Judaism

Beyond the Headlines: In memory of Rabbi Eli Schlanger - opinion

A weekly glimpse into the Israel you won’t read about in the news.

A rabbi performs the Havdalah ceremony while Margaret Beazley, governor of New South Wales, holds the Havdalah candle, during a tribute for the victims of a mass shooting during a Jewish Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach on December 14, in Sydney, Australia, December 20, 2025.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir attends a National Security committee meeting at the Knesset on December 8, 2025.

Death penalty debate: Jewish reverence for life vs Ben-Gvir’s cheapening of life - opinion

Participants are seen at the day-long conference organized by Rabbis for Human Rights and the Interfaith Forum for Human Rights, in Jerusalem.

Enduring Israeli-Palestinian peace impossible without religious faith leaders - opinion

A rabbi performs the Havdalah ceremony while Margaret Beazley, governor of New South Wales, holds the Havdalah candle, during a tribute for the victims of a mass shooting during a Jewish Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach on December 14, in Sydney, Australia, December 20, 2025.

Christian, Jewish, other holidays in the West are being hijacked by Islamist terror - opinion


Hatred of Jews so often fixates on the Land of Israel - opinion

Hatred of Jews has taken many forms, but it has always returned to one target: the Jewish people’s bond to the Land of Israel.

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators carry a banner during a protest against the arrival of an Israeli cruise ship in the port of Piraeus near Athens, Greece, June 12, 2025.

From chants to gunfire: How antisemitism was allowed to grow - opinion

Antisemitism was dismissed as rhetoric. Now Jews are being violently targeted because the world pretended that words don’t matter.

An aerial view of emergency personnel working at the scene of a shooting incident at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, December 14, 2025, in this screen grab from a video.

Jews cannot confront antisemitism by themselves - opinion

From Joseph and Pharaoh to today’s classrooms, it is clear that antisemitism cannot be fought by Jews alone.

New South Wales Premier Chris Minns visits Ahmed Al Ahmed, 43, at a hospital in Sydney, Australia, on December 15, 2025.

This week in Jewish history: Yearning for Zion

A highly abridged weekly version of Dust & Stars – Today in Jewish History.

PORTRAIT OF Jewish poet Naftali Herz Imber, from The Jewish Publication Society of America, Philadelphia, 1920.

This Jewish community in India celebrates Hanukkah not with fear, but in belonging

The community is largely unscathed by antisemitism and has existed here for centuries, fully integrated as Indians and Jews.

Mumbai's Khai Fest featured Bollywood dancing alongside Hanukkah foods.

Lighthearted Hanukkah: Jokes and advice from Jews around the world

Here is a selection of the jokes that happily came my way.

Hanukkiot are on sale at the Mahaneh Yehuda market in Jerusalem. This Sunday, let’s ignite meaningful discussion as Jews start lighting Hanukkah candles, the writer suggests.

My Word: The forces of light and darkness - opinion

A Hanukkah candlelighting in Australia became the scene of a terror attack, showing how appeasement of global antisemitism now spills into deadly violence.

People gather at the floral tribute at Bondi Beach to honour the victims of a mass shooting targeting a Hanukkah celebration on Sunday at Bondi Beach, in Sydney, Australia, December 16, 2025.

Hanukkah 2025: The power of the invisible

Ancient Greek culture, based on Aristotle’s philosophy, believed only in what is 'before the eyes' – what can be seen, touched, measured, and proven.

Today, in the technological era, it is clear that the most influential forces in the world are often the invisible ones.

Judaism’s Conservative movement apologizes for decades of discouraging intermarriage

The shift marks a significant change in tone for a movement that long treated intermarriage as a threat to Jewish continuity.

A chuppah for a Jewish wedding

Israel’s 'supreme' democracy: Who really decides the nation’s values - opinion

From Barak to today’s High Court, a quiet revolution has ignited a fierce debate over democracy in Israel.

Former high Court president Aharon Barak is seen at a conference of the Israeli Association of Public Law (IAPL) in Haifa, earleir this month. Arguments over judicial overreach and activism in Israel have been ongoing for years, the writer notes.

Early childhood will be the foundation of a Jewish Renaissance - opinion

Jewish continuity is shaped long before adulthood, and early childhood education must become a priority.

Preschoolers at Temple Judea ECC, which received a grant from EarlyJ to open a toddler classroom.