Limmud, a festival of arts and discussion, will take place in Beijing in December and in a smaller form in June. Organizers say it could be a historic moment for Jewish life in China. [The Jewish Chronicle Online]  The bees found in 3,000-year-old hives in the Jordan Valley were discovered to have come to the area from Turkey. [Los Angeles Times] Noam Sheizaf says that signs point to the next Knesset begin just as conservative and hawkish as the current one. [Foreign Policy] Actor Matt Damon continues to …More

A few minutes after midnight on July 11, the night the Knesset passed its anti-boycott law, a hundred or so young Israelis gathered at Rabin Square in Tel Aviv. Since the square is being renovated, they clustered along one of its edges. Some of them improvised protest signs, facing them towards busy Ibn Gvirol Avenue. Others were chatting. After about an hour, it was all over. Watching from the bustling pubs and coffee shops on the other side of the street, it was impossible to tell that Israeli democracy had just …More