For years now, Syria’s White Helmets have been working to rescue civilians in the path of deadly battles. So, what they do, as civilians, is wait to see where they are needed and then rush in to help save lives by getting them out of the battle area. Sometimes using …
As a book reviewer, I often read books that are not of my own choosing. Even when I have a choice, and I am intrigued by a title, author, or description, I am often disappointed. So imagine my delight when I chose a book that I am thoroughly enjoying: Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader by Anne Fadiman (Farrar Straus and Giroux, 1998).
Friday is a wonderful day in Israel. Like weekends all over the world, it is a time of freedom. Away from work, our brains are free to think, to fly, to dream. In Israel, though, for Orthodox Jews (and yes, still women especially), while our minds are free, our hands …
Every time I think it can’t get worse on Facebook, Mark Zuckeberg proves me wrong. To start with the obvious, there are, for Jews and ideally for the world, two words in the English language that carry special and tragic meaning. The word, holocaust, with a lowercase “h” refers to …
No, I don’t actually own an assault rifle, but read on! When a person posts on Facebook as often as I do, and when a person writes a blog, he or she is also hoping for any feedback. That feedback can be positive or negative, but feedback and comments, “likes” …
Strange title, no? What do camels and falcons have to do with anything? If you are listening to international media channels, I don’t blame you for not understanding the connection. And, I won’t show you the picture…I wish I’d never seen it. In the south, the Bedouins and Arabs that …
A lot of my beautiful friends are decrying the world for not condemning Hamas for attacking Israeli civilian centers on the border. They’re like “it’s so horrible that the world has nothing to say when synagogues and Israeli playgrounds are hit with rockets, but they’ll be all upset when Israel retaliates!”. …
Gadi Eizenkot became the Chief of General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces on February 16, 2015. For over 100 days, Palestinians have been launching incendiary bombs against Israel. We have lost over 35,000 dunams of land. Fields decimated, crops destroyed. Orchards that took decades to grow are gone. The tool …
Some people woke up this morning feeling angry. Yes, I was among them, as well. Some people woke up in fear. However, this morning, I woke up with a different sense altogether: Faith. There is another aspect to who we are as Jews that also must come into play. We …
Fear is a terrible thing. It’s not something you can control and it’s often something that you can’t reason away. Many in Israel feel angry today. I can understand that. I’m angry too. But what I also am is realistic. We are probably heading for yet another war. And that …
This morning, Israel woke up angry. We have every right to be angry. Over our short weekend, our country was hit by nearly 200 rockets, missiles and mortars. Four people were injured; three of them in their own home. A playground was filled with the black smoke of an explosion. …
This is my Israel. Yesterday, Israelis were outside enjoying the peaceful Sabbath. Or, at least what should have been the peaceful Sabbath. While many of us were unaware what was happening, a massive missile barrage from Gaza was launched by the Palestinians. Mid-afternoon as I went to lie down for …
