Andrea Samuels, at The Blogs

Oct 4, 2021, 6:39 PM

Earlier today, as I sat at the kitchen table chatting with my daughter Orli, she nonchalantly handed over a small folder, which she’d brought home from school. Not having the first clue what it was, she announced that it contained her brother, Rafi’s, Te’udat Bagrut,...

Jul 13, 2021, 1:27 PM

My fabulous friend and her iced coffee craving

A couple of months ago, salt and vinegar crisps fever swept through the Holy Land. Brits spoke and posted pictures on Facebook of little else for months. Well, right now, that same feeling of utter ecstasy is about to engulf the South African community in...

Jun 9, 2021, 11:33 AM

Peace through Shimon Peres’ vision and legacy

The Peres Centre for Peace and Innovation was the brainchild of Shimon Peres. After the murder of Yitzhak Rabin in 1995, Shimon Peres came up with the idea for the centre. He was convinced that enduring peace had to be fostered at grassroots level and...

May 16, 2021, 12:19 PM

The silent ones

People gather at Marble Arch in central London, ahead of a march in solidarity with the people of Palestine amid the ongoing conflict with Israel. Picture date: Saturday May 15, 2021. (Via Jewish News/Press Association)

Here in Israel, we have had to live with rockets being fired indiscriminately at us for days on end. I’m up in the middle of the night, writing this now, as I was woken by a boom around 45 minutes ago. Fortunately, the siren didn’t...

Apr 20, 2021, 5:25 PM

A Brit’s desire for salt and vinegar crisps in Israel

Something amazing happened this week. Something which only a Brit living in Israel with a passion for salt and vinegar crisps could appreciate. They’re here! Finally! And not the fancy handmade type. Oh no! Proper bags of salt and vinegar crisps have appeared on the shelves...

Apr 13, 2021, 2:24 PM

Sacrifice: The first Yom Hazikaron as the mother of a soldier

Yom Hazikaron starts in a few hours. This year it feels particularly poignant as it’s the first one for me as the mother of a serving soldier. I knew when we made aliyah five years ago that one day in the future, my children would...

Mar 1, 2021, 11:26 AM

Nightmare on aliyah street

Making aliyah is a challenge at the best of times, especially if you’re doing it with children. The whole process can be very difficult and daunting. The pandemic has made it even more of a challenge for some of those 20,000 lucky ones who have...

Feb 23, 2021, 11:11 AM

Organ donation – myths and reality

Having grown up and lived in a Jewish community in Manchester for most of my adult life, I was always under the impression that I couldn’t be an organ donor after my death. I knew that live donation of a kidney, for example, was permitted....

Feb 11, 2021, 2:50 PM

Twenty years since my Valentine’s Day loss

Valentine's Day (Photo by Debby Hudson on Unsplash via Jewish News)

20 years ago, on Valentine’s Day I stood in my kitchen in Manchester sharing a cigarette with a friend, something which I hadn’t done for almost 10 years. I’d just suffered a miscarriage and she’d come over to comfort me. I was 31, newly married...

Dec 2, 2020, 12:58 PM

Why Jewish education is so Important

I went to Withington Girls’ School, a posh all girls’ school in Manchester. I loved it! I still have fond memories of my time there. The assemblies, the hymns, learning Latin and other totally useless and inappropriate things for a nice Jewish girl. It never...

About Me

I’m a British lawyer from Manchester. I made aliyah in 2016 and now live in Netanya with my husband, 3 children and 3 dogs. As I wasn’t able to pursue my legal career here in Israel, I started a small business editing English language papers for academics. I also write short stories or ‘blogs’ about the trials and tribulations of my new life.

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