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 […]
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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
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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
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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,
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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,
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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