The Fifth Question - Israel News | Haaretz Daily Newspaper

by Mira Sucharov

Confronting the psychological costs of the occupation

Psychoactive, a group of Israeli mental health professionals, seeks to increase awareness around topics that are often seen as taboo, such as the mental health effects of occupation on Israeli soldiers and the psychological barriers to peace.

By Mira Sucharov | May 17, 2013 | 09:03 PM | 9

A portion of the wall that runs parallel to route 443, near Maccabim-Reut

Ireland-Palestine Solidarity protesters call for a boycott of Israel

Hawking and hypocrisy: Here we go again

Moments of hypocrisy may tell us something about a person, but they say nothing about the issue at hand: If you are contemptuous of Hawking’s decision to boycott, what alternative to ending the occupation are you proposing?

By Mira Sucharov | May 9, 2013 | 10:12 PM | 12

A Palestinian protester throws a stone towards Israeli troops during clashes in Hebron

Palestinian stone throwers and Israelis speak different languages

With a West Bank Palestinian having been sentenced Thursday to 98 years for throwing a stone that caused Asher Palmer and his infant son to die in a fatal car crash, the issue of Palestinian resistance to occupation has again been thrust into the spotlight.

By Mira Sucharov | Apr 26, 2013 | 07:57 AM | 12

Winnipeg prepares to host the World Conference of GLBT Jews

The conference organizers have lined up a top-flight array of speakers, including the transgender memoirist and poet Joy Ladin and Jay Michaelson.

By Mira Sucharov | Apr 14, 2013 | 03:56 AM | 3

Sacred soil and ethical statecraft

Vaster exploration of religious Zionism may certainly have its value, but to what extent can responsible governance be wrapped up in the scrolls of ancient texts?

By Mira Sucharov | Mar 30, 2013 | 11:48 AM | 4

Quinoa and butternut squash salad with dried tomato powder

Quinoa and Orthodox Judaism's relevancy problem

The question of long-term vitality of Judaism may ultimately come down to the question of relevance and whether Orthodox Jews are seen more as keepers of the faith or gatekeepers of the faith.

By Mira Sucharov | Mar 15, 2013 | 12:57 PM | 5

Screenshot of image on Facebook showing Dov Hikind, center, dressed in a black face.

Blackface on Purim: Is anybody listening?

Brooklyn Assemblyman Dov Hikind's choice of Purim costume represented a basic inability to listen to the experiences of the African-American community, whose history, like that of the Jews, is plagued with persecution.

By Mira Sucharov | Feb 28, 2013 | 03:42 PM | 3

Roses are displayed in a flower shop in Vienna for Saint Valentine's Day.

Valentine's Day may not be a Jewish holiday, but I wouldn't want it to disappear

Valentine’s Day presents a perfect admixture of opportunity and challenge when it comes to being Jewish in North America.

By Mira Sucharov | Feb 14, 2013 | 07:02 PM | 4

Guy Davidi, director of 5 Broken Cameras.

How a liberal Zionist watches Five Broken Cameras

A scene several minutes into the movie transports this writer back to the days of her youth, to Zionist summer camp.

By Mira Sucharov | Jan 31, 2013 | 06:39 PM | 3

Americans living in Israel submit protest letter to Netanyahu over E-1

Looking for the essence of being human? The Jewish blogsphere has some ideas

Two new videos, one a call for action and the other for restraint, both represent an essential of knowing how and when to use the natural gifts we were each given.

By Mira Sucharov | Jan 17, 2013 | 10:11 PM

Rabbinical students lobby Netanyahu to drop E-1 building plans

Three North American organizations to conduct parallel protest by delivering letter protesting building plans to Israeli embassy in Washington.

By Mira Sucharov | Jan 7, 2013 | 07:52 AM | 9

About this blog

Mira Sucharov is Associate Professor of Political Science and Assistant Dean, Faculty of Public Affairs, at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada. A child of the 70s and 80s in two tight-knit Canadian Jewish communities, Mira wrestles with the role of tradition in light of contemporary values, the links between narratives and identity, and the Diaspora relationship with Israel. She is the author of The International Self: Psychoanalysis and the Search for Israeli-Palestinian Peace (SUNY Press), and is a 2010 recipient of a Rockower Award for Excellence in Jewish Journalism. She is currently writing a book on nostalgia and political change.