Ops & Blogs | The Times of Israel » Zak Meyers

Letter To My Unborn Child

Zak Meyers — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 08:00:23 +0000

Your grandfather once told me: “You won’t ever have to worry about forgetting you’re Jewish, because there will always be someone there to remind you.” As he marked his 70th birthday this past week, it caused him to reflect on his life. As I received an email of these musings, it caused me to reflect [...]

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Standing Firm Amid the Sirens

Zak Meyers — Sun, 18 Nov 2012 14:02:07 +0000

As I stepped into the bomb shelter on Erev Shabbat, I realized with stark clarity that this is why we will never be defeated. Not because prayer alone will keep us safe, but because the muttering of our prayers can be heard over the blaring air raid sirens; because, in the face of our enemy’s [...]

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Jews Of the Silver Shoah (The Exile Dispatches)

Zak Meyers — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 08:16:45 +0000

“My Jews! These are my Jews!” These were the closing remarks uttered by the heroic righteous gentile in Agnieszka Holland’s In Darkness (2012). Like other efforts to capture the essence of the unfathomability of the Shoah, Holland employs beautiful cinematography, a subtle impactful score, compelling acting… Basically, all the elements of a good film. What [...]

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Shells of Man (The Exile Dispatches)

Zak Meyers — Wed, 11 Jul 2012 04:49:32 +0000

This is the first piece from the “The Exile Dispatches” series, written while temporarily outside of Israel. How cold the days here. An interesting musing, as a suffocating heat wave has finally subsided. How distant the people here. A curious thought, as I move through the crowded metropolitan streets. How thick the insulation between beings [...]

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Anglo olim: More walk, less talk

Zak Meyers — Wed, 16 May 2012 05:53:24 +0000

Rather than respond to the litany of criticisms (some destructive, some constructive) offered in the comments about last week’s piece, I am glad people took the time to air their grievances. Perhaps debating this issue is a more cathartic and rewarding process than chatting idly among similarly distraught olim, which simply reinforces one’s “right” to [...]

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Anglo olim: The age of entitlement?

Zak Meyers — Sun, 06 May 2012 14:51:21 +0000

Claims published in these pages about Israeli society’s failure to embrace olim reek of entitlement. Before continuing, I think we should twist the kaleidoscope slightly to show that this is more an issue of the failure of olim to embrace Israeli society. To voluntarily immigrate somewhere and then subsequently complain about the culture into which you wish [...]

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