Politics

While messianism undoubtedly represents the most serious internal threat to Israel’s future, it nevertheless comes in many forms. Perle Nicolle-Hasid and Sylvaine Bulle examine its various currents here, starting with a fundamental divergence: the question of the relationship to realized Zionism, i.e., to the state. But whether it is the realists seeking to make the state a tool of messianism, or the purists detaching themselves from it to live according to ancestral Israel, the present of redemption overwhelms the horizon of Zionism.

Among the political soap operas of the summer, the exchange of letters between Benjamin Netanyahu and Emmanuel Macron replayed the classic scene of a dialogue of the deaf. Beyond the pantomime spectacle, who can really say what the subject of their correspondence was? Gérard Bensussan attempts to decipher the reasons behind a misunderstanding that is particularly symptomatic of the current political situation.

How can we explain Israel’s relentless pursuit of this seemingly endless war in Gaza? Danny Trom offers an analysis based on one symptom: the proliferation, since October 7, of kinot, poetic lamentations that are unique to the tradition of exile. Israeli lamentation is thus expressed in the language of exile and powerlessness, even though it now accompanies the war of a state through which Jews have acquired unprecedented power—and therefore a new responsibility. Danny Trom invites us to reflect on this internal tension within this paradox…

This summer, K. invites you to rediscover, in each of its weekly issues, a feature consisting of five articles previously published in the magazine. This week, our “K.ritique” feature serves both…

This summer, K. invites you to rediscover, in each of its weekly issues, a feature consisting of five articles previously published in the magazine. This week with articles by Valeria Solanstein,…

À l’appel des familles d’otages et d’une large partie de la société civile, une grève générale aura lieu le 17 août pour dénoncer une stratégie militaire à Gaza perçue comme une impasse et une aggravation des conséquences de la guerre, tant pour les civils palestiniens que pour les captifs et combattants israéliens. Première mobilisation d’ampleur depuis la crise de la réforme judiciaire en 2023, elle cristallise la fracture politique israélienne. Bruno Karsenti y voit le rappel d’une question cardinale : celle du principe fondateur de l’État juif et de l’avenir même du projet sioniste.

This summer, K. invites you to rediscover, in each of its weekly issues, a feature comprising five previously published articles from the magazine. This week, we have put together a…

How are American Jews experiencing the current political situation, in which their attachment to Israel, the democratic norms of their own country, and the security they believed they enjoyed in the face of antisemitism are all being called into question? For Sébastien Lévi, they are caught between Trump’s hammer and the anti-Zionist anvil – a divide foreshadowing the political reconfigurations and struggles to come.

Following the disturbing election results in eastern Germany, which saw the triumph of authoritarian, xenophobic, and antisemitic parties, Antonia Sternberger examines the roots of far-right ideas in the former GDR and their influence on Jewish life. Her investigation highlights a particular inability to learn from historical experience—whether Nazi crimes or Soviet dictatorship—which forces Jews in eastern Germany to navigate, with a remarkable amount of courage, an environment that oscillates between ignorance and outright hostility.