Secular

Planning first Guinness record-breaking Shabbat dinner, and not bitter about being beaten - opinion

But the real difference wasn’t the finances, at least from what I can see from afar. It was in the overarching vibe.

Deborah Danan speaks about the White City Shabbat Guinness Record-breaking dinner before it began in Tel Aviv, June 13, 2014.
Dr. Tomer Persico

Tomer Persico: The evolution of individualism and collective identity in Judaism

Preparing for the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, in the northern Israeli city of Safed, October 5, 2025

Days of Awe: Israel’s turn toward tradition - opinion

The Bukharan Market remains a vibrant and bustling place for locals to shop.

The Bukharan Quarter: A long way from the Silk Road


'Harming deterrence': Netanyahu urges IDF to hide internal issues

Netanyahu told the IDF's top echelon that he plans to seek compromises before continuing with the next part of the judicial reform.

 Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seen with IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Wednesday, May 31, 2023

Why the sudden fears of an Israeli civil war? - opinion

The more Israelis are pushed and browbeaten into a system that seeks to repress and strong-arm their will as well as take away their freedoms and choices, 58% of them will feel the intimidation.

 RELIGIOUS AND secular Jews gather on Tisha Be’av, last week, outside of Independence Hall in Tel Aviv, to hear the reading of the Book of Eicha.

We need to think about how to tackle Jewish intermarriage - editorial

Regardless of one’s view of intermarriage, recent data make clear that it is a significant phenomenon that cannot be ignored but must rather be approached thoughtfully and sensitively.

An illustrative photo of a Jewish wedding in front of the Mediterranean Sea.

70% of secular Jews in the US, 50% in Europe married to non-Jews

The issue of intermarriage, viewed as a complex reality of Jewish life, prompts questions about how communities should treat the resulting children.

 There is less holding a second marriage together (Illustrative photo of a wedding).

Opponents of Israel’s judicial reform see parallels in Tisha Be’av

According to Jewish tradition, a string of calamities have befallen the Jews on the Ninth of Av. The destruction of the First Temple in 586 BCE and the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE.

 WORSHIPERS SIT on the ground as a sign of mourning on Tisha Be’av last year at the Western Wall

How many Israelis think the national crisis will end in compromise? - survey

"The current survey indicates that the general public sees great importance in Israel's national unity, while the Israeli government has neglected this issue," said "Gesher" CEO Ilan Geal Dor.

NETANYAHU AND Gantz – can they put their animosity aside and serve the public?

'Parallel Lines': Learning from writing a fictional novel - opinion

Discussing the divisions and tensions between Jerusalem's distinctly separate "tribes" in a new fictional novel, Parallel Lines.

 OUTGOING AMBASSADOR of the United States to Israel Tom Nides sits with the author at her book launch earlier this month in Jerusalem

Atheist-religious tensions in Europe could spell disaster - opinion

A new clash is brewing in Europe. After years of tensions, the European conflict escalated last week to violence. But is this a conflict of secularism vs. religion?

 MUSLIM MIGRANTS arrive in Munich, Germany, 2015.

Almost half of Israelis identify as traditional Jews, defying conventional labels - analysis

Rejecting coercion in any form, traditionalists staunchly support freedom of religion and religious liberties, extending this support to both secularists and the ultra-Orthodox.

 A Jew praying at the Western Wall

Israel as a Jewish state must be what all Israelis agree on - opinion

For many secular people, there is a looming specter of a theocracy waiting to descend upon us all. This has led to a tremendous resentment of religion and religious people in Israel.

 THE MASSES gather at the Western Wall on Jerusalem Day, last month. This is the Jewish homeland, not the new Denmark, or the 51st US state, says the writer.