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Who could have envisioned a mob storming and ransacking the US capitol? Who believed fears of widespread Arab-Jewish rioting in Israels streets would come true? Who knew Benjamin Netanyahu would ever depart the Prime Ministers Balfour St. residence? Or that wed need to face health threats from our own (unvaxxed) friends and relatives?

For that matter, did we think that after more than two decades, the alarm would still be sounding over Irans growing proximity to nuclear weapons capability? The crush disaster at the Lag BOmer celebrations at Meron should have been predictable it was, to some but the appalling scale of the death toll shocked everyone.

So many contributors to the Times of Israel blogging platform wrote exquisitely on these developments, offering original ideas and capturing the emotion of the moment. And there were good surprises too: delightful essays from unexpected corners an Egyptian literature professor on the Six Day War; an Iranian dissident on the transformational impact of watching Schindlers List.

And, not so much surprising as inspiring: deep, nuanced rethinking about the choices we make in our families and social circles (one from Neshama Carlebach and another by Menachem Bombach), along with some thought pieces on Israel by my colleague Haviv Rettig-Gur, and one I wrote myself.

Here then is a sampling of just some (really, there were so many more) of the most powerful blog posts published during this mind-boggling year.

Supporters of US President Donald Trump climb the west wall of the the US Capitol on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Rena Magun

It was never about whether being Republican was OK. It was about supporting an unhinged, dangerous serial liar

Rea Bochner

I dont know if another Holocaust is possible in the US, but after what Ive seen lately, I do believe that at some point Jews will no longer be welcome here

* * *

Yossi Klein Halevi

Ive learned you cant cancel a people: Mohammed Darawshe and I are modeling a painful conversation about injustice and existential fears

* * *

Rachel Sharansky Danziger

Once I felt if only I explained more, if only I explained better, surely you would understand that Im fighting for my life. Not anymore.

* * *

Ammiel Hirsch

How could future Jewish leaders write an open, public letter in the middle of a war, missiles raining down on our people, without ever mentioning Hamas?

Evan Fallenberg

Can the people in this sad, beautiful, ravaged land ever learn to respect the differences and distinctions between us and use them for an enhanced joint future?

Damage caused by a violent mob at the Arabesque Arts and Residency Center in Acre, May 12 (courtesy)

* * *

Donniel Hartman

As criticism of the war shifts to a foundational critique of Israel itself, the country cant afford to not make its case. This it can do only by reclaiming the moral high ground

* * *

Bassem Eid

Its about Hamas seeing a chance to seize the narrative and increase its own influence and control over Palestinians in Jerusalem

Yossi Klein Halevi

If all it achieves is to liberate Israel from those who have tried to unravel the delicate balance between nationalism and democracy, decency and power, then dayenu its enough!

The newly sworn in Israeli government pose for a group photo at the presidents residence in Jerusalem on June 14, 2021.(Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

(illustration by Avi Katz)

Neshama Carlebach

Just as were exiting COVID lockdown into a touch-starved world, Ive had the uncomfortable realization that my familys tradition of hugging needs to be re-examined

* * *

Menachem Bombach

Just as God accepts us regardless of our weaknesses, so must we ultra-Orthodox accept our children when they choose a different way of life for themselves

Irans President Hassan Rouhani, right, visiting an exhibition of Irans new nuclear achievements in Tehran, Iran, April 10, 2021. (Iranian Presidency Office via AFP)

Michael Oren

The worlds largest state-sponsor of terror, sworn to destroy Israel, is approaching the nuclear threshold. Its not an existential threat for the US. It is for Israel.

* * *

John Holt

Despite former US AG Barrs claims, Libya did not carry out the horrific 1988 bombing of a plane over Scotland. The US should bring Iran to justice now

Frame from the 1993 movie, Schindlers List.

Kamal Abdel-Malek

In an excerpt from his memoir, a professor of Arabic literature describes the horror at learning his country had lost the Six Day War and the shockwaves that followed the defeat

* * *

Omid Safari

Spielbergs movie undid decades of lies, inspired me to visit Auschwitz, and taught me that the truth will always, eventually, come to light

Elizabeth Brenner Danziger

Will they think I am judging them for not getting the jab? Well, I do judge them a little, but thats not the reason Im not inviting them.

Sarah Tuttle-Singer

Today is Day 7 and I am shredded and somewhere, deep within a well of memory inside me, I can hear my mothers voice: This too shall pass

Josh Vlessing (right) with friends on a bus to Mt. Meron. April 29, 2021. (Courtesy Josh Vlessing)

Josh Vlessing

We went to Mount Meron expecting an unforgettable cultural experience. Then we got trapped in the crush. Were still processing what we saw there.

Illustrative. Israeli revelers at Independence Day celebrations, May 8, 2019. (Hadas Parush/Flash90)

Haviv Rettig-Gur

On Memorial Day, we do not grieve alone. We know, in the old, deep ways of knowing, that heaven and earth grieve at our side

I edit The Times of Israel's Ops & Blogs section, and I also co-host the storytelling live show and podcast WhyWhyWhy! (That needlework in my cover photo is by Yocheved Herschlag Muffs.)

See the rest here:
Voices of 2021: The year that boggled our collective minds - The Times of Israel