( Traveling Twins ) – As we celebrate the annual Lag BaOmer pilgrimage to Mount Meron in Israel this week– the 33rd day of the Omer– it begs the question: why are we counting the Omer for 49 days in the first place? As we are in the midst of counting the Omer, it is […]
Breaking the Silence: Oppression of Palestinians reminds American Student in the West Bank of Black Lives Matter
( Traveling Twins ) – On Friday, December 24, I joined a Breaking the Silence tour of the South Hebron Hills- an area in the southern West Bank designated as Area C – meaning under full Israeli control and supervision. We visited sites surrounding Yatta, a central Palestinian city, including the Lucifer Farm, and the […]
Finding What is in Common: The “Hamsa Aleichem” dialogue group for Israeli and Palestinian students
( Traveling Twins) – At Hebrew University, I am participating in a “Hamsa Aleichem” dialogue group for Israeli and Palestinian students. Organized by the campus Hillel and Sadarah/Kidma program (a head-start program designed for East Jerusalem high school graduates seeking higher education), this dialogue initiative has already given me some new insights. The Palestianin students, […]
Passover, COVID-19, and the Plight of Refugees
(Special to Informed Comment) – Yesterday was the last day of a peculiar Passover, celebrated under the Coronavirus pandemic. It reminded me of a famous story. Two British salesmen went down to Africa in the 1900’s to find if there was any opportunity for selling shoes. They wrote telegrams back to Manchester. One of them […]
Violence against Jews a sign of increasing hate in the U.S.
(The Baltimore Sun) – What could cause such hate in a person that would drive them to kill and injure innocent members of a minority group? I was troubled by this distressing question once again, when on December 28, during the last candle lighting of Hanukkah, an intruder with a large knife burst into the […]