Ira Chernus

Beneath the violence and inability to find peace in Israel/Palestine lie a series of narratives and myths American and Israeli Jews employ to understand the situation. One such narrative has shifted toward hope recently, but does it go deep enough?

This presidential election has a symbolic sub-plot in which ancient archetypes vie for the American voter’s soul…

The “compassionate conservatism” of the Bush era was based on the idea that “sinful sloth” leads to poverty, and only religion can cure such a weakness. But the underpinning of Obama’s faith-based plan is political, not theological…