Last message from Ofir’s abducted grandparents: “So Far So Good”
“So far so good” — this was the last message Ofir Metzger got at 8:50 on Saturday morning, 7 October 2023 from her grandfather who was abducted by Hamas. Other than knowing that Yoram and Tamar Metzger arrived alive in Gaza, the family has received no news about them. * * * * * Yoram […]
Jewish Ukrainian’s life blew up with the first bombs in Odessa.
Odessa native Diana Bukhman, 38, never wanted to make Aliyah. Yet here she is. Ripped from her former life, a good life she mourns the loss of, and she has to reinvent herself. Aliyah is difficult enough when the immigrant makes a conscious decision to move to Israel. But, as a Keren Hayesod spokesperson explains, […]
Interview with former South Sudanese Refugee in Israel
Augustino Mayom Makuok was just 16 when he ran away from war-torn South Sudan. At 23, he found a way to enter Israel and he stayed here for six years, until in 2012, about a year after independence was declared, all South Sudanese refugees in Israel were sent home. I had not known him when […]
Interview: Canadian social work student confronts antisemitism in her program
I didn’t want to be in an environment with people that hate me. I think no other student needs to deal with that. Why do I? I hated every day, I hated everything I was studying. * * * * * I must admit, as a former family therapist who trained in Canada in the […]
Ilana Shemesh: Israeli homebirth pioneer founds birthing center for Ugandan Jews
This is the story of a timid child who grew up to brazenly fight the Israeli medical establishment and then trot off to Uganda to set up a birthing center under dauntingly primitive conditions. * * * * * * * * * * * Ilana Shemesh, 70, has been a trail blazer. She was […]
Uzay Bulut: Interview with exiled Turkish non-Jew against antisemitism in Turkey
A highly successful journalist and political analyst in her 30s, Uzay Bulut was in Israel studying toward her second MA at the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, her first MA having been in Media and Cultural Studies in Ankara. She was researching the history of Israel and antisemitism in Erdoğan’s Turkey, something she hopes to […]
Merav Levi: I thought I would die a prostitute — Interview
Photography has provided a platform for Merav Levi, 44, to share the story of her journey from prostitution and substance abuse to her new dream of becoming an art photographer. A collection of her photographs was on display at the 10th PHOTO IS:RAEL International Photography Festival last month. Levi now sees herself as a strong […]
Jewish doctor rescues abandoned girls in India. Interview with Dr. Michelle Harrison.
Dr. Michelle Harrison just celebrated her 80th birthday, surrounded by the 14 girls she is raising in Kolkata, India and the dedicated staff who are helping her. Four of these abandoned girls are now young adults preparing to embark upon professional careers. How does a Jewish doctor born in New York City end up running […]
Interview: How MK Ofer Cassif passed the Rubicon into anti-Zionism
The day before election day in Israel, Israel National News published my interview of MK Ofer Cassif. Here is a very slightly modified version of that same interview: Ofer Cassif was the only Jewish MK representing the Joint List, an alliance of four Arab parties that subsequently split for the elections for the 25th Knesset. […]