In the few visits my father made to Israel over a two-year period, he mentioned Masada 499 times. But I only heard it the 500th, when my wife, Abby, nudged me to sit down and plan a trip for him. How many more trips do…
Category: Other
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Closing Down a Wine Bar in the Negev: ‘We only have 30 Minutes’
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Calling Bibi’s Bluff, for the Sake of the Country
Israel is intensively debating Prime Minister Netanyahu’s request for a Presidential pardon. I agree completely with the critics of this “request”, in terms of its transparent objective of enabling Bibi to escape accountability for his…
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When It Breaks
“Il y avait d’autres dieux, plus mystérieux et plus louches, plus insidieux et masqués, difficiles à identifier.” Romain Gary She’s so soft, so very hurt. But what erupts from Elinor’s mouth when she unties the black garbage bag –…
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Echoes Across Generations: Questioning Meeting a Nazi Executioner’s Heir
“I hope I am not making a mistake” I said to myself out loud an hour before a scheduled video call. Three months ago I received an email from a dear friend in Poland. One of the things she wrote about was this: “A glimmer…
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Is Another War with Hezbollah a Matter of Timing — or a Trigger?
In an era of renewed strength in southern Lebanon, two nervous systems — Israeli and Lebanese — are colliding. The real question is not whether escalation will occur, but how it will unfold. In Israel, we tend to view the southern front as…
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The Problematic Palestinian School Textbooks
The Palestinian Authority hopes to supplant Hamas as the governing power in the Gaza Strip and play a central role in the second phase of U.S. President Donald Trump’s 20-point peace plan. This may be a bridge too far as matters stand today. The…
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A Betrayal as Old as Time
Antisemitism is nothing new. That may be its most terrifying quality. It is the oldest of political hatreds, a worldview so durable that it survives every era by reinventing itself. From Roman suspicions to medieval blood libels, from…
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Let Them: A Rabbinic Take on Letting Mel Robbins and the Art of Letting Go
There is a moment familiar to anyone who has ever tried to lead, love, teach, or parent, when you suddenly realize how much of your emotional life has been handed over to someone else. A colleague’s cold tone, a family member’s thoughtless…
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How Israeli Tax Credit Points Really Work
A few weeks ago, a friend called me sounding completely confused. She had just received a message from the tax authority saying she might be eligible for a refund, but she had no idea why, or what she was supposed to do next. As we…
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From Haran to Healing: The Emotional Journey of Yaakov
The Torah’s description of Lavan offers glimpses into his personality: how his family first interacted with him, and how, over time, those relationships shifted. When Yaakov first meets Lavan, the Torah says that Lavan welcomed him because…
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