The year 2017 was another rocky one in the relationship between Israel and many American Jews, punctuated by conflict over matters once considered common ground. Some controversies—including a backlash over comments about American Jews’ military service by Israeli deputy foreign minister Tzipi Hotovely—suggest a level of misunderstanding that could end up harming both sides.
I decided to to seek out and capture images of the place in Eastern Europe where my Jewish grandfather and namesake Eli (pronounced “Ellie”) had come from.
Today, the Jews of Cuba, once called a remnant of the 15,000-strong community, demonstrate a phenomenon of rebirth and reinvention.
I was first introduced to the anti-Semitic trope that “Jews don’t serve” when I was still on active duty. I was showing a superior the hospital that I worked at, and somehow it came to light that I was a Jew.
The Torah tells us not to boil a goat in its mother’s milk—but we’re not sure what the Torah says about truck washes.
First-Time Knesset member Aida Touma-Sliman is a Palestinian, an Arab, a communist and a feminist who fights for the rights of all Israeli women.
In our last issue, we wrote about genetic diseases that affect those of Jewish ancestry. We also asked our readers to share their experiences with genetic testing. They told us about the anticipation, worry and—hopefully—relief involved in the process.
When hurricane Harvey devastated Southeastern Texas in late August, Rabbi Yehosua Wender was in his home waiting for the storm. Within an hour of the rain starting, the streets were flooded with two feet of water.
“Going to college and learning about the occupation for the first time made me reflect back on my 11 years of Jewish education with sadness and anger, realizing that our Israel education had been misleading and one-sided.”
Israeli-Turkish relations have dwindled from seemingly warm cooperation to tense tolerance.
When white supremacists gathered in Charlottesville this summer, they shouted, “You will not replace us!”—eventually shifting the phrase, alarmingly, to “Jews will not replace us!” For most watching across the country, the protesters’ blatant expressions of prejudice were deeply unnerving. But where do their slogans come from, and what are they trying to convey?
In 2010, Rob Densen’s wife was diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer. The doctors gave her 36 weeks to live, but she lived for 40 months. “She had a genetic mutation for which there was a targeted therapy,” says Densen. “We got that time because 10 or 15 year
