For more than a half-century, Israel has been forced to defend its existence against international political disapproval, racist calumny, and violence visited upon its citizens by terrorists of many stripes. While nations have always been made to defend their moral, political, economic, or social actions, Israel has the unique plight of having to defend its very right to exist. Covering Israel’s struggle for existence from the British occupation and the UN’s partition of Palestine, to the dashed hopes of the Oslo Accords and the second intifada, Yaacov Lozowick trains an enlightening, forthright eye on Israel’s strengths and failures. A lifelong liberal and peace activist, he explores Israel’s national and regional political, social, and moral obligations as well as its right to secure its borders and repel attacks both philosophical and military. Combining rich historical perspective and passionate conviction, Right to Exist sets forth the agenda of a people and a nation, and elegantly articulates Israel’s entitlement to a peaceful coexistence with its surrounding Arab neighbors and a future of security and pride.

A study of Jewish life in the Polish-Lithuanian town of Ejszyszki (Eisiskes), based largely on interviews with former residents of the town. Pt. 6 (pp. 557-697), "The Bitter End: 1933-41, " deals with the Holocaust period. The story of the destruction of the Jewish community is interlaced with the story of Eliach's family, the Sonensons, and their experiences during the war. Many Jews were killed by the Nazis and local collaborators on 25-26 September 1941. The Sonensons were among the few who managed to escape; they passed through some small ghettos and were then hidden by a Polish farmer, Kazimierz Korkuc. They returned to Eisiskes after the liberation, but Eliach's mother and baby brother were murdered in their home by rampaging Polish AK partisans in October 1944. Contends that, despite the relatively large number of rescuers, the majority of Poles were antisemitic and wished for a "Poland without Jews." The Nazis would not have been able to carry out the genocide of the Jews without widespread Polish and Lithuanian collaboration.

Sinai's book leads the student through the standard material for Probability Theory, with stops along the way for interesting topics such as statistical mechanics, not usually included in a book for beginners. The first part of the book covers discrete random variables, using the same approach, based on Kolmogorov's axioms for probability, used later for the general case. The text is divided into sixteen lectures, each covering a major topic. The introductory notions and classical results are included, of course: random variables, the central limit theorem, the law of large numbers, conditional probability, random walks, etc. Sinai's style is accessible and clear, with interesting examples to accompany new ideas. Besides statistical mechanics, other interesting, less common topics found in the book are: percolation, the concept of stability in the central limit theorem and the study of probability of large deviations. Little more than a standard undergraduate course in analysis is assumed of the reader. Notions from measure theory and Lebesgue integration are introduced in the second half of the text. The book is suitable for second or third year students in mathematics, physics or other natural sciences. It could also be used by more advanced readers who want to learn the mathematics of probability theory and some of its applications in statistical physics.

Russian analysts discuss postcommunist economic transformation. The end of the Cold War saw an unprecedented number of countries changing economic policies at the same time. One result has been the emergence of a new field of economics, postcommunist transformation theory. Written by prominent Russian analysts, the essays in this book discuss the economic policy problems that confront postcommunist countries. Most chapters focus on liberalization of the exchange rate and trade system, macroeconomic stabilization, and institutional reform. They also look at various policy options that have been pursued and their results. Underlying the book is the assumption that the transition to a market economy is both irreversible and the best path to sustained growth in Russia.

This groundbreaking study systematically treats recent policymaking trends, starting with a reconsideration of salient theoretical issues of policymaking and its study and culminating with a survey of current policy-related predicaments in various countries. Dror proposes that the task for social science research is to uncover underlying causes of policymaking inadequacies. Standard research methods, Dror states, have been unable to uncover the realities of important decisions made inside governments. In order to gain an understanding of pressing predicaments, he believes that policymakers need to examine the foundations of contemporary practices of present assumptions, and that they need a multiplicity of approaches to policymaking. After prescribing a set of requirements that policymaking must satisfy in order to adequately respond to challenges, Dror posits several improvements needed in education and in policy decision making. The book concludes with an extensive bibliography, including numerous important German works not found in other English-language studies. This book supplements the earlier basic theory and models propounded in Dror's Public Policymaking Reexamined by dealing with current trends. As a guide to public policy literature and related works, it will be invaluable to students and practitioners.

Banking and Finance Among Jews in Renaissance Italy is a historical book written by Yehiel Nissim Da Pisa. The book explores the role of Jews in the banking and finance industry during the Renaissance period in Italy. It examines the economic, social, and political conditions that led to the emergence of Jewish bankers and financiers in Italy and their impact on the economy of the region. The book provides a detailed account of the Jewish banking families and their business practices, including their involvement in international trade and the creation of credit networks. It also discusses the challenges faced by Jewish bankers, including anti-Semitic attitudes and discriminatory laws. Through extensive research and analysis of primary sources, Da Pisa offers a comprehensive understanding of the Jewish banking and finance industry in Renaissance Italy. The book is an essential read for anyone interested in the history of banking and finance, Jewish history, and the Renaissance period.Text Language Is English And Hebrew.This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the old original and may contain some imperfections such as library marks and notations. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions, that are true to their original work.

