Living in Israel
I’m in Machane Yehuda – the big shuk or market in Jerusalem – just like I am every week. The “oznei Haman” have arrived. In Israel, hamantaschen are called “Haman’s ears” and with a bit of imagination, I can almost make sense of that. Every year, I wander from bakery to bakery during the weeks preceding Purim, and I end up carbohydratedly disappointed. My search for the hamantaschen of my youth are nowhere to be found. The bakeries in Jerusalem, and especially in the shuk, make amazing hamantaschen. You want hamantaschen filled with halvah? We have that. Chocolate dough hamantaschen filled... Read More
I had the opportunity to visit the Western Wall in Jerusalem on my first trip to Israel through the Reform Movement’s Sci-Tech Israel program. Jerusalem was one of the most anticipated stops on our tour of numerous factories and tech-startups located throughout the nation. My soul was swelling with excitement; I knew I was footsteps away from a place I had merely visited in childhood daydreams. As I walked through the women’s courtyard for the very first time, I noticed that a stark barrier stood distinctly to my left, separating me from the male friends I had met on my science- and... Read More
My wife and I moved from Providence, Rhode Island, to Israel with our three small children in 2004. With the Second Intifada still raging, “timing” wasn’t one of our strong points. However, relatively quickly after our arrival in Jerusalem, Yasser Arafat died, and the Second Intifada ran out of steam. So, for the last 14 years, although there have been ups and downs, overall, we have been happy with our decision to make aliyah (move to Israel to live) and to raise our children as Israelis. Albeit, there have been many times when we did enact the “PR machine” to justify to our friends and... Read More
At this politically divisive time both in Israel and the U.S., seeing expressions of understanding between different faiths and cultures is heartening. Indiana photographer Tom Casalini saw just that when he focused his lens on healthcare workers with different backgrounds and religions who work side by side at Galilee Medical Center (GMC) in northern Israel, where I am a liaison in the Foreign Affairs Department. Tom's captivating portraits of staff members — Jews, Arabs, Christians and Muslims —who reflect the same diversity as the 600,000 residents they serve, are displayed in the... Read More
Recently, on a flight home from the U.S. to Israel, I was sitting next to a woman from Pittsburgh on her first trip to Israel. “You live in Jerusalem…that’s so exciting.” As I was a bit drowsy from the Advil PM I had taken to help me sleep on the long flight, I nodded and said, “Hmmm mmm…it’s always exciting.” “When you land, what’s the first thing you do? Oh, I bet you go and visit the Kotel (Hebrew for the Western Wall).” “Hmmm…mmm well, not exactly. Usually, the first thing I do is unpack my bags, throw the dirty laundry in the machine, feed the cat and then…” “Then you go to the... Read More
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