Bearing the Weight of Survival
My baby turned one this week, but all I can think about is the boy who never had a birthday. This week, Israel is crying for the Bibas family, a […]
February 28, 2025
February 22, 2025
Ways to Take Care of Yourself
Israeli officials confirmed this week that Shiri Bibas and her two young children, Ariel and Kfir, were killed by Hamas. The children’s bodies were returned to Israel along with the […]
January 28, 2025
Photojournalist’s Book Portrays a Generation of Daily Life in Israel
Raised in Dayton, Larry Roberts hopes The Faces of Israel provides an understanding of Israeli diversity between 1982 and 2015. By Marshall Weiss, The Dayton Jewish Observer Over Larry Roberts’ […]
January 17, 2025
Jewish Federation and Israeli Expat Community React to the Announcement of Hostage Deal
Around 50 members of the Jewish community, Jewish professionals, and others gathered at the Mayerson JCC on Thursday, the day after it was announced that Israel and Hamas reached a […]
January 15, 2025
Israel & Hamas Reportedly Have Deal On Freeing Hostages, Hopes Raised But Agreement Not Official Yet
After 14 months of war sparked by Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, massacre of Israelis, the Gaza-based terrorist group and Israel have apparently reached an agreement to free remaining hostages held […]
October 28, 2024
Haunting Documentary ‘We Will Dance Again’ Tells Stories From Nova Festival
At the beginning, I thought maybe to tell my friends to leave, but at that point, it was already too late. They’re shooting and trying to kidnap us or kill […]
October 24, 2024
A Time To Kill & A Time To Heal: Kohelet’s Wisdom In Times Of War
To most of the world, the date is the October 7. To me it will always be Simchat Torah. The memory of the juxtaposition of the joyful singing and dancing […]
October 19, 2024
Former Adath Israel High Holidays Cantor Offers $100,000 for Live Hostages
Daniel Birnbaum, former CEO of SodaStream and High Holiday Hazzan at Adath Israel synagogue for much of the late 1990s and early aughts, is offering $100,000 in cash or bitcoin […]
October 17, 2024
A Rabbinic Reflection on the Death of Yahya Sinwar
I was a high schooler in Jerusalem when the father of mass terrorism against my people, Yassar Arafat, died. His death brought me messy emotions: Satisfaction that this agent of […]
October 7, 2024
A Year Later
A visitor (of which there are very few these days) might comment on how relatively normal life looks in Israel, even after a year of war. The beaches are full […]