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Barbie Holiday Sweater Doll (Mattel)

Yael Buechler

Hanukkah Barbie is here — and she actually got it right

After years of Jewish holiday merchandising that’s off target or just plain wrong, there’s something powerful about finally feeling seen

(fizkes via iStock)

Rachel Lester

A letter from a formerly suicidal IDF reservist

I didn’t think I could get PTSD at my desk job after October 7. My mother knew better – and what she did saved my life

"Bite," 2017, Eva Avidar, clay, iron. Photo: Dor Pazuelo

Risa Levitt

She will dance again

On Sunday I made the call and told Eva that her sculpture was broken. She understood before I’d finished my first sentence. I braced for the worst

Mourners and security personnel walk behind a truck carrying the coffin of Bipin Joshi, the slain Nepali hostage, during a funeral ceremony at his hometown in Kanchanpur on October 21, 2025. (Prakash Chandra Timilsena / AFP)

Prakash Bishunke

Nepal may have forgotten October 7. I cannot

We young Nepalis came to Israel to learn how to farm. Three years later, our own country doesn’t care about the losses we suffered there

The documentary "Torn" (2024) examines the poster wars in New York City, when activists put up signs calling attention to Israeli hostages in Gaza, and others ripped them down. (Courtesy Nim Shapira)

Nim Shapira

I made a film about hostage posters. I was accused of centering ‘whiteness’

It takes a particular habit of mind to look at a grainy photo of a kidnapped person and start by asking what color they are

Citizens pack donations of food and other necessities for the soldiers and residents in the south, in Tel Aviv, October 9, 2023. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)

We must be the Israel of October 8

The solidarity that emerged after October 7 was no illusion. It showed us another Israel is possible — and that we need not accept division as our fate

People rally at the National Mall during an anti-Israel demonstration in Washington, October 20, 2023. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Chana Svei

I’m an ultra-Orthodox woman whose Jewish experience changed on October 7

At first, I hid my identity, but when I encountered a group spouting anti-Zionist propaganda, I spoke up – and discovered I needed a police escort to my car

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Silas Anastacio

Oct 11, 2026, 1:16 AM

The World Has Changed: Fisesp Day Explores Future Challenges

The event will feature a special appearance by actors from the series Fauda. The Jewish Federation of the State of São Paulo (Fisesp) will host Fisesp Day next Sunday, October 18, from 1:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at Teatro Porto...

Isaac Steven Herschkopf

Oct 11, 2026, 1:16 AM

An Indelible Paint-can in Jerusalem

"Bear me to that chamber; there I'll lie: in that Jerusalem shall (I) die." -Henry IV, Part 2, IV,5, William Shakespeare (1597) It was the cusp of the 70s. I was on the cusp of adulthood. So was Israel, still celebrating...

Oct 11, 2026, 1:14 AM

P1 Amcha Yisrael – a genuine alternative

I’ve just come back from a chug bayit (parlour meeting) in Mitzpe Netofa with Amcha Yisrael, and felt I should share a few words in English for anyone not yet familiar with this new party. Amcha Yisrael was announced on...

Oct 11, 2026, 1:13 AM

Created and Creating – Bereshit 5787

A Note on This Series: I approach the weekly Torah portion not as a religious scholar or someone seeking to offer an authoritative interpretation, but as a secular Jew for whom Jewish texts remain a source of curiosity, questioning,...

Benny A. Benjamin

Oct 11, 2026, 1:13 AM

Pushed out of their comfort zone: Biblical lessons for reluctant career climbers

Noah, Jacob, and Moses confront career change. ChatGPT-generated image from author prompts.

Noah, Jacob, and Moses were urged to step out of their comfort zones. What can we learn from their efforts? As we restart the annual Torah-reading cycle, we are reintroduced to familiar biblical personalities. In this cycle, among many lessons,...

Oct 11, 2026, 1:13 AM

Cheshvan: The Scent of Rain

Tishrei leaves us with the sound of the shofar, the fragility of the sukkah, and the Torah rolled back to its beginning. Then comes Cheshvan. In Tanach, the month is called Bul, while the name Marcheshvan arrived with the Jewish people...

Oct 11, 2026, 1:12 AM

So you want my vote?

It used to be so easy to pick a candidate to vote for in the United States of America. Over the years I’ve had no issues casting my vote. That was until the last election. I just couldn’t make myself...

Oct 11, 2026, 1:12 AM

Public Safety Canada Update on Anti-Zionism

Canada has taken an important step towards stemming the rise of antisemitism. Public Safety Canada’s recently released National Commitments to Combat Antisemitism - Summer 2026 progress report, and the Canadian Handbook on the IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism, make clear that...

Oct 11, 2026, 1:12 AM

Peace Requires Justice. The Nobel Peace Prize Requires None

When Henry Kissinger, who oversaw devastating bombing campaigns in Vietnam, received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1973, two members of the Nobel Committee resigned in protest. When Yasser Arafat, leader of a terror organization, received it in 1994, another...

Oct 11, 2026, 1:11 AM

Why No Numbers for Hamas’ Combatant Deaths

Of all the journalistic abuses committed by the mainstream media’s one-sided, anti-Israel (and, in some cases, antisemitic) news coverage of the Gaza War, no issue has been more divisive and contributed more to hatred of Jews than the indefensible...

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