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September 6, 2024 Who will lead us? Finding models of leadership for Israel in troubling times – opinion By Barbara Sofer Kibbutz Magen should have been celebrating its 75th anniversary this month. Magen was established in August 1949 on the site of the biblical Bethul (Joshua 19:4). It was a battlefield in the War of […]

August 8, 2024 He fought for the chance to fight: A combat medic’s story By Barbara Sofer Shlomo Demma could have sat out this war, but he didn’t want to. A combat medic in the paratroopers, he was injured in military service in 2014 and hadn’t been called up to reserve duty since then. His

August 2, 2024 Why Jerusalem has the best view in the world – opinion By Barbara Sofer We’re going out to dinner, and we have seats with the best view in the world.  I’m a grandmother, so I’ve seen a few spectacular views in my life: from the Eiffel Tower and Mount Fuji, from the

July 12, 2024 Mental resilience: IDF Lt.-Col. shares how to prepare for the worst By Barbara Sofer How to prepare for the worst is a theme of Jonathan Bahat’s life. You might not guess this by reviewing his military CV, which includes events for which preparation seems impossible.   The 48-year-old lieutenant colonel in the reserves

June 28, 2024 Bar Mitzvah joy to battlefield bravery: The resilience of wounded IDF soldiers By Barbara Sofer A perfect Jerusalem evening. The mountain breeze at 800 meters above sea level has overcome the desert heat. Just right for a modest outdoor bar mitzvah party. Despite the war, the chronic worries, and the protracted heartache,

June 14, 2024 How an award ceremony reunited descendants of two saviors of Denmark’s Jews – opinion By Barbara Sofer King Frederik X of Denmark agreed to be blessed. With a black kippah on his head, neuroscientist Haim Sompolinsky of Jerusalem recited the blessing Jews say when we meet a king – first in English,

May 31, 2024 Hamas and Boko Haram: Why do students support the worst humans on Earth? – opinion By Barbara Sofer No matter how I try, I can’t get my mind around it.  I’ve read the articles about how many of the campus protesters aren’t all university students and that they’re antisemitic outsiders, often professional

May 10, 2024 76 + 1 reasons I love Israel – opinion By Barbara Sofer This is my 20th straight year writing new reasons why I love Israel. I thought it might be difficult this year, Israel’s 76th birthday, but it wasn’t. Just the opposite. Beneficence and heroism shine through the dark clouds of these

May 3, 2024 Holocaust survivors: When the abused become healers – opinion By Barbara Sofer “If you had a childhood of privation like theirs [the Palestinians’], or if your parents did, you’d want revenge. How can you blame them?” Assuming his preferred pedagogical posture, that’s what the professor from University of California Berkeley told me from across

April 19, 2024 Four men in a tank: A story of camaraderie among IDF tank crews – opinion By Barbara Sofer E was already 26 when he enlisted in the IDF. Before that, he studied full time at the Ateret Cohanim Yeshiva in Jerusalem’s Old City. He was married and a father, and he was ready to