Ops & Blogs | The Times of Israel » Julie Gray

Hakol B’Seder at Passover

Julie Gray — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 09:13:59 +0000

Passover. It was the first Jewish holiday I ever celebrated. I was twenty years old and it was also the first time I met my Jewish boyfriend’s family. I was also NOT Judy Schonberg, my boyfriend’s previous, law-school attending, wildly intelligent but most importantly, nice Jewish girlfriend. No, Judy I was not. I was a [...]

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Upside Down on Purim

Julie Gray — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 17:06:17 +0000

My life is afuk at the moment. Upside down. I know the word afuk because I have been in Ulpan (Hebrew immersion classes) for three weeks that feel like an eternity. It is one of the vocabulary words that have actually stuck. I read once that one needs to hear and use a word at [...]

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Apocalypse now? I think not

Julie Gray — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 10:51:43 +0000

I made aliyah last spring. My mother, a serial and accomplished worrier of Olympic proportions, is back home in California, completely confused and paralyzed with fear as to why on earth I would move to Israel. You can’t really blame her – Israel is the source of bad and worse news as far as she [...]

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Where I’m calling from: An American ambassador in Israel

Julie Gray — Thu, 12 Jul 2012 08:49:39 +0000

When you are an American living or traveling abroad, you gain the dubious distinction of being an ambassador for all things American. You may have experienced this. How “we” do things. What “we” think about Obama (or insert current president here). What “we” like to eat. Why “we” did or do this or that (insert [...]

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If You Can’t Say Anything Nice…

Julie Gray — Tue, 10 Jul 2012 06:52:49 +0000

If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all. If I heard that once growing up, I heard it a thousand times. I have what some might call “nice girl syndrome”. Growing up, it was imparted unto me that my imperative in life was to “be nice”. You know, to make people comfortable. [...]

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Speaking in Tongues: Does Hebrew Matter?

Julie Gray — Mon, 09 Jul 2012 14:15:48 +0000

I made aliyah last spring. I like to say “last” spring because it makes it sound like I’ve been here longer. It’s really been four months. What is that – 120 days? Why does it feel like a lifetime? Oh, I don’t know, maybe because getting used to the way life works here hasn’t been [...]

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Stupid Shabbat

Julie Gray — Tue, 26 Jun 2012 01:57:43 +0000

Another store closed. No bus. Nothing for dinner. Stupid Shabbat, I would mutter, under my breath. You see, Shabbat and I have had a complicated relationship. It’s not Shabbat, it’s me. I converted, you see, 26 years ago. Having been raised by liberal hippie parents from Berkeley, I really knew very little of any religious [...]

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Just My Humble Opinion About the Sudanese

Julie Gray — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 08:52:36 +0000

Everybody has an opinion. And in Israel, everybody has three or four opinions and they are definitely better than YOUR opinions. I have plenty of beliefs about Israel too – about the government, the disputed territories, the settlements, the high cost of living, where to find the best sabich, and just about everything else. And [...]

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Why Israel?

Julie Gray — Mon, 18 Jun 2012 16:25:36 +0000

I never wanted to come to Israel. In fact, I could name five countries right now that I would sooner have visited. My image of Israel was that of a hot, rocky moonscape with the errant goat or two in the background. I love history and I knew there were ancient ruins here, but heck, [...]

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