The close connection that Yeshiva University and its students maintain with Israel is undeniable. Love for Eretz Yisrael and a deep rooted tendency towards Zionism characterize nearly every student on campus. As the premier modern Jewish institution in America, YU has always maintained a close relationship with the state of Israel, and its students have always shown a keen interest in Israeli Affairs. Now, as the fiftieth anniversary of the State of Israel approaches, The Commentator looks back at its coverage of Israeli affairs throughout the years.

My grandparents came to Eretz Haqqodesh in 1888 from the village of A-Tawila, northwest of Sanaa, the capital of Yemen. They settled in Ir Haqqodesh.

In an April 20, 1998 IDF radio interview of Israel’s Justice Minister Tzahi Hanegbi, Hanegbi stated, "Our wish has always been to have direct negotiations without any outside intervention and with minimum outside pressure . . . [However] we are willing to accept some form of intervention by other elements, as long as t hey’re objective and do not adopt a one-sided position."

In an institution where the majority of the students describe themselves as religious Zionists, it should come as no surprise that there over a dozen individuals on our undergraduate campus are estimated to have served, in one capacity or another, in the Israeli Defense Forces. In a report written to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the State of Israel, The Commentator interviewed a number of these students/soldiers in an effort to see how these young men view their school's commitment to the Israeli nation, as well as how these students have adjusted to a school whose student body has little knowledge of what it means to be a warrior in the Middle East.

Achievement in Israel: YU Alumni Creating the Future

In Israel today, Mizrachi, the religious Zionist party, is one of the largest political movements. It follows suit that Yeshiva University, standing at the center of modern Orthodoxy in America, should have strong ties to Israel. The Rav, Rabbi Yosef Dov Soloveitchik, was a big supporter of Israel; and he himself was a me mber of the Mizrachi movement. With this in mind, one would expect to hear of YU alumni who make aliyah and strongly impact Israeli life.

Perspectives at 50

• A New Appreciation
• Expectations and Reality, Fifty Years Later
• A Cynic Trumped; but Skepticism Triumphant
• One Eye on Jerusalem
• A State or a Disaster
• Sins of the past
• Just Another Opinion
• The Table is Turned
• Reflections on Israel in its Jubilee Year
• Ani Iparon