Israelis angels and their Palestinian passengers

In the midst of a terror wave which has deepened the divide and hatred in the country, some Israelis give renewed hope for a better future – they go into Palestinian territories in their private cars, pick up Palestinian civilians and bring them to Israel for medical treatment.

Linda Lovitch got JerusalemOnline.com

It's cold at the Barta checkpoint in Wadi Ara in the north of Israel. For many, this is the gateway to honor in their lives, for others, it is the gateway to life. Every week,     Amjed, a Palestinian takes his daughter to various therapies and doctor appointments around Israel. When he crosses the checkpoint to Israel, there is always an Israeli waiting there to transport him wherever he needs to go – the checkpoint angels.

Continue reading and to watch English video.

Follow us on   

See how teen pals found each other some 50 years later

By Hillel Kuttler for JTA

The “Seeking Kin” column aims to help reunite long-lost relatives and friends.

As a librarian, Oren Kaplan researches obscure facts and utilizes databases to track down information.

So when the Haifa resident read a recent “Seeking Kin” column about someone in his city, Menahem Orenstein, who hoped to locate a long-lost childhood buddy, Kaplan decided to put his experience to work.

Within a week, Kaplan had located Orenstein’s old friend, David Bak, living in Stockton, California, about 70 miles east of Oakland. That’s Bak, not Beck (remember the names).

Orenstein and Bak, who worked together at a Haifa auto repair shop in the late 1960s while attending technical high schools, expressed delight at reconnecting and hope to meet within a year.

Continue reading.

Follow us on   

We Palestinians hold the key to a better future

Bassem Eid for The Times of Israel

I am a proud Palestinian who grew up in a refugee camp and raised a large family. I want peace and prosperity for my people. I want an end to the misery and the destruction.

After 66 years of mistakes and missed opportunities, it is time for us Palestinians to create the conditions for peace and to work for a better future. It is time that we stopped pretending that we can destroy Israel or drive the Jews into the sea. It is time that we stopped listening to Muslim radicals or Arab regimes that use us to continue a pointless, destructive, and immoral war with Israel.

Continue reading.

Follow us on   

American Jewry's Great Untapped Resource: Grandparents

They’ve got time, money, and love to spare, and there are more of them than ever. Why isn’t the Jewish community enlisting their help?

Jack Wertheimer for Mosaic


In The Best Boy in the United States of America, the Jewish educator Ron Wolfson pens what amounts to a love letter to his grandparents, whose wise and benevolent influence has continued long after their demise to shape his life, his values, and his loyalties as a Jew. Wolfson’s story has elicited paeans of confirming praise from readers eager to share their own grateful memories of grandparents like his.

Continue reading.

Follow us on   

Shabbat not well attended? Five questions to ask

by Donald H. Harrison for the San Diego Jewish World

SAN DIEGO – If the Shabbat services at your synagogue are not well attended, then you should ask five questions in reexamining how they are conducted, according to Rabbi Steven Wernick, chief executive officer of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism.
Wernick served as scholar in residence Jan. 22-23 at Congregation Beth Am, and also had meetings at other area synagogues including Congregation Beth El and Tifereth Israel Synagogue.

At the latter synagogue, Wernick met with a group of leaders including Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal and members drawn from Tifereth Israel’s Board of Directors, Sisterhood, and Men’s Club.

Continue reading.

Follow us on   

Who Owned 'Vexed Man' Sculpture During WWII? Austrian Dispute Hits Getty Museum

Documents sent to the public prosecutor’s office in Vienna suggest that it’s not entirely clear who owned the work before and during the Nazi regime.

Uri Blau for Haaretz.com

A family dispute in Austria raises questions about the ownership history of a famous sculpture purchased eight years ago by the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles. Austrian news magazine News reported Friday that it is not entirely clear who possessed the piece during World War II.

The sculpture in dispute, “Der Verdrüssliche” (“The Vexed Man”), was created by Franz Xaver Messerschmidt, a leading Austrian artist of the 18th century. After working for Empress Maria Theresa, making sculptures of her and her husband, Messerschmidt left Vienna and made dozens of sculptures known as “character heads” – works world famous for their awkward faces. 

Continue reading.

Follow us on   

Iraq’s Last Jews Need Our Help

by Tina Ramirez for The National Review

The violent persecution and near genocide of Iraq’s Yazidis and Christians have made headlines around the world. Less well-known is the story of Iraqi Jews, who face near eradication. As millions flee Islamic militants in Iraq, one man has emerged to help rebuild the Jewish remnant.

When I met with Sherzad Omar Mamsani, the Jewish representative to the Kurdish government, in December 2015, he proudly wore his kippah in public — an act of bravery and defiance against those who would see him and his people wiped out in Iraq. He told me that, contrary to reports of only a half dozen, there are as many as 430 Jewish families left in the Kurdish region of Iraq.

Continue reading.

Follow us on