By 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
By Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California — The heinous events of October 7 in Israel are difficult to reconcile with the modern world’s ethos. After World War II, many believed that the atrocities faced by Jewish communities were behind them and that such darkness would not be revisited upon them. Yet, as Mark
The Culture of Biophilia vs. the Culture of Necrophilia Read More »
Israel, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, Opinion
By Boris Kheyfets Israel must assume the mantle of moral leadership in the West. A decisive military victory, buoyed by a program of De-Nazification, will compel the West to abandon its obsession with luxury beliefs and empower the West to solve problems that matter. Israel and the Morality of the West October 7, 2023 was
Israel: The Moral Bulwark of the West Read More »
Holocaust, International, Israel, Jewish History, Opinion, USA
By Ira Sharkansky, Ph.D JERUSALEM — More than 350,000 reservists have been called up. Many have been sent to the north, and many have been practicing an invasion of Gaza. But there are delays. Some, with the support of the U.S., say that we should wait until the return of hostages. Others say that
Waiting for the Invasion of Gaza Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Israel, Opinion, USABy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel —The eyes of the world are focused on the Gaza Strip at the moment for a variety of reasons. Is Israel going to launch a ground offensive on the northern part of the Strip, after having told the inhabitants there to move south if they want to avoid being
Heartbroken, But Not Broken Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Israel, OpinionBy Bruce S. Ticker PHILADELPHIA — If Israel sought to cripple Hamas, they would have targeted Shifa Hospital last week rather than Ahli Arab Hospital, both in Gaza City. During past conflicts, the Hamas leadership cowered underneath al Shifa to deter Israel from destroying that facility. Unless Hamas moved its headquarters, what did Israel have
Anatomy of ‘500’ Murders Read More »
Bruce Ticker, Israel, Opinion
By Steve Kramer KFAR SABA, Israel — All my readers know that Israel is undergoing a major assault, which in its first day was the most horrific in Jewish history since the Holocaust. And this in one day! It’s hard for Israelis to get our heads around this existential war, but even more so for
What if New Jersey Were Israel? Read More »
Israel, Opinion, Steve Kramer, USABy Steve Kramer KFAR SABA, Israel — We all have, or should have, concern about the prevalence of Jew-hatred on American college campuses. Previously it was couched in anti-Israel phrases, but lately it’s become blatantly about Jews in general. Frankly, this is the attitude in the U.S. towards Jews in the 1930s, coinciding with local
By Gedaliah Borvick JERUSALEM — A few days after the outbreak of the war, I went into a neighborhood hardware store where two old timers were muttering that things would be different today if only Begin were still prime minister. My goal is not to disparage Netanyahu or any of Israel’s politicians. Rather, I would
If Only We Had Menachem Begin Read More »
Gedaliah Borvick, Israel, Jewish History, Middle East, Opinion
By Heidi Gantwerk SAN DIEGO — On Tuesday, I, along with Federation Board Chair David Bark, flew to Washington D.C. to gather with more than 200 Federation and partner agency leaders, philanthropists, and many national officials — all in support of Israel. We heard extraordinarily strong words of support from Congressional leadership from both sides
Jewish Federation CEO: My Trip to Washington in Support of Israel Read More »
Heidi Gantwerk, Israel, Opinion, San Diego County, USA