News: Diplomacy and Defense | National | World | Opinion | Sports | Features | Israel WeatherJewish World: News | Rabbis' Round Table | The Jewish Thinker Culture: Books | Food and Wine | Arts & Leisure Haaretz.com Blogs: A Special Place in Hell | West of Eden | Diplomania | The Axis | Strenger than Fiction | Routine Emergencies | The Fifth Question | Modern Manna | Focus U.S.A. Haaretz.co.il: ספרים | ספורט | ביקורת מסעדות | לונדון 2012 | ביקורת סרטים | חדשות חוץ | גלריה | מזג אוויר | יורו 2012 | חדשות | הארץ FAQ | Contact us | Terms and Conditions | Employment Opportunities | Advertise on Haaretz.com | People and Departments Design by Roni Arie | Accelerated by cotendo ... Continue reading →

Journalism is a competitive business but sometimes the competition comes from a wholly unexpected source. I'd planned a while ago to write in this slot about the Jewishness of Ed Miliband. Little did I know that the latest edition of the New Statesman, a special on British Jewish life published on Thursday, would carry a column on the same topic - written by Ed Miliband. It is a fascinating text, one that repays close study. The Labour leader declares: "I am not religious. But I am Jewish. My relationship with my Jewishness is complex. But whose isn't?" On the one hand, he counts himself among those "from Holocaust families" and reveals that, even though his wife is not Jewish, he made sure to smash a ... Continue reading →

Thanks for taking the time to visit our JustGiving page in memory of Sara Freedland. You can read more about her here. Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - we raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity. So please dig deep and donate now. Continue reading →

Sara Freedland, with son Jonathan and grandson Jacob in 2005. Photograph: Toby Glanville for the Guardian Nearly 11 years have passed since I last broke my own rule and wrote in this place about something deeply personal. Then, in the summer of 2001, it was the birth of my first child and the article was a hymn of praise for the National Health Service that had ushered my son into the world.Today I write about my mother, who died 10 days ago. Once again, though, this is not my main purpose. I want to record my praise, even awe, for the people who looked after her. It was not so straightforward this time. Yes, the NHS funded it all, but my mother was tended to ... Continue reading →

Sara Freedland, with son Jonathan and grandson Jacob in 2005. Photograph: Toby Glanville for the Guardian Nearly 11 years have passed since I last broke my own rule and wrote in this place about something deeply personal. Then, in the summer of 2001, it was the birth of my first child and the article was a hymn of praise for the National Health Service that had ushered my son into the world.Today I write about my mother, who died 10 days ago. Once again, though, this is not my main purpose. I want to record my praise, even awe, for the people who looked after her. It was not so straightforward this time. Yes, the NHS funded it all, but my mother was tended to ... Continue reading →

Dear Governor,You first became a candidate for public office 18 years ago, when you ran for the United States Senate in Massachusetts against the incumbent, Edward Kennedy. The Senate you aspired to join then included a number of Republicans -- from Bob Dole to William Cohen to John Warner -- whose foreign policy expertise had earned them the title of "statesman." They were joined by equally impressive Democrats -- like Sam Nunn and David Boren -- who had helped presidents of both parties shape America's foreign policy in the second half of the 20th Century. All of them are gone from Congress now. If polls are to be believed, the only remaining senator from either party who readily fits into their company -- who earned ... Continue reading →

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and opposition chairman MK Shaul Mofaz (Kadima) reached an agreement early Tuesday morning to form a national unity government and cancel early elections, which had been expected to take place on September 4. Under the agreement, Kadima will join Netanyahu's government and support its policies in exchange for a commitment that the government will support its proposal for an alternative to the Tal Law, which allows full-time yeshiva students to defer national service. Benjamin Netanyahu, center, and Shaul Mofaz at a Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee meeting at the Knesset, Jan. 16, 2012. Photo by: Reuters Sources in Kadima told Haaretz that Mofaz is expected to be appointed as a minister in the government. Likud sources confirmed this, adding that they ... Continue reading →