Israelis stand next to sales promotion sign after a corner stone laying ceremony for a new Jewish neighborhood on August 11, 2013 in East Jerusalem, Israel. Israel’s Housing Ministry announced Sunday the marketing of land for the immediate construction of nearly 1,200 new units in Jewish neighborhoods in East Jerusalem and the West Bank settlement blocs. (Lior Mizrahi/AFP/Getty Images)
The Jewish High Holidays begin Wednesday at sundown. This year’s “Days of Awe” bring a somber anniversary. It is 40 years since Arab armies launched a surprise attack on Israel on Yom Kippur. It was as close as the Jewish state would ever come to defeat and remains a trauma for the country.
In this series of analysis and commentary, Michael Goldfarb looks at the contemporary meaning of Jewishness in America, Israel and Europe.