Tel Aviv Review

We were slaves – but not just us

Guil Bonstein, musical editor and expert on history of slavery and Caribbean history, discussed the contemporary relevancy of The Slave Ship: A Human History by American maritime historian Marcus Rediker, which recently came out in Hebrew, thanks to him.

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The Palestinian ‘phantom state’: A contradiction in terms?

One of the basic tenets of most theories of the nation is that concepts like self-determination, sovereignty, and self-sufficiency are sine qua non for states. But some states — “phantom states” — have most of the attributes of sovereign states, except, well, sovereignty. One such “phantom state” is Palestine.

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When did Jews start losing their religion?

Prof. David Biale of the Department of Jewish History at the University of California, Davis, talks about his recently published “Not in the Heavens: The Tradition of Jewish Secular Thought.”

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Righteous Gentiles: The exception that proves the rule

For Polish social psychologist Michal Bilewicz, the Righteous Among the Nations serve as a case study for human behavior at times of great distress – and this group also affects the way the Holocaust is studied and remembered.

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Rav Kook: Mystic in a time of revolution

Dr Yehuda Mirsky, associate professor of Near Eastern and Judaic Studies at Brandeis University and author of the first biography of the maverick theologian and spiritual father of the settler movement to appear in English in over half a century.

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The feminist squad: Fight the army like a woman

The army is one of the most masculine institutions in modern societies, which makes it a perfect target for a feminist critique.

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Zionism, Apartheid, Blackface: Africa in Israeli Culture

In the early years of statehood, Israeli culture was teeming with references to Africa. Israel’s fascination with the black continent derived from particular cultural, political and social contexts that are analyzed in a new book.

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Menachem Begin: Israel’s most ‘Jewish’ leader

Dr Daniel Gordis, author of “Menachem Begin: The Battle for Israel’s Soul,” explains why Israel’s sixth prime minister was the country’s most “Jewish” leader.

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Alfred Dreyfus, the man behind the affair

A new exhibition at Beit Hatefutsot – the Museum of the Jewish People – explores the private life of the most unintentionally famous Jew of modern times.

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