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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 […]

April 5, 2024 Yellow nail polish: Remembering the Gaza hostages and Hamas’s victims – opinion By Barbara Sofer It’s a pinky-sized gesture, but when my fingers are typing, cooking, or touching a loved one, I see the yellow nail polish, and it reminds me of the murdered and the hostages. I’m a grandmother and not particularly

March 22, 2024 ‘The sky rained rockets’: Wounded IDF soldier shares his story By Barbara Sofer Every single mission – and thankfully there are many from abroad – that comes to admire the new Gandel Rehabilitation Center on Hadassah’s Mount Scopus wants to meet at least one wounded soldier, to hear about the experience of

March 8, 2024 Meet the forensic dentist identifying Israel’s dead through their teeth By Barbara Sofer In her day job, she brings back radiant smiles. Dr. Esi Sharon-Sagie is director of the Oral Rehabilitation Post Graduate Program at the Hebrew University-Hadassah School of Dental Medicine. She is heralded for her keen eye for aesthetics, her

February 23, 2024 While Israelis worry over the hostages, we must not forget the wounded – opinion By Barbara Sofer I wish I could show you their pictures and write out their names. Each wounded soldier is a bona fide hero. But in an effort to protect our soldiers wounded in action in Gaza from

January 26, 2024 Israel-Hamas War: Should children visit Hostages Square? – opinion By Barbara Sofer Should children visit Hostages Square in Tel Aviv? The question recently came up in an adult dinner conversation among Israelis in Jerusalem. Let’s think about what a stressful time the children of Israel have been experiencing since the war began. Running from

January 12, 2024 Will Israel-Hamas war cause a spike in aliyah for 2024? – opinion By Barbara Sofer Daphne Lazar Price, 50, didn’t think she and her husband, David, would be empty nesters so early. Google her, and you’ll see that her bio says she “lives with her husband and two daughters in Silver Springs, Maryland.”

December 29, 2023 Don’t underestimate the millennials and zoomers of the Israel-Hamas War By Barbara Sofer We Baby Boomers, born between 1945 and 1981, often misjudge the generations that follow our own. First came Generation X, a so-called cynical, latch-key generation. Then came Generation Y/ “millennials” (1981-1996) and their younger siblings in Generation Z, better

December 15, 2023 A woman’s close brush with death from a Hamas rocket near Jerusalem – opinion By Barbara Sofer Ronit Cohen, 53, was headed to her day job, which is actually a night job. She serves as the balanit, attendant, of a mikve, a ritual bath in Betar Illit, a suburb of Jerusalem. Mikve attendant

December 15, 2023 University of Pennsylvania and antisemitism: An open letter to Liz Magill – opinion By Barbara Sofer I loved attending the University of Pennsylvania, where I earned my bachelor’s degree in 1971. The university offered everything I’d dreamed of when I was attending a rural public school in Connecticut: intellectual, philosophical, and moral challenges