Dear Jew in the City, With all the international attention on Israel’s war with Hamas, I’ve been hearing a lot of debate—both within the Jewish world and beyond—about whether Israel is obligated to provide humanitarian aid to Gaza. Some argue that as Jews, we’re commanded to help all people, even our enemies. Others say that […]
Dear Jew in the City, With the pending hostage deal, does Jewish philosophy discuss if we should save lives if it means letting dangerous people free and sacrificing more lives? Thanks, Daniel Dear Daniel, Thanks for your question. This is indeed a topic of conversation, but there are a lot of moving parts and no […]
Dear Jew In the City, Israel seems to have hit Hezbollah hard this week with blowing up their technology. How do we balance celebrating defeating our enemies with not taking too much joy in the death and destruction of human beings? Sincerely, Jonathan _ Hi Jonathan, Thanks for your question. We have addressed questions about […]
Since the unanimous Israeli Supreme Court historic decision to draft Haredim–starting with 3,000 men–into the IDF last month due to a lack of manpower nine months into the war, tension has increased among Israelis. While controversy stirs around the topic with Haredim often represented as vehemently anti-military, it’s crucial to root back to reality. Sensible, […]
I didn’t sleep through the night for a month after October 7th. I woke up at 4am, frustrated because I needed the rest, but something wouldn’t let me rest. Like many Jews, I learned about the massacre from a police officer who stands guard at a local synagogue. As chag (the holiday) carried on, people […]
Dear Jew in the City, Hamas embeds terrorists with children and hospitals. It is such a cynical approach to take with their own citizens. When Israel sends in troops to carefully excise the terrorists, the danger for Israelis is higher. When Israel bombs the area from a safe distance, the collateral damage on Arab civilians […]
