In recent months, three buildings have been dedicated and opened their doors in Jerusalem, buildings that are meaningful far beyond the structures themselves: the new National Library of Israel building, the campus of the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design in the center of the city, and the covered tennis courts in the Malha neighborhood. […]
BACKGROUND – TALKING POINTS – ACTIONS – DISPELLING FALSEHOODS – STORIES See our “Dispelling Falsehoods, Stating Facts” section to help address difficult questions about the conflict. “Jews are always told that we are not allowed to speak up for ourselves. You cannot allow yourself to be pushed out. We are showing resilience and strength. The […]
In its vital aim of effecting regime change in Gaza, Israel is not the first country to grapple with collateral loss of life The ruins of Dresden in 1945. Facing south from the town hall (‘Rathaus’) tower. Photo some time between 17 September 1945 and 31 December 1945 (CC Deutsche Fotothek via Wikimedia) Joe Biden […]
A half-shekel donation on Purim, reading Parashat Shekalim just before Rosh Ḥodesh Adar—these practices recall the annual gift to the Tabernacle/Temple. Its origin is in the census ordered in Parashat Ki Tissa, where everyone was counted by giving a half-shekel. Why? This is not a donation but a “ransom” intended to save the donor from […]
BACKGROUND – TALKING POINTS – ACTIONS – VOICES – STORIES See our “Dispelling Falsehoods, Stating Facts” section to help address difficult questions about the conflict. Communities in northern Israel are virtually ghost towns, while the world’s attention is focused on the war in Gaza. Those towns in the north mirror the villages near Gaza that […]
MERCAZ USA Executive Director Sarrae Crane has been in Israel for the last week and a half on the annual mission of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations. She shares her thoughts about what she has seen and heard with us in this video message:
Bulletin Released on February 22, 2024 This week marks the International Day of Social Justice, which gives us an opportunity to reflect on the reality in which we live in, and our place within it. One of the most prominent tensions in Judaism in the post-modern era is the tension between the community (the collective) […]
On February 24, 2022, the lives of many people in Ukraine changed beyond recognition. Plans and dreams were shattered in an instant. Loss, destruction, terror, and uncertainty burst into people’s lives. I, like many of my friends, will never forget that day. That year in March we celebrated Purim together in Czernowitz, which is where […]
BACKGROUND – TALKING POINTS – ACTIONS – STORIES – PHOTOS IN THE NEWS See our “Dispelling Falsehoods, Stating Facts” section to help address difficult questions about the conflict. The murderous 10/7 terrorist attack was executed with ruthless precision, designed to maximize casualties, kidnap civilians – including children – and instill fear in the Israeli population. […]
The Ark of the Covenant (aron ha-‘edut) is the first item on the list of furnishings that the Israelites were commanded to construct in preparation for setting up the Tabernacle (mishkan). The task of that piece of furniture is to store and safeguard the sign of the covenant between the Eternal and His people. Some […]