It seemed really weird – sitting in Jerusalem watching TV coverage of a terrorist attack in Boston. Too many times Allen and I sat in front of our TV watching coverage of a terrorist attack here in Israel. Once before – on Sept. 11, 2001 – we sat glued to our TV watching the terrorist [ Read More...]

By Phyllis Singer Contributing Columnist On Monday, the Jewish world observed Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day. In December, my daughter-in-law Judy, wife of Hanan (Howie), traveled to Germany with her brothers to explore their Jewish roots. Her search began almost four years ago on the Internet and ended in the German town of Ruppertshofen, where [ Read More...]

By Phyllis Singer Contributing Columnist Is Purim a month-long holiday in Israel? No; it just seems that way. Or maybe Israel has become a sister country to Sholom Aleichem’s Chelm. Purim was celebrated Saturday night, Feb. 23, and Sunday, Feb. 24, in most of Israel, in Cincinnati and in Jewish communities around the world. Purim [ Read More...]

By Phyllis Singer Contributing Columnist This year in Jerusalem a mammoth (by Israeli standards) storm hit the city and most of the country. And for several days beforehand, meteorologists were predicting that Jerusalem was going to be hit hard. December saw a record amount of rainfall for the month, and meteorologists say this winter has [ Read More...]

By Phyllis Singer Contributing Columnist A former Cincinnatian as a member of the Israeli Knesset? It’s a long shot, but it could happen. If not in the next Knesset, perhaps in the one after that. Never say “never” – especially not in Israeli politics. Former Cincinnatian Rabbi Dov Lipman is running for the next Knesset [ Read More...]

By Phyllis Singer This November brought new experiences for American olim (immigrants) in Jerusalem as Israel experienced Operation Pillar of Defense from Nov. 14-21. This military operation (not a war – just a military operation!) was launched against Hamas in Gaza to put an end to all the rocket and missile attacks that have been [ Read More...]

By Phyllis Singer The 2012 High Holiday season is coming to a close. One of the traditions that takes place during this season is visiting the cemetery to remember our loved ones. Between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, Hanan and I visited the cemetery in Jerusalem where Allen is buried so we could say special [ Read More...]

By Phyllis Singer This month, “This Year in Jerusalem” is focusing on a New York museum instead of life in Israel. During an August trip to New York to see family, I visited the Neue Galerie on the Upper East Side, founded in the 1990s by philanthropist and art collector Ronald Lauder, today president of [ Read More...]

This past Sunday, July 29, we observed Tisha B’Av, the Ninth of Av, commemorating the destruction of the Holy Temples in Jerusalem. The First Temple was destroyed in 586 BCE, and the Second Temple in 70 CE. Is Tisha B’Av a meaningful holiday for Jews today? The Israeli newspaper Makor Rishon commissioned a poll, which [ Read More...]

By Phyllis Singer Once again in the Hebrew calendar, we have experienced the cycle of joy and sadness—the times of commemorating redemption and loss. The Hebrew months of Nissan, Iyar and Sivan, corresponding this year to April and May, bring joy and sadness —the highs and lows of the Jewish experience. The 15th of Nissan [ Read More...]