Category: Other

Israel’s war was brutal, flawed, and human. But not genocidal. The real casualty may be our ability to tell the difference.

The war in Gaza has ended. If “ended” is the word one can ever use for a place where dust still hangs in the air…

My wife and I spent the Jewish High Holy Days of 2010 and 2012 in Poland helping Poles who had discovered their ancestors had been Jewish to return to their Jewish People.

I offer this wonderful perspective for the new Jewish year of 5786…

Introduction: The World Built on Africa

We often tell the story of the modern world — the Renaissance, the Age of Exploration, the Enlightenment, the Industrial Revolution — as though it was written only in Europe. Yet beneath Europe’s…

Bereishit begins with God bringing light into the void, separating day from night, shaping the earth, the sky, and all living creatures. From the very start, creation is about turning chaos into order, possibility into life, and potential…

Every year, tens of thousands of American Jews travel to Israel on trips run by Jewish organizations and programs. The impact and value of these trips is as varied as the experiences of the people taking them. For many Jewish teens and young…

The following article is based on a Drasha that I gave on the second day of Sukkot at the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale – The Bayit. Please note that I have made certain changes for clarity in a written format. Additionally, I have updated…

They danced and cheered when Hamas committed a massacre on October 7, 2023, during which the terrorists killed, kidnapped, and raped. They protested endlessly when Israel defended itself against Hamas. But now that Hamas is on a killing spree…

I Dreamed an Oasis: A Vision Born from Despair

Like many Israelis, October 7, 2023, was my worst nightmare realized. The loss of 1,200 lives, the shattered kibbutzim, and the renewed cycle of violence broke me, as it did millions.

The recent…

When the Gaza strip becomes quiet, narratives grow louder. As the gunfire fall silent, the world’s attention turns not only to what has been destroyed—but to what comes next.

The ceasefire in Gaza, fragile as it is, offers Israel not only…

New York has always thrived on disagreement. Debate is part of its oxygen. But lately, the arguments feel darker—less about policy, more about identity. A growing number of New Yorkers whisper the same fear: that a new kind of politics has…