Education

Integrating Spirituality and Activism – How to Change the World

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If I am not for myself, who will be for me? But if I am only for myself, what am I? If not now, when?- Rabbi Hillel, Pirke Avot 1:14
Our world is riddled with tragedies: the epidemic of killings by police in the U.S. of African Americans, boats capsizing with hundreds of people fleeing war-torn countries in search of security, safety and well-being, children dying from illnesses stemming from malnutrition at alarming rates, women and girls being raped as victims of wars, and the list goes on. As spiritual seekers we desperately yearn for a day when peace and nonviolence, love and care, kindness and generosity as well as a deep connection with the sacred in one another and with the creative force of the universe reign. Many of us, in our despair, turn to spiritual guidance and practices to soothe our pain and find solace.

Healing Israel/Palestine

Voting in the WZO Election Does Matter

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Voting in the WZO election DOES matter. Please join us and our partners telling the world that the Hatikvah Slate is the opposition to the status quo. Though you can’t change the results of the last election, you can still have a say over what happens in Israel.

Empathy

Bethlehem: A Subjective Travelogue

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Although I had no specific expectations, what I encountered in Bethlehem was still unexpected…. This, like so many places in our current world in permanent transition, is a city of paradox and co-existing contradiction.

General News

Don’t Say We Did Not Know: One Man’s Struggle to Bring the Truth to Light

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The human rights movement takes the place “where morality and ethics are failing,” says Israeli author activist Amos Gvirtz. “This is the unknown success of the human rights movement.” He fears the time is running out for Israel to convince the world that their methods for dealing with Palestinians are justified in violating international human rights law.

Culture

Demographic Threats and the Passover Story

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Whatever your tradition may be, the Passover story reverberates with relevance in our modern world. It is a story of resistance, struggle, self-doubt, and crises of faith, the attempt to destroy a people perceived as the Enemy. Just as we remove drops of wine from our cups to commemorate the Egyptian firstborn sons who were slain, so should we hold dear the thousands of Palestinian children killed in the name of Israeli “security.”

Healing Israel/Palestine

Thoughts About Israel, Passover, Freedom

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The state of Israel is the most important Jewish experiment of the last 2,000 years. It is precious not only to Jews, but to all who love freedom and justice. Jews have long been victims of prejudice, persecution and worse, and it would be a bitter irony were Israel to become the permanent victimizer of another people.