While the conflict between Israel and Palestine plays out via an ever-ailing peace process, outside of the Middle East, the relationship is conducted by increasing attempts at silencing opponents. As far as I can tell, this silencing stems from great…
“Therefore, the Lord, blessed be He, decreed that we count these days in order that we remember the trepidation of the world.” – Rabbi Moses ben Abraham of Premysl We count 50 days between Passover and Shavuot, officially called the…
A couple of years ago, somewhere between the family-sized bag of Miss Vickies chips (190 lb Kyle) and the Trader Joe’s Edamame Crackers (165 lb Kyle), something triggered inside of me that led me to one of the most profound…
Details are slowly emerging about a major initiative to strengthen Jewish identity in the Diaspora. The plan, coming from the office of Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, has been in the works for months. But details are seeping out slowly…
There I stood, 13 and terrified. At Beth Torah Congregation in Toronto, on a bimah that my grandfather had literally helped build, I was chanting from a Torah scroll that his father had saved from their synagogue in eastern Poland…
There is an elderly gentleman at a long-term care facility in Ottawa. I have not met him, but I have seen his photograph. At 99, he still possesses a spark in his eye. He looks much more physically robust than…
Nurturing connections between Israel and young Jews in the Diaspora can take many forms. An Avi Chai Foundation report, released this month, suggests that affiliation with Israel can come from Israel-related curriculums in Jewish day schools, but it is just…
Amid calls for boycotts of Israeli products, institutions and the many minds behind them, and with increasing instances of American academics and writers being muzzled, a new initiative seeks to introduce some intellectual and moral clarity. As reported by the…
The self-aggrandizingly and inelegantly named Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations last week voted to bar J Street from membership in the umbrella organization. There are 50 full-fledged members of the Conference and four adjunct members, representing a…
This article was originally published in the Times of Israel the day before negotiations failed and the editing takes this into account. It is reprinted with permission. As the current peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians have failed, we…
