Columns

Two writers’ views of Israel and a sad goodbye

Oshrat Barel

  Israeli culture Every year there is an Israeli book or two that tries to shed new light on the complicated situation in Israel. I found two recent books very interesting and in a way even complementary.  “The Industry of Lies” by Ben-Dror Yemini explores the mechanism that causes… Read more »

Bring your light into the world at Chanukah

Amy Hirshberg Lederman

Chanukah is a holiday with many names. Some call it the Festival of Lights, while others refer to it as the Feast of Rededication or the Holiday of Miracles. Its multiplicity of names suggests a variety meanings. The historical version of Chanukah, recorded in the Book of Maccabees, chronicles… Read more »

Local people, places, travels and simchas – 11.7.14

Bill and Wendy Fishkind with the Cessna 182 at Lanseria Airport in South Africa

Bucket list check-off For Bill and Wendy Fishkind, African travel has always been on their radar; however, for two weeks in September, they traveled on the African continent without radar. Bill and Wendy are both licensed pilots. They flew commercially from the United States to Johannesburg. Once there, they… Read more »

Terror demands appropriate, careful response

Oshrat Barel

Terror in Israel, again Since the recent escalation of terror in Israel, I have been asked about one of the latest incidents in which a young Israeli Arab from Kafr Kana ran toward an Israeli police car and stabbed at the car. Several policemen stepped out of the car… Read more »

At Thanksgiving time, an exercise in mindfulness

Cindy Sher

CHICAGO (JTA) — Last year, for a month before Thanksgiving I jotted down one thing for which I was grateful every night before I went to bed. Here are some of the 30 blessings I recorded: • A warm bed. • Airplanes that fly me to visit my family… Read more »

At Thanksgiving time, making a leap to feed the needy

LOS ANGELES (JTA) — As we prepare for our Thanksgiving feasts, a 90-year-old Jewish man named Arnold Abbott is stirring the pot in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., about hunger and homelessness in America. Or is it that Abbott, who in defiance of a controversial new city ordinance has been cited… Read more »

For mom, now is always the perfect time

Amy Hirshberg Lederman

My mother called last night when I was out. Her voice on the answering machine sounded somewhat depressed but the message belied her tone. “Hello darling, this is mom.  I’m calling with some good news.  We’ve turned the clocks back an hour, so there’s only a two-hour time difference… Read more »

Local people, places, travels and simchas – 10.24.14

A “throwback” photo of Marlyne Freedman from her Omaha days

Omaha Jewish Reunion A reunion usually refers to a high school, college, or family gathering. From Sept. 12-14, Marlyne Freedman attended the first-ever Omaha Jewish Reunion. Born and bred in the “Gateway to the West,” Marlyne took this three-day trip down memory lane. The weekend included social, educational, and… Read more »

Exodus to Berlin, Rabbi Akiva and a kind family

Oshrat Barel

Current Israel “I have a dream,” wrote a young Israeli, Naor Narkis, several years ago, describing the life he would love to have. Now the 25-year-old is leading a social protest that is making him a role model for many young Israelis, even though for weeks he kept his… Read more »

Naivety lost, but hope for peace must always remain

Oshrat Barel

Current Israel So much has already been written about the past summer in Israel, the kidnap and murder of our three teens, nonstop missiles firing into Israel, tunnels, terrorism and the double standards of the international media. It is almost four months since it began. Only last week, while… Read more »

Local people, places, travels and simchas – 9.12.14

Simon Esbit at Yad Vashem

Israel summer travel 2014 In addition to synagogue summer missions, which have been covered in AJP first-person accounts, Tucsonans traveled to Israel for diverse reasons. Here are highlights of some of their sojourns: From the end of January through the beginning of June, Simon Esbit, 17, participated in Tichon… Read more »

In Israel, keeping an appointment made 80 years ago

Rabbi Israel Becker of Tucson (left) and former Chief Rabbi of Israel Meir Lau in Tel Aviv in May

One winter night in the mid-1960s, when I was a young teenager, the stage was set for a very important meeting in Israel this past May. Unbeknownst to me, the true genesis for this meeting had begun some 80 years ago. On that winter night, a man arrived at… Read more »

Greece, Israel mission sparks visions of future

Holocaust memorial stars on the railroad tracks at Salonika, Greece

We sang “Happy Birthday” in Hebrew to 9-year-old Miriam in the Athens Jewish Community School;  we talked with teenagers Gala and Tal at a summer camp near Salonika;  we listened in Tel Aviv as Yuval who lost both arms and Tzipi who was paralyzed told us how they used their abilities… Read more »

Praying for three boys whose plight hits close to home

Racheli Frenkel, center, mother of kidnapped teenager Naftali Frenkel, stands with the mothers of the other abducted teens, Eyal Yifrah and Gilad Shaar, outside her home in Nof Ayalon in central Israel, June 17, 2014. (Yossi Zeliger/Flash 90)

KARNEI SHOMRON, West Bank (JTA) — Four days into the search for three kidnapped Israeli teens, I attended a group prayer session dedicated to their safe return. Dozens of women gathered together to read responsively psalms seeking God’s mercy and intervention before the start of our morning Jewish studies… Read more »

At prayer vigils, Israelis gather in moment of unity over kidnapping

Israelis at Rabin Square in Tel Aviv praying for the release of three kidnapped Jewish teenagers, June 15, 2014. (Gideon Markowicz/FLASH90)

GIVAT SHMUEL, Israel (JTA) — On the rolling green fields of a suburban Tel Aviv park, hundreds gathered to pray for the imminent rescue of three kidnapped Israeli teenagers. Rabbis delivered speeches, singer Yonatan Razel performed two pieces based on liturgical invocations of God’s mercy, and a prayer was… Read more »

Local people, places, travels and simchas 6.6.14

TribeFest 2014 From March 16-18, six Tucsonans — Pamela Epstein, Dave Hausler, Marina Kandova, Ari Magill, and Amy and Ben Pozez, accompanied by Sarah Langert, Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona leadership development and public relations director, traveled to New Orleans for TribeFest 2014. This biennial national event, organized by… Read more »

At Shavuot, celebrating the giving of the law — and the mother-in-law?

What does my mother-in-law have to do with my married life, columnist Edmon J. Rodman recalls foolishly asking soon after he was married 32 years ago. (Edmon J. Rodman)

LOS ANGELES (JTA) — In the Ten Commandments, the Torah tells us to “Honor your father and your mother,” but on mothers-in-law, it’s mum. That is until we come to the two-day holiday of Shavuot and read the Book of Ruth, which records the relationship between Ruth and her… Read more »

Restoring my German roots

Gabrielle Selz

SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. (JTA) — Four years ago, I applied to re-obtain German citizenship on behalf of my son and myself. Neither of us was born in Germany. I was born in sunny California and my son on Long Island. But I had learned that under the German Constitution, “Former… Read more »

Sacrifices add to the power of Israel’s Independence Day

From Commemoration to Celebration The uniqueness and in a way, also the beauty, of Israel’s Independence Day (Yom Haatzmaut) is that it doesn’t stand on its own. Holocaust Memorial Day (Yom HaShoah) and the Memorial Day for Fallen Soldiers and Victims of Terror (Yom Hazikaron) serve as the buildup,… Read more »