From Quest, a special issue on Jews in Europe after the Shoah. The Old New Synagogue, built from the stones of Solomon's temple, contains the golem of Prague. A review of In Ishmael’s House: A History of the Jews in Muslim Lands by Martin Gilbert. Christopher Hitchens reviews Trials of the Diaspora: A History of Anti-Semitism in England by Anthony Julius and A Lethal Obsession: Anti-Semitism from Antiquity to the Global Jihad by Robert S. Wistrich (and more). How anti-Semitism helped create Israel: At a desperate moment in World War I, British elites appealed to what they saw as the monolithic, all-powerful forces of "international Jewry" to turn the tide of the conflict — and promised them Palestine. Even as it has served as a cornerstone of the State of Israel, the Law of Return has also been at the epicenter of fierce battles over the identity of the Jewish state. Jay Michaelson on peoplehood vs Israel, the split at the heart of Jewish identity. Of the People: Israeli democracy is strengthening, not weakening — and that might be the problem. Making History: Israeli President Shimon Peres reflects on his mentor, his peace partner, and whether the State of Israel will survive. Good fences: JJ Goldberg on the Israeli Right’s "post-nationalism" excuse. The Jews’ Jews: Anti-Semites paint Jews as different and strange; many Jews do the same to the so-called "ultra-Orthodox". Young Haredi, or ultra-Orthodox men, in Israel have long been protected from the world of violence and gun use that pervades Israeli civil society — no longer.
