Celebrating 40 Years of Jacob’s Ladder, the Little Israeli Folk Festival That Could
The founders of Israel’s folk music staple take a look at the long road to success and, yes, even acceptance.
Ron Ben-Tovim
Identity Check: Is It a Copout for Jews to Say They Are 'White'?
Questions about ethnicity on U.S. forms always raise a dilemma for Jews: should they self-identify as members of the powerful 'white' group, or proudly tick the 'other' box?
The Bizarre Links Between ISIS and Heavy Metal (And One Big Difference)
Both share an appetite for destruction. Both prefer the hirsute look. But as the events in Paris last week showed, when it comes to Islamic State and heavy metal, the devil (horn) is in the detail.
Beyond Temple Mount: A Look at Contested Holy Sites in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
Nothing is sacred in the latest round of violence, with religious shrines proving recurring flash points.
What Happens When the World Cries 'War Crime?'
Allegations of war crimes are quick to surface when civilians are killed in conflicts, but more often than not, these accusations lead nowhere.
Israel Is a Stone's Throw Away From Becoming the Roman Empire
On Jewish holidays, we're used-to identifying as the resourceful downtrodden that manage to bring an empire to its knees. This year, as our gazillion-dollar army takes on masked Palestinian teens, we find our role reversed.
Israel Must Deal With Its Own Refugees First: The Palestinians
Instead of bickering over whether it is the Jewish State's moral duty to receive Syrian refugees, we should consider this: What has Europe learned from the Holocaust, and what has Israel yet to learn?
Spanish Festival Apologizes to Matisyahu, but the Truth About BDS Is Already Out
Analysis | Matisyahu-gate is leaving many with the strong sense of a very distinct lose-lose, mainly that the fight against the occupation can’t be gaining anything from what seems like indiscriminate political persecution.
Stop Calling Hate Crimes 'Price Tag Attacks' – It's Offensive
After the murder of a Palestinian baby last week, Benjamin Netanyahu declared that 'terror is terror.' Yet the way we label attacks by either side is radically different.
An Israeli Party Crasher Says Farewell
Writing columns about ostensibly common Israeli events over the last three years was truly an education. Now I realize how little I knew about the separate, yet somehow connected universes right at my doorstep. A postscript.
A Haircut, a Cake and a Candy Shower: A 3-year-old's Entry Into Judaism
Sephardi and Ashkenazi traditions involving Torah scrolls and a haircut happily collide at 'khlake' ceremony for little Benyamin Schatz on Kibbutz Hefetz Haim.
School's Out! It's Senior Night in Jerusalem – and We’re Gonna Party
12th-graders from Jerusalem’s Gymnasia high school prepare for their military service with a student-orchestrated shindig.
At a Rare Jewish Ceremony, a Donkey Gets to Be King for a Day
Excitement runs high at moshav in central Israel as the Shaked family prepares for a ritual being observed for only the second time in 65 years.
Teary Yelps, Merriment and '80s Music Star at 30th Reunion of Jerusalem Classmates
From far and wide, graduates and faculty with peeling name tags converge in the once-gargantuan but now tiny gym of the former David Stone School.
A Lesbian Wedding in Israel: Under the Chuppah, Legal or Not
A chance car ride 9 years ago, a period of unrequited love, a bottle of Jack Daniels – and Inbal and Avishag ecstatically tied the knot in Tel Aviv's hip Florentine quarter.
Someone Else's Simcha / Same-sex Couple Carves a Niche of Quiet in the Land of Noise
This vegetarian chuppah in Modi'in bore the hallmarks of contemporary secular society.
A Centenarian's Secret of Longevity? A Sense of Humor
Surrounded by grandsons and great-grandsons, and the promise of more to come, Ziva Avital celebrates her 100th birthday, and is nowhere near to slowing down.
Someone Else's Simcha A Toddler's Sweet Entry, Letter by Letter, Into Hasidic Life
A 3-year-old member of the Kretshnif dynasty is arrives for a festive, and nosh-driven, first day at heder in the city of Rehovot.
Someone Else’s Simcha / Bar and Bat Mitzvah for the Deaf Makes All the Right Noises
Huddled together in a small synagogue in central Israel, newly anointed men and women sound a collective yelp of joy in an otherwise silent world.
Someone Else’s Simcha / A Couple From an Ancient Jewish Sect Ties the Knot, modern-Israel Style
In the central Israel city of Ramle, a major hub of Karaite Jewry, two newlyweds try to sustain a centuries-old tradition, despite getting little support from the state.
Someone Else’s Simcha / Showstopping Bat Mitzvah Rocks Sleepy Israeli Town
A girl’s rite of passage is celebrated to much fanfare, as her parents vow to give her a night to remember.
Someone Else’s Simcha / A Toddler Enters the Jewish Fold With One Dramatic Haircut
Fireman Sam makes his debut at Kfar Chabad in a lively celebration of Jewish tradition.
Israeli Computer Heads Prepare to - Finally - Don IDF Fatigues
A group of university friends gather just before Yom Kippur to mark their upcoming enlistment with beer, meat, and a semi-lit fire.
Atop Israel’s Mountainous North, a Druze Couple Builds a New Home
A family affair in Beit Jann is cause for celebration for the northern village, with hundreds of guests, hundreds of kilos of meat, and a whole lot of future ahead.
Among the Vines, Two Wanderers Find Their Way Home
A young couple deals with religion, a lack of religion, and families continents apart as they celebrate their union - and boogie down.
Israel Zoo Uses Lull in Gaza Tension to Celebrate 7-ton Birthday Boy
Yossi, the world's largest African elephant in captivity, celebrates his 40th with spa treatment and copious amounts of fruit, branches and hay.
Via 'Gay Romeo,' Ran Meets and Makes His Match
Two hip young Tel Avivians celebrate a new chapter in life with joy and understanding - at least among those present.
Under Falling Gaza Rockets, Tel Aviv’s Prostitutes Sew Together a New Life
A Tel Aviv group of women seeks to aid those seeking to break the cycle of prostitution through fashion design and the ability to dream of a way out of a much more everyday type of war.
Back in Time, Back to School - After 50 Years
A religious elementary school in Rosh Ha'ayin celebrates a jubilee with a torrent of photos, clashing memories, smiles and moist eyes.
Who Needs Meat? Shy and Adam's Fruitful Union
The wedding guests were somewhat taken aback by the fruitarian menu.