First Published in 1986. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

"Rav Abraham Isaac Kook (1865-1935) was one of the most influential--and controversial--rabbis of the twentieth century. A visionary writer and outstanding rabbinic leader, Kook was a philosopher, mystic, poet, jurist, communal leader, and veritable saint. The first chief rabbi of Jewish Palestine and the founding theologian of religious Zionism, he struggled to understand and shape his revolutionary times. His life and writings resonate with the defining tensions of Jewish life and thought.A powerfully original thinker, Rav Kook combined strict traditionalism and an embrace of modernity, Orthodoxy and tolerance, piety and audacity, scholasticism and ecstasy, and passionate nationalism with profound universalism. Though little known in the English-speaking world, his life and teachings are essential to understanding current Israeli politics, contemporary Jewish spirituality, and modern Jewish thought. This biography, the first in English in more than half a century, offers a rich and insightful portrait of the man and his complex legacy. Yehudah Mirsky clears away widespread misunderstandings of Kook's ideas and provides fresh insights into his personality and worldview. Mirsky demonstrates how Kook's richly erudite, dazzlingly poetic writings convey a breathtaking vision in which "the old will become new, and the new will become holy.""--

Tactical ability requires knowledge and skills: knowledge of patterns and tactical methods, and the skill to recognize them, combine them, and calculate accurately. This book features both composed studies and real-game positions. Composed positions distil tactics into their purest form: nothing irrelevant is present on the board. We can focus purely on the key ideas, which makes them an ideal learning tool. As one of the world's greatest experts on chess composition, Yochanan Afek is the perfect man to select the best studies for this purpose. In over-the-board chess (in which Afek is also highly accomplished), the tactical ideas tend to be less complex, but they may prove harder to identify - unless they are already familiar to you. Afek provides a case in point in his introduction, where the stunning final move of the 2016 world championship could not possibly have been missed by those familiar with a previous game. All the real-game positions in this book are taken from games by world champions (male or female). Following the structure of John Nunn's best-selling Learn Chess Tactics, in each chapter a theme is introduced and a number of examples are explained. Then the reader immediately gets to use this knowledge in a series of carefully selected exercises. Yochanan Afek is both a Grandmaster of Composition and an over-the-board International Master. This unique combination of talents makes him a highly insightful writer, noted for his work on the factors that make moves hard to see. He grew up in Tel-Aviv and now lives in Amsterdam. His greatest over-the-board success was winning the Paris Championship in 2002.

"Compressed sensing is an exciting, rapidly growing field, attracting considerable attention in electrical engineering, applied mathematics, statistics and computer science. This book provides the first detailed introduction to the subject, highlighting recent theoretical advances and a range of applications, as well as outlining numerous remaining research challenges. After a thorough review of the basic theory, many cutting-edge techniques are presented, including advanced signal modeling, sub-Nyquist sampling of analog signals, non-asymptotic analysis of random matrices, adaptive sensing, greedy algorithms and use of graphical models. All chapters are written by leading researchers in the field, and consistent style and notation are utilized throughout. Key background information and clear definitions make this an ideal resource for researchers, graduate students and practitioners wanting to join this exciting research area. It can also serve as a supplementary textbook for courses on computer vision, coding theory, signal processing, image processing and algorithms for efficient data processing"--

A former circus clown who was spared the gas chamber so that he might entertain thousands of Jews as they marched to their deaths, Adam Stein is now the ringleader at an asylum in the Negev desert populated solely by Holocaust survivors. "A tour de force."--"Commentary."

This ambitious work focuses on the world of Chinese thought during the Chunqiu (Springs and Autumns) period (722-451 B.C.E.), the two and a half centuries directly preceding and partly overlapping the time of Confucius, China's single most influential thinker. Ideas developed by Chunqiu statesmen and thinkers formed the intellectual milieu of Confucius and his disciples and contributed directly to the intellectual flowering of the Zhanguo (Warring States) era (453-221 B.C.E.), the formative period of the Chinese intellectual tradition. This study is the first attempt to systematically reconstruct major intellectual trends in pre-Confucian China. Foundations of Confucian Thought is based on an exploration of the Zuo zhuan, the largest pre-imperial historical text. Relying on meticulous textual and linguistic analysis, Yuri Pines argues that hundreds of the speeches of Chunqiu statesmen recorded in the Zuo zhuan were not, as has been argued, invented by the compiler of the treatise but reproduced from earlier sources, thus making it an authentic reflection of the Chunqiu intellectual tradition. By tracing changes in ideas and concepts throughout the Chunqiu period, Pines reconstructs

A Kabbalistic Universe is about how and why Existence came into being. It sets out the general scheme of the four Worlds of Emanation, Creation, Formation and Action and heir various archangelic, angelic, demonic and organic inhabitants. Drawing upon ancient, medieval and modern material this book brings the Kabbalistic tradition up to date so that the current generation can perceive what Existence is about and how they might play a conscious part in humanity's role of aiding God to behold God in the Mirror of Existence. This is a revised edition with additional graphics. These make the Divine principles involved more comprehensible. Once the terms and metaphysics are mastered, then new perceptions are possible regarding not only the structure and dynamics of Existence but also the workings of the angelics and demonics, Nature and the process of human evolution and its purpose.

This powerful memoir chronicles the life of one of America’s most celebrated rabbis—Rabbi Zalman M. Schachter-Shalomi, or “Reb Zalman” as he is fondly known to friends and followers. The book traces his life from a youth in the shadow of the Nazis through the tumultuous 1960s in America to his position as a renowned religious leader today. Often controversial for his attraction to cultural mavericks and religious rebels, Reb Zalman’s colorful lifetime includes a striking cast of characters across faith traditions, including Timothy Leary, Abraham Joshua Heschel, Thomas Merton, the Dalai Lama, and more. The book traces Reb Zalman’s work creating the vibrant Jewish Renewal movement that emphasizes spiritual experience and continues to touch Jews around the world today. Reb Zalman often illustrates his talks with anecdotes from his life, and My Life in Jewish Renewal brings together the life story of this beloved leader for the first time.