David Breakstone, at The Blogs

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Apr 18, 2019, 8:56 PM

8,000 empty chairs

Emey in Gondar with one of the daughters she didn't need to leave behind

Israel's government faces numerous intractable problems. There is one it could solve overnight: bringing our Ethiopian brethren home

Apr 8, 2019, 3:06 PM

Zionism isn’t a party. Still, it’s something to celebrate.

In a rare and dramatic appearance, Theodor Herzl speaks his mind on the eve of Israel’s elections. As happens from time to time, Theodor Herzl contacted me today, only hours before the polls were to open in this hotly contested...

Dec 2, 2018, 7:17 PM

It was the question mark that threw me

Who'd have believed that the Promised Land of America’s Jews could feel so unpromising

Jul 22, 2018, 4:00 PM

The good news is that they’re finally afraid of us

The detention of Rabbi Dov Hayun last Thursday for questioning in regard to his officiating at Masorti (Conservative) weddings in Israel set off shock waves throughout the Jewish world. Many were unaware that there is actually a law in...

Apr 22, 2018, 12:49 PM

A salute to lone parents

For every lone soldier there's a lone parent or two left behind. They, too, are worthy of our appreciation as we celebrate the independence their sacrifice has helped ensure. The chorus of languages at President Rivlin’s reception for the 120...

Apr 20, 2018, 5:45 PM

The ties that bind

On the eve of Israel’s 70th birthday, the Jewish People Policy Institute released a major study supporting “today’s prevailing opinion… that Israel and Diaspora Jewry are growing farther apart.” Rachel and Yair may be the exception. Or perhaps the rule...

Jan 28, 2018, 5:53 PM

Lost and found in Auschwitz

At Auschwitz, Ride For the Living, 2015 (Via Krakow JCC)

On the miracle of a Jewish community in Poland that has emerged from the black shadows of the Holocaust

Sep 10, 2017, 6:44 PM

Reform is not a four-letter word

Shas MK Aryeh Deri used the term as an epithet against the Modern Orthodox rabbi, David Stav

Jul 16, 2017, 2:40 PM

Making dreams come true begins with waking up

I lingered by his tomb for a moment of contemplation after the crowd had dispersed. Suddenly a voice jolted me out of my reverie. “Making dreams come true begins with waking up,” he said simply. I was even more...

Jul 2, 2017, 8:32 PM

Israel topples as agreement on Western Wall crumbles

Downfall of Israel attributed to irreconcilable differences over the question of who is a Jew and access to the Western Wall that surfaced during the summer of 2017 Excerpted from Futurpedia, the online encyclopedia of tomorrow: The modern State of Israel,...

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About Me

Dr. David Breakstone is deputy chairman of the executive of The Jewish Agency for Israel and the conceptual architect and founding director of the Herzl Museum and Educational Center in Jerusalem. He also serves as a member of the executives of the World Zionist Organization, Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael (JNF) and Keren Hayesod. The opinions expressed herein are entirely his own.

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