By Doron Krakow A remarkable event took place in Malibu, California, this past Sunday. The Shalom Institute, one of the extraordinary JCCs of North America, broke ground ahead of its anticipated return to a campsite ravaged in the Woolsey Fire five years ago. That season’s devastating wildfires wreaked havoc across California and tore through the […]
Fortitude and Resilience Read More »
Doron Krakow, Israel, Opinion, USA
By Eric George Tauber CINCINNATI, Ohio — How do we get through difficult times? How can we find a ray of hope when all we see are shadows? During the COVID-19 pandemic, many of us turned to streaming services like Netflix to cope with our feelings of boredom and isolation. My personal favorites were works
‘All The Light We Cannot See’ Illuminates Dark Places Read More »
Eric George Tauber, Holocaust, Opinion, Theatre, Film & Broadcast
The painful irony of the Jewish allegiance to progressive causes is that it has occasionally been reciprocated with betrayal, as some factions within these movements have fostered prejudicial narratives against Israel. [Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel]
Shedding Our Illusions Read More »
Holocaust, Israel, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, Opinion, USA
By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — When England declared war on Germany in 1914 and again in 1939 it had not been invaded, its frontiers crossed or its citizens murdered. The basis for the outbreak of hostilities in both instances was simply a mutual defense agreement with other countries. War is a terrible thing.
By Steve Kramer KFAR SABA, Israel — “Under the shadow of the horrors of October 7, 2023 and the war, the National Library of Israel made the decision to open its new home to readers and researchers as of Sunday, October 29, 2023.” The Library was due to open on October 17, but given the
In Time of Strife, Israel’s New National Library Opens Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Israel, Opinion, Steve Kramer
By Mara Hochberg-Miller SAN DIEGO — There are no words. I have been struggling with what to say because I have no words. And what can I say, that hasn’t been said already, or better? Finally, I decided I must write for me. And for the off chance that someone outside of my echo chamber
The Israel-Hamas War: Why Are You So Silent Now? Read More »
Israel, Middle East, Opinion, USA
By Bruce S. Ticker PHILADELPHIA — The headline that Mike Johnson hoped for on Friday: “Democrats betray Israel.” Instead he got this New York Times headline: “House Passes Bill Tying Israel Aid to Spending Cuts With Nothing for Ukraine.” More to the point, let’s try: “Putin wins first round against Ukraine with help from GOP
Putin’s New Man in Washington Games Israel Read More »
Bruce Ticker, International, Israel, Opinion, USA
Former San Diego Police Chief Shelley Zimmerman declares that people should “loudly, quickly and publicly call out hate in all its forms.” She faults the San Diego Union-Tribune for remaining silent for a week about an antisemitic cartoon posted by Lallia Allali on her Facebook page that pictured a Jewish Star operating as a buzz saw to slice through the bodies of babies. [Donald H. Harrison]
By Jerry Klinger Boley, Oklahoma, Creek Nation, Indian Territory, was established as an all-Black town on the land of Creek Indian “Freedwoman” Abigail Barnett in 1903. When the Five Tribes, Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Muscogee (Creek), and Seminoles, were forcibly removed from their homelands in the 1830s–40s, people enslaved by the tribes also made the long
Okfuskee County, Rosenwald Schools, and Boley Read More »
Jerry Klinger, Jewish History, Opinion, USABy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — Is there such a thing as collective trauma? It seems there is, and Google defines and explains it as “the psychological distress that a group — usually an entire culture, community, or another large group of people — experience in response to a shared trauma. In order to
By Steve Kramer KFAR SABA, Israel — My friend Jeff, whom I’ve been friends with since at least kindergarten asked, “How are you doing?” Below is a slightly longer version of my answer. Jeff, Michal and I are agitated, distraught, and doing a lot of volunteering. Five days a week we pick up laundry at
By Bruce S. Ticker PHILADELPHIA — We cannot be blamed for suspecting that 40-year-old Samantha Woll was stabbed to death at her Detroit home because of the crisis in Israel. Her murder occurred two weeks after Hamas butchered 1,400 Jews in southern Israel, followed by Israel’s merciless bombing of Gaza. She was a prominent political
Free Palestine? Free the Brooklyn Bridge Read More »
Bruce Ticker, Israel, Opinion, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA
By David Anderson The Moderate Voice It was tempting to think that antisemitism was if not a thing of the past at least in abeyance. That said, most conspiracy theories are at base antisemitism: there’s always the “international bankers” “pulling the levers” “controlling the media” nonsense about. All of these hearken back to older antisemitic
There Are No ‘Two Sides’ in Gaza Read More »
Israel, Middle East, Opinion, USA
By Doron Krakow Saturday, October 28, will be three weeks. Three weeks since the horrific, savage slaughter of innocents—children in front of parents, whole families burned alive, concertgoers mowed down by the hundreds—the images provided by the butchers themselves are now etched into our minds and hearts. The death toll continues to climb, as does
The War Comes Home Read More »
Doron Krakow, Israel, Opinion, USA