Articles written by Tal Blumstein

Tal Blumstein, JTA|May 24, 2013

NEW YORK (JTA)—“You have night blindness,” the Israeli army doctor announced unsympathetically at my pre-service medical examination. “You’re dismissed from your IDF mandatory army service by law,” he said and called the next soldier-to-be. I was frightened by the diagnosis. I had worn glasses since I was 3, but I never thought I would lose my vision at 18. It turned out not to be as serious as it sounded: My eyes just didn’t get used to darkness as quickly as they should. It took me time to digest the enormity of the news: I didn’t need t...