This page is a work in progress. Mostly you'll find here links related to the Israel-Palestine conflict and to the meaning of Zionism for Jews in America. I am seeking a more diverse representation of sources and resources, so please be in touch to recommend things to me.
My own perspective on the conflict is what I call religious-Zionist-peace-camp, if that helps you interpret the selections individually or the pattern of them.
It is hard to find purely objective historical background online. Just telling when a particular war started is often a hidden statement of blame or bias, for instance. So I am still seeking or will develop some brief pieces.
Israeli English-language newspapers: Times of Israel, Ynetnews (Yediot Acharonot)
Israel's Declaration of Independence (1948)
Overview with Maps -- Israel-Palestine Conflict
This is a sermon I gave in summer 2014, in a somewhat similar time, that expresses a lot of what I would still say today about what religious Zionism means.
Hamas statement of principles (2017)
May 2021
This is not meant to be an exhaustive background on the month's fighting, but supplementary to things you may have read elsewhere.
Dr. Sharon Weiss-Greenberg, "I Spent the Night in a Bomb Shelter With My Kids"
Times of Israel, "Jewish Riot Victim's Kidney Gives New Lease on Life to Arab Woman"
Background on Sheikh Jarrakh, neighborhood at focus of May 2021 disputes:
Source: Israel Policy Forum
Source: Unpacked
General Perspective: Yossi Klein Halevi
Halevi is a journalist with an interesting personal story. He was born in the U.S. and moved to Israel, was for a long time part of the Kahanist far-right, and is now what he sometimes calls a person with a "right-wing half and a left-wing half", who believes in his words that a Palestinian state is both an existential necessity for Israel and an existential threat to Israel. He co-leads the Muslim Leadership Initiative at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem with Abdullah Antepli.
In 2018, Halevi published Letters to My Palestinian Neighbor. He argues there for Israelis and Palestinians to share and acknowledge each other's histories, to acknowledge that historically both peoples have an absolute claim to all of the land, and that living together will require a partition that leaves both sides without sovereignty in places central to them but does not require anyone to deny their national story or identity. The site includes links to the book, articles and responses, and media. The book is a good read for Jews as a primer on how to understand our own relationship to the Land of Israel.
Like Dreamers is Halevi's 2013 book following seven of the paratroopers who were involved in the battle for Jerusalem in 1967. Each was born around the time of Israel's founding, and they took different ideological paths afterward. The site for the book also includes links to videos in which he discusses the book and tells many of its stories.
Video -- Halevi's presentation to Temple Beth Israel, Springfield MA, about May 2021
General Resource: The Jewish Education Project (requires registration for free account)
General Resource: Unpacked
Part of OpenDor Media. Many articles, video, and podcasts.
Jerusalem
What actually is Jerusalem? Old, new, how old -- Word doc version, Powerpoint coming soon
Six Day War (1967)
Important book: Michael Oren, Six Days of War: June 1967 and the Making of the Modern Middle East (2003)
Interview with Oren that captures a lot of the book
