A B’racha for Barack? The Obama Kiddush
By Mandy Katz
Raise a glass tonight and every night through January 20. You don't have to know Hebrew to intone this one (though it helps...
Post-Obama Fix: Jerusalem's Mayoral Election
In a haze of post-Obamania deflation this week, I turned for a political fix to Jerusalem and the hotly contested mayoral election taking place tomorrow....
Finding the "Real (Jewish) Americans"
More than 200 professors of Jewish studies have joined to form the latest Jews-for-Obama group, reports The Jewish Daily Forward. But the Republican Jewish Coalition...
Get Wigged Out Like Palin
A mere day after John McCain named his vice-presidential choice, I hatched a clever plan to dress as Sarah Palin for Halloween. Soon after, though,...
Frum Jewish Mothers for Obama
Could this mom on a playground be Sarah Silverman's angelic twin?
Take it as a counterpoint to Silverman's sassy, obnoxious and, you almost hate to admit,...
Heavy Breathing in Ashkelon
Not every activist in and around Israel is focused on questions of religion or military hegemony. Some are concerned with a different sort of power:...
Pork and Politesse: Chinese Tourists in Israel
"Should we not bring any snacks with pork?"
Maybe Chinese tourists' reputation for boorishness is unfounded, given that this considerate inquiry was one of several posed...
Israeli Prize for Prickly Conservationist
I confess to making a dumb and painful mistake in Israel last month: trying to harvest a sabra fruit with my bare hand. I somehow...
As Chinese Come to Israel, Recalling One Israeli in China
We've come a long way since 1985, when Israeli travelers I met in China had to hide their "real" passports from local authorities and most...
Shin Bet Justice: Tunnel Vision?
Tunnels. The very word connotes ancient secrets, mystic rites and modern adventure. Israel is blessed with tunnels both natural (the country gets whole pages on...
Some of My Best Friends are…Lutheran?
When Sarah Palin ran for mayor in 1996, she apparently floated the possibility that her political opponent was an M.O.T. ("member of the tribe")—and the...
"Beautiful Israel:" See it Here
One of the cheesier keepsakes I’ve ever bought in Israel came, not surprisingly, from a touristy shop on Jerusalem’s Ben Yehuda Street. A fridge magnet,...