Haredi Orthodox Jews watching the victory speech of President Obama at the American Center in Jerusalem, Nov. 7, 2012. (Miriam Alster/Flash90/JTA) TEL AVIV (JTA) – Most Israelis were asleep as the polls closed in America and voters waited for the results, but on one rooftop in central Tel Aviv a party with loud classic rock music and flashing lights was going strong. It was the pro-Obama election-watching party of Israel’s… Read more »
President Obama at Camp David, Oct. 21, 2012. (Official White House photo by Pete Souza) WASHINGTON (JTA) — The day after the election looks a lot like the day before for President Obama, particularly in areas that have attracted the attention of Jewish voters: Tussling with Republicans domestically on the economy and health care, and dancing gingerly with Israel around the issue of a… Read more »
I’m writing this while it’s still very fresh. Because I feel like I need to process it all. Earlier this week I was engaged in a heated discussion in the comments section of a fellow blogger and fellow mom of food allergic kids about how Israel doesn’t take food… Read more »
Universal Health Care is not all Peaches and Herb, as I once thought. (And yes, by Peaches and Herb, I mean peaches and cream. But ever since I accidentally once said “peaches and herb” (with a soft h) when I really meant peaches and cream, I am compelled to… Read more »
One of the first blogs I wrote about my Aliyah experience was a basic explanation of why we moved to Hannaton, and centered around our desire to live in an intentional community. I wrote this post less than a month after landing in Israel and only 12 days into… Read more »
I am 38 years old. Now you know. But I don’t know. I don’t know how I can possibly be 38 years old. Firstly, because in my mind, my mother is 38 years old. And physics teaches us that my mom and I can’t be the same age. In… Read more »
I really love the word alternative. A little too much, probably. When I imagine the word alternative in my mind it’s pure white. It represents something good, something spiritual, something I can connect too. Like Yom Kippur. Like reflection. Contemplation. Healing. Forgiveness. Fasting. When I let my mind rest,… Read more »
What to do when the novelty wears off? This is the question I didn’t realize I have been asking myself all summer. What happens after you’ve lived in a new country for a full year, a full four seasons? What happens when you’re no longer the hot new family… Read more »
Do you celebrate Rosh Hashana like your parents did? What do you borrow from the High Holiday celebrations of your youth? This is what I am thinking today on Rosh Hashana 5773, Day Two. It occurred to me this morning, the second day of the new Jewish Year that we… Read more »
I just added a new category to my blog: War. I hesitated before I clicked. I’m a superstitious kind of girl, for one. And, two, I do think our thoughts impact our reality. If I add a war category to my blog, how does that impact my reality? Call… Read more »
Every other week I have the distinct pleasure of partaking in a woman’s group in the community in which I live in Northern Israel. The woman’s group, which was informally started almost a year ago and has grown to a bi-weekly gathering of about 10 – 12 women, has… Read more »
When someone dies, we often use that opportunity to express how we truly feel about them. And how we truly feel about them is often… beautiful. “You were a light in my life.” “I’m so grateful we were friends.” “Thank you for making a difference in the world.” It… Read more »
Do you remember where you were during the September 11 attacks in the United States? Do you remember where you were during the Holocaust? Think now to how you relate to the victims of the 9/11 attacks compared to how you relate to the victims of the Holocaust. If… Read more »
Hours ago I was at the computer giggling, putting the finishing touches on a post explaining why I want to be like comedienne Sarah Silverman. I was feeling very bold and brave as I pressed “publish”; even daring with my mind anonymous internet lunatics to post crazy biblically-inspired apocalyptic… Read more »
Obama surrogate Jack Lew making a point during his debate with Romney surrogate Tevi Troy at Green Road Synagogue in Beachwood, Ohio, with moderator Nathan Diament listening in the background, Nov. 1, 2012. (Ron Kampeas) BEACHWOOD, Ohio (JTA) — The family wedding. The entrance to the local synagogue. The future of Israel. Your precious grandchild. In the final days of what has been a close and bitterly contested election, it’s not so much that nothing is sacred in the fight for the Jewish vote.… Read more »
Sarah Conley, a visitor to the "Big Food: Health, Culture and the Evolution of Eating," exhibit at the Yale Peabody museum of Natural History in New Haven, Conn., grimaces as she handles the eguivalent of five pounds of human fat while her sister, Gloria, looks on. (Yale School of Public Health). NEW HAVEN, Conn. (JTA) — What is it with Jews and food? We’re obsessed about it, but often with the wrong kind, like the large bagel we crave on the way into work — 337 calories, add another 50, plus 3 grams of saturated fat, for one tablespoon of cream… Read more »
This image shows Tropical Storm Ivo in the Pacific Ocean on Sept. 12, 2001. The storm never reached hurricane status, but did make political waves when it was nearly named "Israel." (NASA) While Hurricane Sandy wreaked havoc on East Coast Jewish communities, another storm 11 years ago made serious political waves in the Jewish world. It’s not unusual for Jewish organizations to clash with United Nations agencies over issues related to Israel. But in 2001, Jewish groups’ concern for Israel drew… Read more »
Members of HaNoar Ha'Oved V'HaLomed, a left-wing youth group, attending the rally in memory of the slain Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in Tel Aviv, Oct. 27, 2012. (Roni Schutzer/Flash90/JTA) TEL AVIV (JTA) — About a year before Guy Ben-Simon was born, his parents attended the Tel Aviv rally where Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated. It was a night of shock and sadness, they recalled for him while he was growing up. They had called all of their friends, telling… Read more »
Erica Fishbein volunteered with JDC's Entwine group in south Brooklyn following Hurricane Sandy. (Courtesy Cheryl Fishbein) NEW YORK—Hurricane Sandy stormed into New York and New Jersey with unmitigated force, carrying death and destruction, disrupting lives, and devastating neighborhoods in America’s most densely populated regions—which happen to be home to some of the country’s largest Jewish populations. In response, the Jewish community banded together to meet… Read more »
BENJAMIN SKYLAR HAFFEY, son of Elizabeth Sennet Haffey and Kenneth John Haffey, will celebrate becoming a Bar Mitzvah on Saturday, Nov. 17 at Congregation Anshei Israel. He is the grandson of Ann Ida Berlin Haffey of Tucson, and Joseph James Haffey of Needham, Mass. Benjamin attends BASIS Middle School… Read more »
