Jacob Sivak
ARTICLES BY: Jacob Sivak
How the Jewish People Can Unite: A Lesson From Yavne and the Mishnah
On May 13, at a national conference in Jerusalem dedicated to repairing Israeli society and building a shared civic future, Israel’s President, Isaac Herzog, warned that division...
The Jewish Bund Was Popular — But It Couldn’t Save Lives Like a Jewish State Could
If you are a fan of klezmer music, you may be familiar with a catchy up-tempo Yiddish song "Barikadn" (barricades), recorded by the popular band The Klezmatics. The...
A Growing Majority of the World’s Jews Are Israelis
A Jewish friend of mine made what I thought was an interesting observation the other day. We were chatting about world affairs, and he pointed...
Israel and Canada Both Use American Fighter Jets — But Politics Keeps Them Apart
After the attack by the US and Israel on Iran, Canada issued a statement recognizing that Iran is the main source of terror in the Middle East,...
The Surprising Origins of the Passover Seder
In his popular book, Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, the Israeli writer Yuval Noah Harari contrasts the universality of religions such as Christianity and Islam...
History and Archaeological Evidence Shows Jews Were Pioneers in Learning and Education
The opening of a new building for the National Library of Israel was one of the events overshadowed by the October 7 attack on Israel. The library, almost...
Jewish Survival Depends on the Existence of a Jewish State
“The past is never dead, it is not even past," a quotation from William Faulkner’s novel, Requiem for a Nun, is frighteningly apt today in...
Jewish Indigeneity in the Holy Land: Next Year in Jerusalem
The claim that Zionism is just a modern form of European nationalism is an argument used by anti-Zionist, pro-Palestinian groups to uncouple the connection between...
Australia’s Jewish History Might Have Unfolded Differently
The deadly pogrom that took place in Australia at a Hanukkah event on Bondi Beach was the culmination of more than two years of hate...
Are We at a Tipping Point? Will Larger Numbers of Jewish Americans Make Aliyah?
In The Arc of a Covenant (2022), a comprehensive book about the history of the relationship between the US and Israel, Walter Russell Mead points out that,...
Arab Israelis Enjoy the Rights of Democracy — The Same Can’t Be Said for Citizens of Other Middle East Countries
On October 13, the Israeli Knesset met to mark a ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel that included the release of Israeli hostages held by...
Why Israel Is Thriving Despite Years of War and International Attacks
An October 2025 ranking of the world’s economies, using 2026 projections from the International Monetary Fund, indicates that in spite of two years of existential...
Canada’s Indigenous People Who Support Zionism
For Jewish Canadians, the period after October 7 has been a lonely time. The Biblical phrase from the Book of Numbers, describing the Israelites as “a...
Canada’s Residential Schools and the Mistreatment of Jewish Children in Russia and Yemen
September 30 marked Truth and Reconciliation Day in Canada, a reminder that for more than a century, an estimated 150,000 aboriginal (First Nations, Métis, and...
