Allison Kaplan Sommer (Haaretz)
By Allison Kaplan Sommer (Haaretz)
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The Schmooze How Super-Buff Reality Show Star Named Tiltil Stopped Israeli Terror Attack
Donald Trump has done his part to blur the line between reality television and reality for Americans, transitioning from fake boss in The Apprentice to an actual contender to U.S. presidential candidate on the evening news. On Monday, it was the Israeli public’s turn to blink during their newscast and wonder if perhaps they were…
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Life Undressing Avi: Feminist ‘Jewish Slut’ Sheds Web Persona To Talk Real Sex — and Politics
Nobody knew what to make of “Avi Does the Holy Land” when the first episode of the web series landed last month, introducing an outrageous young self-described “Jewish slut” whose pro-Israel enthusiasm is matched only by her libido and off-color jokes about just about everything. But for those not put off by Avi’s raunchy style…
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News Who’s Kvelling Over Bernie Sanders? It’s a Millennial Thing.
With his win in New Hampshire, Senator Bernie Sanders has officially become the first Jew to win a U.S. presidential primary. It is a historic achievement by any measure – but it is also a victory that is something of an orphan, celebrated enthusiastically neither by Sanders himself, who, in his victory speech, referred to…
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News Wounded in Terror Attack, Soldier From Florida Vows To Stay and Fight for Israel
Jake Laznik, an American Jew from Florida, fulfilled his dream of joining the elite Golani Brigade and proudly donning his IDF uniform for the first time on November 22. Just five days later, wearing that same uniform, he found himself crushed under a car in the West Bank, the victim of another in the seemingly…
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Life Will The Constant Parade of Sexual Harassment Scandals in Israel Ever End?
The meteoric political rise and devastating fall of Knesset member Yinon Magal cast a glaring spotlight on a major problem in modern Israeli politics – and Israeli society in general. On one hand, the Israeli public still prefers their (predominantly male) leaders to confidently take-charge and to be macho, tough talking fighters who swagger on to the…
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Life Meet April Baskin, the Multiracial Face of Reform Judaism
To meet April Baskin is to see the change in American Jewry personified. A tall, confident, 32-year-old with an impressive mane of curly hair and a wide smile, the self-described “multiracial Jewish woman of color” is the newest executive in the Reform Jewry movement. Her offbeat job title – vice president for audacious hospitality –…
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Life Internet Shaming is New Weapon Against Get-Refusing Husbands
It seems everybody wants to be a celebrity these days. But the men whose names and faces are plastered across Facebook and Twitter, identifying them as husbands who are refusing to grant their wives a Jewish divorce, are surely famous against their will. The latest media star is a life coach in Dayton, Ohio, who…
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Life How Violence Transforms Free-Range Israeli Moms Into Helicopter Parents
Crossing guard duty is the sixth-grade badge of pride at my daughter’s suburban Israeli elementary school. Each morning and afternoon 12-year-olds clad in orange safety vests usher younger classmates over the crosswalks, confidently stopping traffic to let them pass. Afterwards, the older kids head for the bus stop to catch a ride home, or hop…
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Culture In Peter Yarrow’s legacy, an uneasy blend of Jewish values and personal transgressions
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News LA fires won’t stop bar mitzvahs this Shabbat, as joy and pain meet
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Fast Forward A synagogue that survived the Palisades fire has become a ‘refuge’ for many who lost their homes
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