Joel Braunold / Jewish World blogger

The conference of Jewish Presidents has urged Yair Lapid to rethink plans to charge tourists VAT. If the U.S. Jewish connection to Israel is merely linked to how cheap it is for tourists, however, then we are in serious trouble.

It's tough finding a way to express my thanks to my mum, who recoils at the thought of fancy flowers and cheesy cards.

The themes of Lag Ba’omer are engulfing us like bonfire smoke.

Israel’s airspace was closed ahead of Passover while Obama opened the country’s diplomatic lines of communication with Turkey. I, as a result, was stranded in air.

Israel's new political environment forces it to decide whom to support economically: the ultra-Orthodox or the settlers.

As Jews, we must infuse all our earthly actions – from eating to sexual relations – with spirituality, not just on Purim, but throughout the year.

The obsessive questioning of Sen. Chuck Hagel on Israel and his alleged anti-Semitic perspectives at the U.S. Senate confirmation hearing on his nomination for secretary of defense only served to disconnect intelligent voters and damage Israel's image on prime-time TV.

The publicity spurned by Oscar nominations will bring two Israeli films into the view of prime-time audiences, revealing a truth that will cause American Jews to doubt the good intentions of the people and government of Israel.

This is a domestic issue that cannot be fixed with a magic wand, and blaming the victims of hate crime is an unacceptable solution.

Diaspora Jews mourn diplomatic crises that face Israel – like the Palestinian’s UN bid. But Israelis? Israelis laugh them off.

The U.K., U.S. and Israel honor their soldiers differently, in ways that reflect how each country wishes to perceive its national identity.

The private cash dependence that Israel's politicians have on foreign donors is maximizing the worst stereotypes we have of each other.

On Sukkot, we understand that victimhood and self-reliance are two sides of the same coin.

It's not easy when an Orthodox British guy loves a Reform American girl.

Combating untruths is a task too great for Jewish institutions to fight alone. We, as a community, must constantly highlight intolerance in order to quell it.

If athletes die while playing sport in the Olympics, they can be memorialized during the games, but if they die through violence it seems that they can’t.

Orthodox communities might feel affiliated with Romney’s social conservatism, but they rely on community programs that need Democratic government grants.

The 'millennials' need to stop being passive, and take part in the decision making that will affect the generations to come.

Israelis and Palestinians barely hold joint public events anymore. This risks letting the one-state solution paradigm take over.

An inability to enforce compulsory IDF enlistment challenge Israel, both practically – as the burden of service is not equally shared – and theoretically – when a third of Israel's population does not following its laws.

It is no shock to anyone to say that keeping kosher is horrendously expensive. Here are a few tips to help you get by without cleaning out your wallet.

Analysts and political pundits attempting to establish a motive for the murder of a rabbi and three children outside a Jewish school in Toulouse somehow omit anti-Semitism as a possible cause.

In light of the High Court ruling to strike down the Tal Law, and failed Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, it’s time to address the definition of a ‘Jewish state’.

There is nothing neither wrong nor un-American in being a single issue voter.

Part of making the transition between an exiled people and a nation state is the realization of control. Jews are no longer are passive in the face of events; we have the ability to change the world around us.