Politics

L’ag b’Omer is Saturday Night. Or Maybe Not

May 18, 2011

The date of the next bonfire is no vanity The Jewish “bonfire” holiday of L’ag b’Omer is this Saturday night. Or maybe not. L’ag b’Omer commemorates the day some 2,000 years ago that a plague killing 24,000 students of Rabbi Akiva ended. “L’ag” stands for lamed-gimel – in Hebrew the number 33. The Omer refers […]

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At My Most Zionist

May 11, 2011

A Dry Bones aliyah cartoon from 1976 (more at www.drybonesblog.com) In our daughter’s 12th grade class on Monday, on the cusp between Memorial and Independence Days, her teacher asked something along the lines of “what was the most Zionist, nationalist moment, for you personally.” Merav was unsure how to answer. Many of her friends referred […]

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Land Grab

February 1, 2011

IDF Chief of Staff candidate Yoav Galant UPDATE: The Attorney General has decided not to defend Galant. Crime, it seems, will not be rewarded in this case! One of the most frustrating parts of living in Israel is when people think they’re above the law. You see it on the highways (speeding, not yielding the […]

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Lunch with Jack: From Sudan to Jerusalem

January 20, 2011

Refugees travel from Sudan north through Egypt to Israel One of the hot topics in the news these past months has been the steady influx of refugees from Africa who have crossed the border between Egypt and Israel, and Israel’s subsequent response of building a fence to keep the Africans out. With 1,000 refugees arriving […]

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Goats on a Hill

December 30, 2010

Aviv and Nesiya A couple of months back, on our trip to Nagal Og near the Dead Sea, we picked up a friend of our youngest son. Aviv’s classmate Nesya lives in what is known as an illegal outpost deep in the West Bank. It is so tiny we couldn’t find it on any map […]

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War Over the Airwaves in Eilat

December 16, 2010

Resting at the top of the mountain In 1947, the U.N. partition plan designated the sleepy port of Eilat as the southernmost tip of the new Jewish state. It wasn’t until the final days of the War of Independence, however, when Israel took control of the town in an operation that surprised the small platoon […]

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Why I’m No Longer Buying Croutons

August 26, 2010

One of my favorite condiments for Friday night chicken soup is croutons. So it is with a heavy heart that I’ve had to ban my beloved fried, garlic-infused mini-bread squares from my culinary repertoire. The reason: I don’t agree with the ideological goals of the organization that grants them their kosher certification. My problems with […]

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