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Steven Bernstein

What McDonald’s gets right about war and peace

43 years after the US embassy bombing in Beirut, economic integration may finally succeed in delivering peace where decades of armed conflict did not

Illustrative: Adrian Perez, of Dallas, pumps gas into his vehicle at Fuel City Friday, April 17, 2026, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Vincent James Hooper

The clock Jerusalem should be watching is in Washington, not Tehran

Which side will cave under the blockade’s fiscal stress, the authoritarian regime, or the democracy where high prices at the gas pump lead to electoral loss?

Ofer Moskovitz, 60, an avocado farmer in Kibbutz Misgav Am, who was killed by an errant IDF shell, seen in a photo from November 1, 2021. (Ayal Margolin/FLASH90)

Alon Tal

Abandoned on Israel’s northern frontier

Residents can repair the homes battered by war — but as safe rooms remain unbuilt and ministers stay away, their faith in the state won’t return so easily

An El Al plane takes off at Ben Gurion International Airport, outside of Tel Aviv, March 5, 2026. (Yossi Aloni/ Flash90)

Sam Lehman-Wilzig

Resilience isn’t always a good thing

Israelis have been moving away in record numbers – which is just one of the ways the population is coping with too much adversity

gemini image in style of Kadishman for Tazria-Metzora.

Naomi Graetz

Boundaries, bodies, and the rot within

The Torah portions on skin wounds and the grueling process of healing feel especially personal: My late husband suffered from basal cell carcinoma (Tazria/Metzora)

Bereaved families, friends and Israeli soldiers visit the site of the Nova music festival massacre during Memorial Day in Re'im forest, near the Israeli-Gaza border, April 30, 2025. (Yossi Aloni/Flash90)

Jonathan Dekel-Chen

These wars will not bring true victory

With our hostages home and our enemies battered, Israel still faces its deepest reckoning within

(FreedomMaster via iStock)

Between two days of memory

My relatives’ vibrant Jewish life was snuffed out by the Nazis. My son fell defending Israel on Oct. 7. Speaking about them is not just a personal need, it’s a duty

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Apr 19, 2026, 6:14 PM

‘When there is no Shiva’

I used to write about loss as if it were a principle of the universe; inevitable, impartial, almost philosophical in its reach. Loss as something that moves through all of us, touching the trivial and the profound alike. A...

Michael Bresler

Apr 19, 2026, 6:07 PM

How You Treat People Is the Strategy

Boards spend significant time developing strategy and refining process. But for staff, donors, and community members, what often matters most is how those decisions are experienced. In the end, how people are treated is not separate from strategy, it...

Ignat Ayzenberg

Apr 19, 2026, 6:06 PM

Mourning Israel on Yom Ha’atzmaut

Israel emerged from the disruptive shocks of modernity: mass politics, the modern state system, the world economy, social upheaval, empire, war, and prejudice. As a result, it came to occupy a central place in the way many Jews imagined...

Apr 19, 2026, 5:21 PM

The first Passover seder differed from future ones

The Hebrew word seder (סֵדֶר) literally means "order" or "arrangement." During Passover, it refers to the ritual dinner and service held on the first or second night of the holiday. Jews in Israel observe the seder on one night; Jews outside Israel observe it on two nights....

Rebecca Liebermann Nissel

Apr 19, 2026, 5:18 PM

A Patch of Sacred Ground

I know a friend in Los Angeles whose parents are buried in a mass grave in Vienna. The first time I visited this memorial was a few years ago, on Tisha B’Av. Today, during the week of Yom HaShoah, I...

Apr 19, 2026, 5:16 PM

From Lab to Life: Mighty Mitochondria

Depositphotos.com So – why do we need oxygen? And where does it come from? Oxygen on Earth formed through photosynthesis. Ancient microorganisms called cyanobacteria began releasing oxygen by using sunlight to process carbon dioxide and water, to make glucose and oxygen....

Mario Maritan Bonifazi

Apr 19, 2026, 5:03 PM

When Congress and Oil Did Not Matter

There are stark similarities between the US-led intervention against Gaddafi in 2011 and the US-Israeli campaign against the Iranian theocracy. There are stark differences, too. While the former was largely heralded by Western public opinion, the latter has been...

Yoseph Janowski

Apr 19, 2026, 4:46 PM

Helping Hezbollah emboldens Iran

Trump thought that by pressuring Israel to stop attacking Hezbollah, he would make headway with Iran. He thought that by accommodating the Iranians, that they would open the strait and agree to stop their nuclear activity. There was just...

Apr 19, 2026, 4:37 PM

It Depends on Us: Realizing Declaration of Independence Promises

Many Israelis note Independence Day with activities that start with bereavement and culminate in a barbeque; that’s only natural in our reality. For me, the day is also an opportunity to consider whether the rights guaranteed by our Declaration...

Chava (Patricia) Kadoche

Apr 19, 2026, 4:22 PM

The Sound of a Different Kind of Childhood

In Jerusalem, I discovered how something as simple as sound can shape not just a day—but an entire way of growing up. A Softer Soundtrack I live across from a school in Jerusalem. For a while, it was just background—until one...

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