Real people. Real stories. Real fear.
I was accepted to be a Times of Israel blogger a few weeks ago, but I couldn’t bring myself to write something until today. Sitting in my quiet split-level home in Overland Park, Kan., my biggest...
View ArticleDon’t forget about Iran
With the current war against Hamas, the most recent round of talks between Iran and the P5+1 member states barely made headlines. Understandably so in Israel, where civilians continue to live under...
View ArticleFight terrorism. Fight extremism. Stop fighting each other.
You might want to just unfriend me on Facebook now. That is, if you are one of my friends who’s so far to the left or so far to the right to listen to different opinions or narratives. I have been a...
View ArticleThis war made me … skinny
The other day, a young Israeli woman wrote a blog that she since removed about emotional eating during war. She got a lot of heat for it, with all the “weightier” problems that people faced during...
View ArticleIgnorance breeds fear, fear breeds hate, hate breeds violence
I cannot remember a time before when I was anything but proud to be Jewish. As a little girl, I often “competed” to be more Jewish than my Jewish friends, wanting to know Hebrew better, to keep Shabbat...
View ArticleScience in the midst of the war with Hamas
A friend and colleague sent me his article the other day about an incredible Ben-Gurion University researcher, Simona Bar-Haim. He sent it to me because I had the privilege of meeting Bar-Haim during...
View ArticleYou don’t want reporters to write what you want to read
A study last year found that being a reporter was nearly the worst job one could hold. The pay can be bad, the hours tough and the public often grueling and insensitive. Being a Jewish journalist –...
View ArticleHow to deal with Islamic State? Promote inclusiveness and tolerance
The Washington Post recently featured an article on the revival of Yazidi culture and faith in Iraq by Gabriel Scheinmann, the director of policy at the Jewish Policy Center. Such a revival occurred...
View ArticleYoung Israelis try to crowd-fund their way to Major League Baseball playoffs
Even though there is such a mad rush before Sukkot and so much going on in the world, when I learned about these two young men who are trying to follow their sports dream, I couldn’t help but stop for...
View ArticleArmenian-American lobby is powerful, despite overt support of Iran, Russia...
We hear a lot of noise from the pro-Israel and Cuban-American lobbies, vaunted on Capitol Hill and in the media. Rarely do we hear about another highly influential force — the Armenian-American lobby....
View ArticleJumping in puddles and finding rainbows
I remember the day my zayde passed away. I was at home, brooding over some teenage problem, when my dad called, then took us to the hospital to kiss him goodbye. His stomach was a beach ball from the...
View ArticleChristmas in Middle America
It’s the day after Christmas and I can hear the buzz of the heater and the clicking of my computer keyboard as I sit alone in the office. 8:30 a.m. and no one is here yet. Over the past week, my...
View ArticleTaking Israel by Storm
Tears streamed down my face last Thursday night, as I stood on a platform several hundred feet above the Kotel. Staring down at the holiest site of the Jewish people, I couldn’t help but cry — tears of...
View ArticlePurging and preparing on an emotional, physical rollercoaster ride
Four days until the movers come to pack my belongings and transport them from Middle America to a port city and then onto a boat bound for Israel. Of all the “projects” involved in making aliyah,...
View ArticleChange in attitude is change in reality
When I woke up on my first Sunday morning in Israel I was full of hope. The pitter-patter of my children’s feet on the still filthy living room floor of our Jerusalem apartment made me chuckle. “We’ll...
View ArticleRunning uphill with my eye on the prize
I ran up the hill to the Israel Democracy Institute (IDI) again this morning. The hill is long and steep and my legs start to burn as I climb the incline to Pinsker Street. “Don’t slow down,” I...
View ArticleThis Rosh Hashanah, my world is beginning (engaged in Israel)
Rosh Hashanah is a paradox. On the one hand, it is a celebration of the creation of the world and the sweetness of God’s gifts. On the other hand, it is a day of collective judgement. For many years, I...
View ArticleShabbat at Gan Hapaamon: In the City of Gold — love, hate, laughter and murder
It was a perfect Shabbat Sukkot in Jerusalem. The weather was warm, but somehow pleasant. We had loads of guests to fill our new Sukkah and the children played together, laughing, squealing —...
View ArticleJerusalem taunted me: Did you make the right decision?
Ding. An email pops up in the corner of my computer screen. It’s in Hebrew, but I catch the gist of it before it shrinks back into its tiny envelope. Chime. A new WhatsApp message from my daughter’s...
View ArticleArmenian-American lobby is powerful, despite overt support of Iran, Russia...
We hear a lot of noise from the pro-Israel and Cuban-American lobbies, vaunted on Capitol Hill and in the media. Rarely do we hear about another highly influential force — the Armenian-American lobby....
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