Last month, The International Rabbinic Fellowship, the most liberal of Orthodox rabbinic associations in the US, voted against accepting female members, effectively withholding its recognition for Sara Hurwitz’s rabbinic status. The issue has sparked a lively debate among several Facebook friends about women’s abilities to serve in positions of religious leadership. Despite having spent my [...]
Posts under ‘israel’
The Incredible Edible Tu Beshvat Kid Craft
In Israel, the holiday of Tu Beshvat is associated with tree planting and dried fruit. The tradition of eating dried fruit is rooted in the years of exile, where fresh fruit was generally unavailable in the middle of winter. Despite the veritable cornucopia of fresh fruit available at any local grocery, most Israelis still go [...]
The Rain is Here…
Today was the first day of rain this season here in Israel. Although we’ve had some occasional drops here and there in the past few weeks, the first real rain came this night. Somehow, all my kids managed to hear the rain at 2 AM and by the time they were up at 7, running [...]
Are ‘Russian’ Israelis an Obstacle to ‘Peace’?
Clinton’s remarks two weeks ago, singling out Russian immigrants to Israel as the primary obstacle to peace made me cringe. Literally. Classifying ethnic groups into policy or regime supporters and troublemakers is so reminiscent of Stalin-era “resettlement programs,” that I am starting to wonder whether there might be some truth to the Republican rhetoric of [...]
Humanitarian Crisis in Gaza – Gourmet Videos
What images does “humanitarian crisis” conjure in your mind? For me, it’s the stories of the siege of Leningrad during WWII, which some of my family members experienced first-hand. The Hamas and its supporters (especially in the media) would like us to believe that something of the sorts is happening in Gaza. Then, last week, [...]
If it weren`t so sad..
Chief Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels is credited with saying that if you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. His dubious success must be the inspiration behind Hamas-proxy “peace activists““ attempt to deliver “humanitarian aid,“ while in search of enough blood to cause a PR sensation. [...]
Gaza Flotilla – Just the Facts
As the world condemns Israel for exercising its right to self-defense in boarding the so-called Free Gaza flotilla, three claims are made: 1. Israel has violated the international law by boarding peaceful ships in international waters. 2. Israel ambushed the ships. 3. IDF troops used excessive force to kill peace activists. For anyone with even [...]
Happy Birthday Israel
Today, Israel marked the Memorial Day, a day of tears, sad songs, and even sadder stories. As the siren went off at 11 AM sharp, everyone stopped whatever they were doing for a moment of silence. This is what it looked like. Then, paradoxically, grief gave way to joy as the Memorial Day turned into [...]
The Israeli Hospital in Haiti – even CNN noticed
The Israeli medical team in Haiti must be REALLY amazing to have drawn praise even from the CNN. You’ve got to see it to believe it. It is not going to be repeated any time soon, unless G-d forbid another major disaster strikes for Israelis to run helping. I guess as far as CNN is [...]
The Point of Divergence
In the wake of the recent Leib Tropper scandal, I have read quite a lot about his Eternal Jewish Family and its ongoing battle against Modern Orthodox and Religious Zionist conversions in the US and in Israel. While many bloggers view it as a power struggle, I think that the political differences are an extension [...]
