North American Modern Orthodox Jews say they can explain their connection to Israel in one word: Torah.
\”It\’s an organic existence. An Orthodox Jew grows up and believes that Eretz Yisrael and the people of Israel are one. The fulfillment of Torah is Eretz Yisrael,\” said David Cohen, director of Orthodox Union (OU) activities in Israel. \”It\’s not about connection. It\’s who we are.\”
Diving among coral reefs, lounging on colorful pillows by the sea, taking in views of rose-colored mountains, ordering plates stacked high with honey-drenched banana pancakes — Israelis have long made Sinai a favorite vacation destination.
Pop diva Madonna was among the praying, swaying and singing masses of kabbalah enthusiasts who made the pilgrimage to Israel for the High Holidays, seeking spiritual transformation through a brand of Jewish mysticism.
Again Israel turns to mourning the dead, but this time the list of those killed has been slow in coming. As the bombs used in suicide bombings become more sophisticated, producing deadlier and deadlier blasts, it takes more time to identify the remains of the dead.
When Galit Weidman Sassoon got engaged last year, her thoughts turned to the kind of wedding ceremony she and her fiancé wanted — meaningful, egalitarian and Jewish.
The two men walk as one — in steady step, shoulder to shoulder, their words a torrent of Yiddish.
There is much to catch up on since the former neighbors and schoolmates last met. That was more than 60 years ago, when the transports, fear and separations that characterized Jewish life during World War II reached their Polish hometown.
The mix of Western and African culture at the Zamena club, one of a small number of discos that cater to Israel\’s young Ethiopian immigrant set, appears to be an extension of these young Ethiopians\’ experience in life in Israel, in general.
Some were born in Israel or came here as young children. Along with their parents, they made their way to Israel as part of the modern exodus-style airlifts of Operations Moses and Solomon in 1984-85 and 1991.
It was an act of kindness reciprocated with murder.
For Jason Alexander, best known as Jerry Seinfeld\’s hapless sidekick, George Costanza, a grass-roots peace initiative to promote Israeli-Palestinian peace is more than just \”yadda yadda yadda.\”
Since the program began, it has brought some 60,000 Diaspora youth between the ages of 18 and 26 to Israel for free 10-day guided trips of the country. For many, it is their first trip to Israel. Only youth who never before have been on a peer tour of the country are eligible to participate.