Inside a Hasidic Schism
The powerful Gur sect in Israel has been rocked by internal violence, scandal and more. On two evenings in late May, the streets of Jerusalem were once again the scene of violent riots. Incensed mobs threw stones, glass […]
Category Archives: Politics
A Daycare Tragedy Opens My Eyes
Sometimes a single truth, belatedly discovered, can change one’s world view with surprising swiftness. The article that changed mine was published in Ha’aretz—a newspaper I never read, considering it, like most Israelis, to be far left of the […]
COVID is Ripping Israel Apart
When COVID-19 reached Israel last March, I was not unduly worried. Fifty years of firsthand experience with Israeli resilience and mutual cooperation, through wars, recessions, exploding buses and deep political turmoil, made me believe we would sail through […]
The Rebellion of Israel’s Haredim
In mid-January 2020, when Israelis first became dimly aware of a mysterious new virus coming from far-off China, most of our attention was focused closer to home. Although we empathized, we were more concerned about the inability of […]
An “Enlightened” Double Standard – The Hypocrisy of the Left
Last Shabbat my husband Alex began telling me about the huge hypocrisy of the Europeans in condemning Israel over the “occupation” and “right of return” considering how they have dealt with such matters themselves. I was astounded at the information he proceeded to give me
What Will It Take to Get the Haredim to Enlist?
For Israelis, bringing teenage sons and daughters barely out of high school to the army induction center to begin their compulsory military service is one of the most fraught and difficult realities of life. Underlying the cheerful, almost […]
American Jews Just Don’t Get It
In the late spring of 1967, I was a 17-year-old high school student about to graduate from the Hebrew Institute of Long Island. But instead of dreams about prom night, what occupied my mind—and I expect those of […]
Should Israel Deport African Asylum Seekers? – YES, IT SHOULD
We need to bear witness to the Talmudic dictum, “The poor people living in your own city come first.” Often these days, Israelis get the feeling that diaspora Jews feel entitled to sit back and call out instructions […]
Israel’s “Teflon” Prime Minister
First was Meni Naftali, the Netanyahus’ housekeeper, who in 2014 sued the State of Israel, the Netanyahus and the Office of the Prime Minister for a million shekels (about $260,000) because, he alleged, Sara Netanyahu wasn’t nice to […]