Atara Vogelstein

Apply for a Blog

Sep 21, 2016, 9:53 PM

“Thoughts on How the World Works” and “Presenting a New Palestine”

It falls like a war flyer…”Watch out, I know you.” It falls like one of these flyers: WARNING: GET OUT OF YOUR HOME: SAVE YOURSELF (((((((((((((((((((( But instead of saying this, these warnings, these flat, white, flashing HAZARD SIGNS warning that...

Jun 15, 2016, 6:43 AM

I put on sunscreen to block it all out. Slowly, Generously, I rub it onto my skin, massage it gently over my nose, under my eyes but not too close. Not too close because when I cry it will sting/if I cry. I feel my fingers on...

Nov 24, 2015, 1:15 AM

Peace, Love & Basketball

It shouldn’t have felt ironic -- a girl in an IDF t-shirt guarding a Palestinian boy twice her size. And that wasn’t why I wanted to switch on defense; I’m five-two and three-quarters, he was maybe five-eight, five-nine, not so tall,...

Oct 15, 2015, 1:32 AM

Part II: My Heart is Bursting

You know when you feel like you're about to burst with pain. Your eyes tear up as you're exiting the subway. In acting class you don't have to try to think of sad things to cry, you just do. Every...

Oct 14, 2015, 5:55 AM

The Heart of the World is Bleeding

The heart of the world is bleeding. And all the surgeons in the world can't stop it. There's that fear of turning on the TV, reading the news, logging onto Facebook. That word being thrown around like it was...

Aug 31, 2015, 4:13 PM

I turned down the street by accident, if you can call it that—after all, roaming is intentional. The sunlight glinted and I squinted, you might say I opened my eyes at the right time; there I saw it. Five words,...

Aug 2, 2015, 7:24 AM

His name was Kurt and he was from Norway

His name was Kurt and he was from Norway. "I'm Kurt from Norway," he said in a shockingly abrasive tone, even to an ear familiar with Israelis. "Are you Jewish?" he then asked, which sounded like a gulp, and...

May 6, 2015, 12:02 AM

To the Student for Justice in Palestine standing in line behind me

To the Student for Justice in Palestine standing in line behind me, I don't want to hate you. I don't even know you. I don't even know what you look like. I only know you are there because the woman at the...

Feb 1, 2015, 12:37 PM

This February, Get Decade-nt

On the eve of Tziporela’s 10th year, I take you back to an evening I will never forget. My cheeks ached from laughter I couldn’t explain. I was laughing at things that weren’t funny. I was laughing at things that...

Aug 26, 2014, 11:21 PM

Is there an Israel beyond the conflict?

I want to say yes. I want to say her bullet marks are actually beauty marks, caused by the warping of time, not timeless battles. I want to say her role as a first responder to global crisis stems...

Load more

About Me

Atara Vogelstein is a recent graduate of the Gallatin School of Individualized Study at New York University, where she concentrated in Creative Writing, Drama, and Psychology. She is currently pursuing her Master's in Drama Therapy at NYU's Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development.