Israel

This past Shabbat, we read the Torah portion Lech Lecha in synagogue.  In Chapter 17:7-8, the Almighty tells Avraham (emphasis added): “I will ratify My covenant between Me and you, and between your offspring after you, throughout the generations, as an everlasting covenant…I will give to you and your offspring after …

There are some people who don’t hear when others speak the word, “impossible.”  Instead, they hear, “it’s possible” or “I am possible.”  Their minds begin to race in search for solutions and when there is no logical reason to succeed, faith moves them forward. Who could look at the barren …

This will be a “catch-up” posting to keep my readers in the loop during a process with regard to Hamas that is still unfolding. During the night on Wednesday, two rockets were launched from Gaza. Hamas later said their people did not launch them. But the IDF rejected this out …

 The cynically minded may be forgiven for suspecting that the prime goal of INSS’s newly launched plan is the demolition of Jewish communities, rather than the future resolution of conflict or enhanced Israeli security.  You have to quit confusing a madness with a mission. –  Flannery O’Connor.  Fanaticism consists of …

War? Not war? It rather depends on who we listen to, and the time of the day. On Sunday, the Security Cabinet met; the word that came out (leaked?) was that no decision would be made for a week, in order to see if the UN and Egypt might still …

The saying goes: “The dead tell no tales” but that’s not exactly true. The dead speak to us from beyond the grave but they do so in silent symbols that we, those who are full of life and sometimes full of arrogance, can choose to ignore. Haifa’s cemetery is full. …

It is been a while since I have begun a posting with even a bit of optimism. But that, my friends, is what I want to deliver today. Just a glimmer… Not because all has turned to sweetness and light. Rather, because Israel seems to have regained her footing. This …

As in “really, really…” A report, drawing on Egyptian sources, appeared very recently in Al Araby, an Arabic newspaper in London, with regard to continuing efforts by President Al-Sisi to secure a long-term agreement between Israel and Hamas. This report, cited by YNet, indicated that Egyptian Intelligence Chief Abbas Kamel …

Whenever there is a terror attack, and lives are lost,  I post, because getting the information out is important. These attacks seem endless! Heaven forbid they should actually be so: we will prevail. But endlessly ugly?  That doesn’t even begin to describe the situation.  Obscene comes a bit closer. ~~~~~~~~~~ …

It was difficult this year to leave the rarefied atmosphere of the Sukkah. But, of course, I did leave, and, as is my practice at the end of a holiday, I surveyed the news in some detail.  It was a shock because I had a sense that the world was …

 Wilf seems oblivious to “pesky details” such as the murderous terror unleashed by the Palestinians, their Judaeophobic indoctrination and Judaeocidal incitement, as “grand obstacles to peace”  Hear this, O foolish and senseless people, who have eyes, but see not, who have ears, but hear not – Jeremiah 5:21 There Are …

The relationship between Israel and the United States has evolved over the past decades with the most important factor in this unequal partnership, being the views of the US president of the day. President Truman vacillated on the question of whether there should or should not be a Jewish State and was primarily focused on 2 factors. He …

It is Hol Hamoed Sukkot – the intermediate days of the week-long holiday. The skies are blue here in Israel, and inside the sukkah there is an extraordinary sense of peace. How lovely it would be to shut out the world during this time, but, almost inevitably, the world impinges …

I think that it may be fair to say that few were wounded more by the murder of Ari Fuld — outside of his family — than was Israeli-American social media personality, Avi Abelow. I like Avi because he has both strength and joy. He analyzes the worst of the conflict while …

Yom Kippur, in all its weight and power, has passed. We have heard the last blasts of the shofar for this year. Hopefully it has awakened in us a stronger sense of who we are and where we need to go. ~~~~~~~~~~ The outpouring of grief over the terrorist murder …

The potential impermanence of the positive measures already undertaken by the Trump team should not be the only reason for Israeli concern over the brewing “ultimate deal”  …we will not put forth a plan or endorse a plan that doesn’t meet all of Israel’s security issues because they are of …

Having had the opportunity to participate in the May ‘Basic First -Aid Course’ of Magen David Adom this year, I could not recommend this experience more highly to anyone willing to put themselves out of their comfort zone. I went to Israel not knowing anyone, the language or the culture. …

Just days ago, in the spirit of Rosh Hashana, I wrote an upbeat posting. But that upbeat mood did not last. Could not, perhaps. Just as there is joy at holiday time, we here in Israel contend with the increased desire of our enemies to do us harm as we …

אני ואתה נשנה את העולם “You and I, We’ll change the world” This is not the first time I have taken a picture of these words but the moment certainly felt the most poignant. You see, these are lyrics to a song written by the late, great Arik Einstein and …

In Israel, one can move between worlds. It is a bizarre and enlightening experience. This New Year I moved between two different worlds, neither of them my “real life.” The first is the online world of Facebook, Twitter, emails, and WhatsApp.  As a writer and Content and Marketing Specialist I …