Category Archives : new material


A fate sealed in Czortkow 6

The woman walked into my office at the Jewish Federation, a little breathless. I had no idea who she was; but she seemed excited to tell me something. I was used to this. As editor of the local Jewish newspaper, people frequently came into my office to give me story tips, to share their thoughts, […]


Worrying about Shapira 7

Early this summer, I was worrying about Shapira, a neighborhood in Tel Aviv. Shapira is near the central bus station, about a mile from the boardwalk, and teeming with recent immigrants from Africa. It also happens to be the neighborhood where my 17-year-old daughter, Lily, is living for the year. Through July and much of […]


And just what do you think they’re protesting? 3

  I stood at Dag Hammarskjold Plaza with a group of colleagues fromwork, barely able to move, sweat trickling down my back. I have been here before, I thought. But this time, it feels different. I scrolled through Facebook seeing people I know post that they were in the crowd, “Am Yisrael Chai!” I kept […]


A people in mourning 5

Sometimes when you publish or post something, the news overtakes it. And something that seemed so relevant one minute is hopelessly out of synch with reality in the next. That’s what happened yesterday, when sadly, my post about the three kidnapped teens in Israel was overrun by the kind of news I never wanted to […]


When you wish it were not #TBT 1

Their three faces, laid out in tiny mug shots across my Facebook feed, stare back, accompanied by the hashtag #BringBackOurBoys. Pray for them, hold a vigil, condemn their captors, bring them home. It is not the message, but their number that brings me up short. I see three faces and I am transported back to […]


Tee time for Judaism 1

Golf, the venerable sport of country clubs, the Masters green jacket, sand pits, birdies, bogeys, Tiger Woods and tradition, is in trouble. Yes, golf. According to a recent New York Times article, the game has lost 5 million players in the past decade, a number roughly four times the size of the 2012 census for my […]


Which Hillel are you?

Ah, youth! For only youth, in all its headstrong, contradictory and stubborn ways could see the need to partner against its own interests. The driving desire to be seen as open-minded, fair and even-handed, though, is what must drive the Open Hillel movement, those students who feel that International Hillel’s partnership guidelines are too restrictive. […]