Shlicha’s/Shaliach’s View

I am writing this several days after Gilad Shalit was released, Muammar Gadhafi was killed and the Jewish people worldwide have celebrated Simchat Torah, which marks the end of Torah readings for one year and the start of Torah readings for the new year. First there was darkness, the… Read more »

“Mr. Prime Min­ister, I know you are watching us now — I recommend you take a good look: What you see now, this enormous crowd, here and all across Israel, is not the public you know. This is no longer the public that agreed with any decision the governments… Read more »

In the last several weeks Israel has been going through one of the biggest waves of protest ever. The people in the street are calling for social justice. Most protestors define themselves as middle class. They’re raising a cry over the high cost of living and the unequally spread… Read more »

Guy Gelbart

In the last few weeks I attended, along with several members of the Jewish community, a series of talks that was supposed to focus on a just peace between Israel and the Palestinian Arabs. The series, “Steadfast Hope: Perspectives on Peace and Justice for Palestine and Israel,” organized in… Read more »

Guy Gelbart

Why do I expect American Jews to commemorate Yom Hazikaron, Israel’s Memorial Day?” This question has been keeping sleep from my eyes for the last several weeks. As a shaliach, getting people to come and celebrate the Israel 63 Festival on May 15 at the Tucson Jewish Community Center… Read more »

Guy Gelbart

In June 2010 Peter Beinart published his famous article in The New York Review of Books, “The Failure of the American Jewish Establishment,” in which he concludes that young American Jews have checked their Zionism at the door of liberalism. Based on Beinart’s assessment, I arrived in the United… Read more »

Guy Gelbart

A wind of change has been blowing through the Middle East. What this wind will bring us is yet to be seen. Will it bring democracy to the Arab world? Will it push the Arab world into the hands of dark fundamentalist Islamic movements? Will extreme ideological regimes like… Read more »

Guy Gelbart

On Jan. 13, Israeli Minister of Education Gideon Saar awarded Kiryat Malachi the Israel Education Prize for this year. Kiryat Malachi, a town of 23,000 residents linked to the Jewish Federations of Tucson, Phoenix, and Seattle, was one of 14 municipalities considered in the final selection for the prize.… Read more »

The Carmel fire disaster has raised questions regarding the Israel-Diaspora relationship. While many American Jews choose to support Israel in this time of need through donations and e-mails of encouragement and caring, others have raised tough questions: “Israel is a rich and wealthy country, why should we support it?”… Read more »

Chanukah: a celebration of light, freedom, heroism and courage, the spirit of the Maccabees and the miracle of the vessel of oil. Of all the Hebrew songs we sing at Chanukah, I cherish one above all others: “Anu Nosim Lapidim — We are Carrying Torches” by Aharon Zeev. “We… Read more »

Guy Gelbart

Demonizing, Delegitimizing, Destroying (DDD), a very clear and simple strategy led by anti-Israel movements across the world, is now gaining power in the United States. On Monday, Oct. 11, Norman Finkelstein, one of the leaders of this hate-spreading approach, was in Tucson to address audiences at the University of… Read more »

(L-R) Sharon, Noya, Hila, Ital and Moshe Babel-Pour

Four years have passed since I began my journey as your community shaliach (emissary) and Israel Center director and now it’s time to say thank you and goodbye. I want to share with you my deepest appreciation and gratitude for this incredible experience. For the past four years, the… Read more »