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Solving the Palestinian Problem Requires the Truth Not Misinformation.

 As appeared in my ToI blog and slightly edited on JNS.org   Two recent articles in the Wall Street Journal need to be discussed. First is Mr. Elliot Kaufman’s July 5, 2025 “ A New Palestinian Offer for Peace With Israel ” discussing how Hebron’s Sheikhs propose to leave the Palestinian Authority and join the Abraham Accords. The second is Mr. Mahmoud Jabari’s July 9, 2025 response “ A Hebron ‘Emirate’ or a Colonial Deception? ” where the author posits that the Hebron proposal plays into Israel’s plan to divide and conquer the Palestinians of the West Bank. In Mr. Kaufman’s article, the Sheiks write that they will recognize “the State of Israel as the nation state of the Jewish people.” He goes on to point out that the “Sheikhs accepting Israel as a Jewish state goes further than the Palestinian Authority ever has and sweeps aside decades of rejectionism.” Mr. Kaufman, however, does not explore if they will change their anti-Israel/Jewish and Western education program...
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Why do Ḥasidim still dress in the style of the 18th Century Polish aristocracy today?

 As appeared in my Times of Israel blog.    This question is directed at those ultra and very orthodox, mostly European (Ashkenazi), Jews who live in Israel: Why continue to dress as an Eastern European when you live in the Middle East? Why not dress as Moshe Rabaynu (Mosses) or Rambam (Maimonides)? This includes the women, of course. Remember there is a core Jewish principal to follow the custom of the place ( minhag ha’makom ) and not to separate oneself from the community ( al tifrosh min ha’tzibbur ). Throughout history, religious Jews in Israel and the Middle East generally dressed in ways that reflected both local customs and Jewish religious requirements; modesty ( tzniut ) and other religious laws. For example, in ancient Israel, men wore long, striped/multi-colored robes, that were influenced by local Semitic styles, while women wore modest robes and head shawls. That style has not changed much through the post-medieval times and up to today, as can be seen wh...
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