Countering extremist Israeli rabbis who urge soldiers not to help evacuate illegal settlements

I don’t usually mention the same column by Donniel Hartman twice, but clearly this issue is one that is not only not going away, it is heating up: In articles such as this one and this one, we are learning more about the rabbis who are preaching disobedience of orders that may occur in the [...]

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Israel needs army without divisions

Donniel Hartman writes about how the Israeli army must limit the reach of the army rabbis, and how Religious Zionists must declare their loyalty to the State of Israel over the religious aspects of the Land of Israel:
A soldier may thus rationalize that if the army cannot command him to violate the Shabbat, and such [...]

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Iran awaits ayatollah’s order to build nukes – gulp! or not?

The London Times (sorry, Times of London) is reporting that – according to Western intelligence sources – Iran has:
perfected the technology to create and detonate a nuclear warhead and is merely awaiting the word from its Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, to produce its first bomb
Leaving aside whether we can actually believe that story – [...]

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Donniel Hartman: Israeli Army commanders struggling with religious challenges

In a lecture this week to rabbis at Shalom Hartman Institute for the annual summertime Rabbinical Torah Study Seminar, Donniel Hartman mentioned that he had just finished a session with senior IDF commanders attending an ongoing program at Shalom Hartman Institute, the Lev Aharon program.
This program teaches Judaism, Jewish moral philosophy, and other related matters [...]

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Hartman HS dad writes about his son’s graduation

Brian Blum, a Jerusalem-based writer, blogger, editor, and web entrepreneur, writes lyrically about his son’s graduation from Charles E. Smith High School for Boys at Shalom Hartman Institute, gives us a little bit of Rabbi David Hartman’s talk to the graduates and a brief video, as well.

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Shavuot learning at Hartman Institute focuses on war, ethics, and Judaism

The annual Tikkun Leil Shavuot lectures at Shalom Hartman Institute are one of the year’s most anticipated events.
This year’s theme is, “Ethics, Judaism and War,” and features lectures in English and Hebrew from Hartman Institute faculty on issues both classic and contemporary.
Shavuot evening, Thursday, 28 May, 2009
English/אנגלית
22.30-23.45 Rabbi Prof. David Hartman: The Role of the [...]

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Israel Memorial Day at Shalom Hartman Institute High School

Israel Memorial Day – Yom Hazikaron – is marked by a moving ceremony involving music, talk and commemoration for the thousands of Israeli soldiers who have died to create and preserve the State of Israel. Shalom Hartman Institute’s C.E. Smith High School for Boys creates and manages this ceremony annually. This ceremony took place on [...]

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Israeli Memorial Day – Yom Hazikaron – one of the year’s most solemn days

Last week, we posted an article by Donniel Hartman on how the nine days from Yom Hashoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day) through Yom Ha’atzmaut (Independence Day) mark the new “High Holidays” of Israel.
Today, we would like to draw your attention to an essay by David Hartman on the day preceding Yom Ha’atzmaut, Yom Hazikaron, Israeli Memorial [...]

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Israel at 61: Continuously Moving Forward – Rabbi Dr. Donniel Hartman

Rabbi Dr. Donniel Hartman, Shalom Hartman Institute, Jerusalem, Israel, says that Israel at 61 is not looking for messianic redemption or major developments. Israel and Jews should be content if the Jewish State takes small steps of continuous progress toward safety, security, social welfare, democracy, pluralism, and peace.

Special kudos to the person who can [...]

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Redeeming Gilad Shalit: Worth the price?

As I was jogging in central Jerusalem the other day I went past the protest tents near the Prime Minister’s residence in the Rehavia neighborhood. As it was day 1,000 of Gilad Shalit’s captivity by Hamas in Gaza or Egypt, the press scrum around the tent and the Shalit family was intense.
Across the street, a [...]

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