www.michaelsavage.wnd.com/files/filesSavage/Savage-ObamaGivingMiddleEastToIslamistRadicals-Rev03.pdfAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8175468852285051706.post-78923798474604896052010-11-16T10:23:26.378-08:002010-11-16T10:23:26.378-08:00I wrote it.I wrote it.Michael Zankhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06682065646444618117noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8175468852285051706.post-84059525881371204462010-11-16T10:22:44.827-08:002010-11-16T10:22:44.827-08:00Dear PaddyLovesSwaggy:
Thanks for your interest! P...Dear PaddyLovesSwaggy:<br />Thanks for your interest! Please see http://www.bu.edu/mzank/Michael_Zank/gold.html, More recent research is in progress.<br />Cheers<br />MichaelMichael Zankhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06682065646444618117noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8175468852285051706.post-56308954875679144002010-09-30T06:44:34.945-07:002010-09-30T06:44:34.945-07:00Michael, I heard you were in the process of writin...Michael, I heard you were in the process of writing something about the aftermath of the holocaust - if this is the case, how can a person purchase??Payneyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16946997398487039834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8175468852285051706.post-71157068560254366582010-05-29T14:26:34.129-07:002010-05-29T14:26:34.129-07:00So you know just how common and how misleading is ...So you know just how common and how misleading is the claim about the Torah and Koran...<br /><br />The other day I found in my foyer a pamphlet, produced by the Simon Wiesenthal Center, called "Top 10 Lies About Israel." The #1 lie was that Israel was created as a result of European guilt over the Holocaust. The pamphlet argues that "Jerusalem is mentioned more than 600 times in the Hebrew Scriptures, but not even once in the Koran." The sentence is printed in bold type, so that it should stand out from the rest of the paragraph's presumably less convincing arguments.<br /><br />My dad and I had a real debate over whether this was relevant, or true, or why it should be in bold, or even mentioned at all. The entire last paragraph of your post comprises much of what I said to my Dad (notwithstanding Abraham's blessing from the mysterious Melchizedek).<br /><br />The funny thing is, we both agreed that Israel is not the product of European guilt! The "number-of-Scriptural-mentions" argument creeps its way into the strangest places...Jacobnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8175468852285051706.post-60914238104193873032010-05-29T13:47:51.515-07:002010-05-29T13:47:51.515-07:00Where is this from?Where is this from?Jacobnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8175468852285051706.post-42707897857289101882010-04-08T12:32:42.414-07:002010-04-08T12:32:42.414-07:00Jerusalem should take a long vacation from being t...Jerusalem should take a long vacation from being the Holy City. The Iraqi army could forcibly relocate the city's inhabitants to Iraq, only to free them after at least a half a century has passed. The neo-Babylonians tried this, and seem to have thoroughly failed, but everyone deserves a second chance, right?Jacobnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8175468852285051706.post-22887215000198855212009-12-21T11:46:45.247-08:002009-12-21T11:46:45.247-08:00Very interesting. what is your source? what do you...Very interesting. what is your source? what do you suppose this says about the ancient Hasmoneans whose legitimacy depended on casting their forebears as cult restorers? What does this say about Judaism and Hellenism?Michael Zankhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06682065646444618117noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8175468852285051706.post-81855677304824110122009-08-03T08:45:03.760-07:002009-08-03T08:45:03.760-07:00This is all very nice, provided that we accept the...This is all very nice, provided that we accept the theoretical framework articulated by Frued. But why should we do that? Freud was a great theorist--but his theorizing about culture was not and is not the primary focus of his scholarship or of his intellectual legacy.<br /><br />This piece would be a lot stronger, analytically, if it were not so slavishly dependent on theory.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8175468852285051706.post-49535262767757319232009-07-29T12:13:24.993-07:002009-07-29T12:13:24.993-07:00I don't see why Jewish mourning needs to be re...I don't see why Jewish mourning needs to be referential to other groups, who share no part in it. If it is the logistical issue of where would a Jewish Temple go, since the plaza is inhabited by mosque and courtyard already, it seems somehow trivial. Since very few Jews advocate establishing a new Temple there NOW, it is indeed an issue for the Messianic age, or at the least the age when Jews would want build a Third Temple. Can we not imagine that there might be enough room for a Temple and a mosque on the hillsides of Zion? Or perhaps many things that we cannot imagine will have changed by then. Why can't a Jew even cry on Tisha Bav for fear of disenfranchising someone else? By this thinking, how many cubits are left in the world for the Jews?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8175468852285051706.post-70540616514220951262009-06-06T12:09:10.837-07:002009-06-06T12:09:10.837-07:00Thanks for asking ;-)
I emphatically agree wi...Thanks for asking ;-) <br /><br />I emphatically agree with you when you say “there is a conflict not so much between Jews and Arabs or Muslims but rather between those who would settle the conflict on the basis of equity and security for all and those who insist on the legitimacy of their claim to ownership, even at the expense of others.” Your formulation here is so much more to the point than a similar line, popular nowadays in pronouncements that aim for a centrist appeal, to the effect that the conflict is not “between Israelis and Arabs or Muslims” but between “moderates and extremists.” That line proves hollow when one realizes that the identification of the two terms with particular parties to the conflict will depend on which side is doing the pronouncing. On the other hand the desire to come to terms with the other side’s need for dignity and security, the striving to settle the conflict on the basis of equity and security for all, as you phrase it, is so much more definitive of the distinction between those who want peace and those who want to continue the conflict. <br /><br />But I would point to this striving not as “idealism,” but rather as the very essence of peace making. Differing proportions of realism and idealism it seems to me can all conceivably motivate the resolution of a conflict, with each differing mix of the two yielding a different set of terms for agreement. Where the commitment to accommodate the other side’s needs is lacking, however, the conflict will continue. <br /><br />-Unholy in BrooklineAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com