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...]

By Phyllis Singer One of the amazing things about living in Israel is being able to witness the personification of Jewish ideals. During the past two weeks we have witnessed—not personally, but through news reports—two horrendous tragedies that befell young families. One in France and one in Israel. But out of those two tragedies emerged [ Read More...]

By Phillys Singer I made a mistake in my article in last week’s edition: I wrote that snow was a “no-show” this year in Jerusalem! And I also said that although winter is not quite over here, there is little chance of a winter storm in March, so Jerusalem residents will have to wait another [ Read More...]

Singer Says By: Phillys Singer Two weeks ago, Jerusalem braced for what meteorologists predicted was going to be a major snowstorm in Jerusalem on Shabbat. The city hasn’t had a major snowfall since 2008, although there was a light dusting in 2010. Jerusalem residents were excited, and children planned on playing in the snow on [ Read More...]

Reminiscing about “Jerusalem of Old” of the 1980s in last weekend’s Jerusalem Post Magazine, Liat Collins, editor of The Jerusalem Post International Edition and a frequent columnist in the magazine, wrote, among other things, that 1983 “was a time when the light rail did not exist in our wildest dreams.” But, she continued, “now it [ Read More...]

The holiday season is behind us, and with it went all the “ho, ho, ho,” Christmas cheer, Christmas music, Christmas decorations, and the ever-present reminder that America is a Christian country—even though it professes not to be. One of the great things about living in Israel is that Israel is a Jewish country, even though [ Read More...]

For the past few months Israel has been going through a crisis in its medical system — although it has not affected Jerusalem. The agreement under which doctors in public hospitals were working expired in the spring, and negotiations for a new agreement were long and arduous. The hospitals in Jerusalem — Hadassah, Sha’are Tzedek [ Read More...]

By Phyllis Singer Contributing Columnist October marked a time of prisoner exchange in Israel. On Oct. 18, Gilad Schalit, who had been captured by Hamas terrorists in a cross-border raid in June 2006 and had spent 1,941 days in captivity, was freed and returned to his family home in Mitzpe Hila in Northern Israel. The [ Read More...]

By Phyllis Singer Contributing Columnist This year we celebrated the Bar Mitzvah — the 13th year — of our High Holidays in Israel. And Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Peres came to our synagogue to celebrate with us! Well, not exactly to celebrate with us, but they were in our Beit Knesset (synagogue) for Kol [ Read More...]

By Phyllis Singer Contributing Columnist Popular radio show host and former Fox News personality Glenn Beck was in Israel last week to host his Restoring Courage rally. His appearance garnered support from Christian Zionists and right-wing Israelis and American Jews living here, but evoked criticism from the Left – in both Israel and the United [ Read More...]