Anastasia Torres-Gil, at The Blogs

Jul 12, 2024, 7:32 AM

From The Front Lines of Campus Protests at UCSC: Bring Them Home Now

It was a beautiful day for a protest. The sun was shining, flowers were blooming, and good music was emanating from the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC) across the road. Grad students and members of the United Auto...

Apr 18, 2024, 7:51 AM

El Al’s Last Flight from Tehran

Today, it’s nearly impossible to believe that in the not-so-distant past, Israel enjoyed close and warm relations with Iran. The Shah was very close to the Israeli leadership and the two countries had extensive trade relations. Large Israeli companies...

Feb 2, 2024, 12:00 AM

Hadassah Neurim Youth Village: Paradise with a Purpose

The view from Hadassah Neurim Village. Photo courtesy of the author.

I arrived in Israel for three weeks of volunteering. Soon, I found myself on what seemed to be a magical island of kindness that bore more than a passing resemblance to the 1960 Disney film Swiss Family Robinson. I was...

Feb 8, 2022, 11:56 PM

Even in the ‘Best Families’

The Times of Israel 1/25/22 headline: “Woman found dead in Ramat Gan; Partner Arrested.” Domestic violence is suspected. Sadly, I know from my years in law enforcement that when a woman dies an untimely death, the woman’s partner is...

About Me

Anastasia Torres-Gil is a former National Board Member of Hadassah and a member of the Hadassah Writers' Circle. She is a retired Assistant District Attorney. She served as the Santa Clara County District Attorney's first Hate Crimes Unit Coordinator. In the 1990’s, she was sent to Israel to investigate a Conspiracy to Commit Murder case. She’s a Wexner Heritage Fellowship alumna. Her op-eds have been published in The Jewish News of Northern California, The Oakland Tribune, Thrive Global and Santa Cruz Sentinel. Additionally, she wrote the first training manual for the California District Attorneys Association on how to prosecute hate crimes. In her free time, she creates the pro-Israel comic strip on social media called “Zionist Pugs” (www.zionistpugs.com) and was recognized for this work by the organization Combat Anti-Semitism. Anastasia recently developed and co-led a Fashion, Food, Wine & Design Hadassah tour to Israel and visits the country – and her dear friends there - often.