Articles written by Deborah Danan
Sorted by date Results 1 - 14 of 14
Penn professors spent the week in Israel
(JTA) — After Oct. 7, Michael Kahana joined hundreds of his colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania in signing an open letter condemning Hamas and expressing support for Israel and its right to self defense. But the psychology professor w...
Birthright back in business
(JTA) — Birthright Israel on Tuesday announced that it would resume its free, 10-day educational trips to Israel in January after suspending them amid the ongoing war with Hamas. Around 350 participants, students and young adults primarily from t...
Yad Vashem has turned itself into a school for children whose communities were attacked on Oct. 7
(JTA) — On the day Israel was attacked, one of Hannah Asnafi’s first-graders from the southern Israeli community of Kfar Maimon hid for hours in a cramped attic. Now, seven weeks later, the child has joined Asnafi and the rest of his class in a mak...
Hugs, slinkies and trauma care: How the Israeli health system will treat the released hostages
TEL AVIV (JTA) — Israeli health, military and government officials have been preparing for what a release of hostages from Gaza would look like since Oct. 7. But on Friday, as the first round of hostages were released at the start of a ceasefire b...
Tel Aviv's long-awaited light rail system is finally opening
TEL AVIV (JTA) — The sounds of protest echoed and the ticket scanner malfunctioned as Israel’s transportation minister, Miri Regev, led a dry run for journalists of Tel Aviv’s long-awaited light rail on Aug. 16. The landmark project, which cost...
The song in an ad for an Israeli sandwich shop has become a nationwide party anthem
JAFFA, Israel (JTA) - The Hebrew lyrics for an Israeli sandwich shop ad don't sound quite like a typical Israeli night club anthem. "Kebab, merguez sausage, shakshuka/Vegetables and onion are always i...
All the Jewish details of King Charles' coronation
LONDON (JTA) - At a reception of faith leaders at Buckingham Palace the day after Queen Elizabeth's death in September, King Charles pulled Britain's chief rabbi, Ephraim Mirvis, aside for a word....
On display at Germany's embassy in Israel: Portraits of Holocaust survivors that seek to reclaim their stories
TEL AVIV (JTA) — The first time Gidon Lev encountered Holocaust denial was after becoming an unwitting TikTok star at the age of 86. “I was totally shocked. How could this be?” he told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency about receiving dozens of comme...
Alarmed by their country's political direction, more Israelis are seeking to move abroad
TEL AVIV (JTA) - When Daniel Schleider and his wife, Lior, leave Israel next month, it will be for good - and with a heavy heart. "I have no doubt I will have tears in my eyes the whole flight," said...
Dramatic stories of survival, endurance and escape reign as Ukrainian Jews mark 1 year of war
(JTA) — Most of the passengers on the flight from Chisinua, Moldova, to Tel Aviv earlier this month were subdued. Some had just witnessed scene after scene of hardship on a tour of war-torn Ukraine organized by the International Fellowship of C...
Israel's new 'faithful left' is making itself felt
TEL AVIV (JTA) — “Everyone who answers, ‘Thank God’ when asked, ‘How are you,’ raise your hand,” Brit Yakobi asked the crowd of 700 people gathered in an Orthodox synagogue in Jerusalem. The overwhelming majority of hands shot up. “Everyone who is mo...
The reality of sirens for children in Israel
(JNS)—It’s been a surreal few days. On Thursday, I grappled with how to explain the Holocaust Remembrance Day siren to my 4-year-old. We were in a coffee shop when it blared. I decided I would leave explanations about dead Jews and the people who...
Conservatives lament current discourse, eagerly await Trump
Political correctness came under attack in Jerusalem Dec. 19 at a public policy summit convening conservative leaders from Israel, India, the European Parliament and the U.S. Congress. At the same time, the conservatives eagerly looked forward to...
Michael Oren: Israel no longer a 'frontier country' for its newest immigrants
Member of Knesset Michael Oren (Kulanu), the self-described "resident old man," surveys the scene unfolding before his eyes with growing astonishment. Seven-hundred pounds of grilling meat, 20 bags...