War in Gaza

Antisemitism as an organizing target for grievance coalitions

September 9, 2026

For the past few years, I have been struggling to comprehend how the October 7 Hamas-led terrorist attacks on Israel turned so many liberal and progressive groups against the Jewish state. Ruth Wisse has an answer that deeply resonates with me. And she wrote about it nearly 35 years ago, in her 1992 book If […]

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Is Israeli emigration harming medical services?

November 16, 2025

I was at the hospital, prepared to be called into surgery for a procedure. I wasn’t taken for 7 hours. Is emigration harming Israel’s medical system?

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Cloudy with a chance of missiles

July 13, 2025

In case of missiles, it takes about two-and-a-half minutes for a hospital patient like me to get out of bed and reach the protected space.

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Horrors and heroes

February 21, 2025

There is a principle in the tractate Brachot of the Mishna that suggests something seemingly outrageous: One is obligated to praise God for both the good and the bad. Not just to perfunctorily recite a blessing, but to make it wholeheartedly. This is not a new concept. When someone dies, Jews traditionally recite the line, […]

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Podcasts to make sense of a war

February 8, 2025

Over the course of Israel’s multi-front war with Hamas, Hezbollah the Houthis and beyond, I’ve received much of my news from podcasts. If, before Oct. 7, I was hooked on pop culture, history and science-minded audio programming such as Fresh Air, RadioLab and This American Life, my AirPods have lately been tuned to a more Israel-focused digital frequency.  Here […]

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The fantasy peace video I can’t stop crying over

January 26, 2025

Yoni Bloch has released one of the most remarkable AI-generated fantasy peace videos I’ve seen. Every time I watch it, can’t stop crying.

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How to preserve a legacy after death

December 2, 2024

A trifecta of physical and emotional stress washed over me, leaving me despondent over politics, war and a sudden change in my health. My cancer had come back.

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Hotel Montefiore: Enjoying Tel Aviv under the threat of war

November 26, 2024

The first thing Adam, the assistant manager, did upon our arrival at the Hotel Montefiore in Tel Aviv, was point out where the bomb shelters were

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Is Jewish universalism the source of antisemitism?

November 2, 2024

Sometimes an idea can upend decades of thinking. That’s what Dara Horn’s recent essay in The Atlantic on universalism vs. particularism did for me. 

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30 years of aliyah

October 20, 2024

Last week, our family marked our thirty-year “aliyaversary,” since we moved to Israel in 1994. Here are 30 reasons to live in Israel.

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