When I was a teenager, I participated in a lot of the teen events of the JCC. It’s how I discovered so many Israeli movies and TV shows. Shortly before I left Rochester, New York for a semester of high … Read More
I am a bookworm–always have been, always will be. I was that kid who would spend Saturdays snuggled in bed with a book, and the kid who, if I was reading in school, the teachers would have to shout my … Read More
Passports are not necessarily an item we think about on a day-to-day basis. But they are incredibly important in understanding the country from which they come. It is easy to find the political implications of passports from around the world, … Read More
The holiday of Sigd is an Ethiopian Jewish holiday that became a national Israeli holiday in 2008. It takes place 50 days after Yom Kippur, and celebrates when G-d was first reveled to Moses. Ethiopian Jews climb up to the … Read More
Rosh HaShanah has passed. So have the ten days of repentance between then and today, Yom Kippur, or the Day of Atonement. One interpretation of this practice fits with the theme of the day—atoning. There are two kinds of sins: … Read More
About a week ago, I attended a trip through Haredi Jerusalem. It was organized for tour guides, much like my trip in downtown Haifa. So often we here about the Haredi population in Israeli News, but we don’t often take … Read More
Haifa is Israel’s third largest city in the country. It is known for its universities, falafel, and coexistence. It’s a mosaic of different people, religions, and sites. But when many people come to visit, there are very specific sites they … Read More
Why is the Holy City of Jerusalem SO important? Jerusalem is the holiest city in Judaism, the center of the religion. It is one of four holy cities in Judaism, along with Tzfat, Tiberius, and Hebron. It’s a city that … Read More
This year is a big year in Israeli history. It is Israel’s 70th Independence Day, the 70- year anniversary of the UN Partition Plan vote. It is the 100 year anniversary to the ANZAC victory over Be’er Sheva. And it … Read More
Many people in North America and Europe are familiar with the BDS movement. The movement was founded in July 2005 in order to put pressure on Israel in relation to the conflict with the Palestinians, and to stop what the … Read More
Before Israel was established, there were five waves of Jewish immigration. The First Aliyah began in 1882, and the Fifth Aliyah ended in 1939. But after Jewish leaders declared Israel independence in 1948, several more waves of immigration occurred in … Read More