Judaism without God * The Gulf is on Israel’s side * The phone call no parent wants * Where in the world is West Refaim? * Mourning Omer Neutra

[Times of Israel]( [The Blogs Weekly]( Thursday, December 5, 2024 [Gulf countries talk like Iran, act like Israel]( By Hussain Abdul-Hussain The GCC rhetoric on Israel masks its true aims to decouple Syria’s Assad and the Islamic Republic and declaw Hezbollah in Lebanon Amos Yadlin [Syria: Better the devil we don’t know]( Assad massacred half a million of his own people. It’s time to see how others try to stabilize the country – as long as they reduce interference by Iran Lisa Gelber [Call the light forward and be that light: Omer Neutra z”l]( Mourning this loss, I wanted to hide under the covers, but how can I? The lives in peril for 14 months need us to get up and speak for them [Words no army parent wants to hear: ‘Get to the hospital now’]( By Debra Weiner-Solomont My son has a hard road ahead, but his deep friendships and our new support network have already worked wonders toward healing Ely Karmon [Why I just subscribed to Haaretz]( The government’s multi-pronged assault on the independence of Israel’s news media takes a page out of the authoritarian playbook Romi Sussman [Intersecting paths at Har Herzl]( The grieving couple that happened to visit their son’s grave during another funeral seemed like strangers at first. And then they weren’t [Judaism without God]( By Nathan Lopes Cardozo Those without faith must learn and live the commandments as a revolution, as a protest to the commonplace, as an act of defiance Yonatan Freeman [No cause for alarm: ICC decisions won’t change Israel’s reality]( The world needs Israel in the fight against the radical forces (read: Iran) that threaten regional and global stability Ethan Goldberg [Why did Saudi prince Mohammed bin Salman change his rhetoric about Israel?]( Normalization may be the long-term plan, but he’s being cautious, given anger about Gaza, the US political shifts, and his need for domestic stability [Lessons of a 100–year-old postcard from an imaginary land]( By David Matlow Where in the world is West Refaim and why did it have its own stamp? Riddles from back when the Jewish imagination went postal Top Ops David Sedley [Internal strength]( Like reinforced concrete, law and justice are things we take for granted – that is, until things go terribly wrong (Toledot) Marc J. Rosenstein [From the river to the sea]( Today’s apocalyptic vision of total victory must make way for hard decisions, arduous negotiations, and courageous leadership [The Blogs Weekly]( [facebook]( [twitter]( [instagram]( [View in browser]( [Contact support](mailto:support@timesofisrael.com) [Advertise with us](mailto:advertise@timesofisrael.com) Were you forwarded this email? [Subscribe here]( [Unsubscribe]( from this List © 2024 The Times Of Israel, All Rights Reserved