“So what’s her problem?” dominated every test and every appointment with therapists and experts in Shunamit’s early childhood. “What’s her problem?” I used to repeat the question and add: “She doesn’t have a problem. She has a load of problems!”- all sorts of difficulties, incompetence and lack of skills and, last but not least, “everything that she has and you can’t see,” I used to add defiantly.

“Her problem” was a code word for the one that would put Shunamit in an identified diagnostic category.  A category that the experts at the Sheba Child Development Institute in Israel tried to place her at the age of two, following a series of tests with no indication of pathology but with an untitled category called “problem”. read more

We woke up this morning to wonderful news that the Israeli army rescued two hostages, Louis Norberto Har (70), and Fernando Marman. These two brothers-in-law have reunited with their family: Louis’s wife Clara, Fernando’s sister Gabriela, and their niece Mia, whose photo holding her little dog Bela we all remember. For almost an entire hour, I was happy, but then we heard about the two fallen soldiers, and the death of many people in Rafah. Before we received the sad news about the casualties, I observed many people who, for the first time in a long period of grief, had a smile on their faces. read more

Yesterday, when I was writing the post about the benefits of enjoying life again, I wasn’t yet aware of the tragedy that had happened in Gaza the previous day. Twenty-one reserve duty soldiers were killed in one incident, and three officers had been killed a short time beforehand. Twenty-four soldiers were killed within twenty-four hours. This was the worst calamity we suffered since October 7th. It’s impossible to think of anything else, and I noticed that different kinds of activities, even those aimed at cheering up the soldiers, were canceled.  read more

With the International Court of Justice (ICJ) scheduled to begin hearings next week on South Africa’s suit against Israel for committing the crime of genocide, the Israeli Government is busy preparing its defense. It will no doubt include the assertion that “the IDF is acting as morally as possible,”  as stated by Prime Minister Netanyahu in response to the suit. Social media’s abundant footage of soldiers planting Israeli flags on the Gaza beaches and singing about resettlement; vandalizing homes, shops, and religious sites; and abusing civilians and beating prisoners is sufficient to put paid to the morality defense. Were this not enough, there is the simple math of an average of 250 Gazans killed daily since the war began. Add to this the strategy touted by the military brass, which sees no limit to the number of civilian lives permissible to take in order to protect the lives of Israeli combatants, and the moral high ground crumbles beneath the IDF’s feet of clay. read more

The project of the USC Shoah Foundation founded by Steven Spielberg has been collecting video testimonies of the atrocities committed by Hamas terrorists on October 7, adding them to the collection of Holocaust survivors’ testimony. It clarified for me the devastation of October 7. We now have a generation born to survivors of the slaughtered and burned of the Holocaust, facing again a tragic devastation – this time in our sovereign land, with the strongest army in the Middle East. A start-up nation – tiny in territory and population, but huge in its capacities in so many areas. The Phoenix that survived and rose in 1948 built an innovative and distinct state. And in one day we experienced a terrifying traumatizing destruction. Unimaginable inhumane cruelty of the Hamas murderers has marked the reality of our lives since October 7. read more

New York—It wasn’t a good week for Bibi Netanyahu, even if he finally got his sit-down with President Biden. Rallies against him in all forms and iterations were popping up throughout Manhattan. The city was already a madhouse from the overlap of the United Nations General Assembly and Climate Week conferences. From Times Square to the front of the United Nations and Park Avenue across from the Loews Regency Hotel, Israeli and American Jews came out to express their displeasure with Bibi, the Prime Minister indicted for fraud, bribery, and breach of trust. read more

On the eve of Rosha Hashanah Israel’s democracy is on the line.  A historic protest movement has been flooding the streets of big cities and small towns because an attack on the judicial system in an Israel without a constitution, the court is the only independent brake on government abuses. American Jews know the significance of democracy to protect civil liberties. Committed to Jewish values of justice, compassion, and inclusion American Jews must stand with Israeli protesters to protect Israel’s democracy and human rights for all as inscribed in Israel’s Declaration of Independence. The strength of both Israel and the United States lies in their commitment to democracy. read more

In 1955, beloved journalist Benny Sasson travels to Jerusalem, gets off at the central bus station, and disappears. His wife, Rena, his mother, Malka, and his thirteen-year-old daughter Zohara are the heartbeat of a relentless search, joined by friends, Benny’s newspaper, and the police.
Benny’s disappearance exposes old resentments in a close-knit town, testing loyalties, friendships, and trust. Rumors about what happened become reckless. A surprise visitor from America uncovers buried family pain and awakens compassion.
The search for Benny is marked by the sorrow of the Holocaust, the impact of the 1948 war, Israeli women’s fight for inclusion, struggles over the rights of Arab workers, and a divided Jerusalem. As the mystery is resolved, revelations spread from East Jerusalem to Israel’s Knesset. The novel’s mystery and a young girl’s coming-of-age unfold against the backdrop of the new and evolving Israeli society of the 1950s and illuminate issues that remain unresolved today. read more

“We are devastated at the rollback of democratic protections in Israel. National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW) has spoken out against these plans since they were first announced, and we are dismayed to see them in action — especially because of their expected impact on the rights of women, members of the LGBTQ+ community, Arabs, and other minorities.

“This vote goes against the will of the majority of Israeli citizens, who for nearly six months have taken to the streets to protest these plans. We remain in solidarity with all of the Israeli protestors, including tens of thousands who marched from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem for four days this past week in a desperate bid for the government to abandon its judicial overhaul plans. read more