Harriet Gimpel

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Jan 12, 2025, 11:18 AM

In the routine of things, we're amidst another round of escalated hopes of a deal to return the hostages. Because of occasionally mentioning my friend Efrat's uncle, Gadi Mozes, among the elderly hostages, I almost wanted to write an...

Jan 4, 2025, 3:51 PM

Q & As for Democracy

Thinking about democracy as destined for self-destruction, and convinced, theoretically, that it's sustainable, I hope it's restored at the end of cycles of adjusting the scales. Pollsters conduct public surveys. Despite repeated lack of survey accuracy when we see...

Dec 29, 2024, 9:24 PM

You don't learn to live with it – another billboard, the logo of the families of hostages demanding their return in the corner. Yet, they live with it. I won't presume to understand how. By loose association, I recall a...

Dec 22, 2024, 12:56 AM

Two Palestinian Men, Me, and Who We Are

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It's 18 years since I met Mahmoud, a young, ambitious, Bedouin man from Rahat. He joined the Israeli network of a Euromed Foundation that I was coordinating, dealing with cultural exchange, pluralism, and social justice by collaboration. For years,...

Dec 14, 2024, 8:17 PM

Taking Responsibility or 3 Fronts and Losing Track

Snatching information from different media sites about three fronts and escaping into a workshop leading to another window – that's what I did this past week. One news item takes me from Damascus to Homs. Another follows the Israeli army...

Dec 8, 2024, 12:05 AM

State of Mind and Palestine

Hearing news about rebel conquests in Syria, my thoughts drift to questions about people in northern Israel evacuated in October 2023. Do they have homes to return to and can their safety be guaranteed? People from southern Lebanon are...

Dec 1, 2024, 12:09 AM

Two Narratives of Stupidity

A moment when you feel like hearing what someone else has to say. You know politics and emotions intertwine and jolt your nerves just by thinking about certain issues. You see headlines and choose to be less knowledgeable by...

Nov 23, 2024, 11:06 PM

Prepare for Landing: Unpacking and Three Vignettes

Packing our suitcase before departure from the UK, people and places fit into piles in my mind. People we met, people we saw, places we visited, food we tasted, warmth that embraced us, fallen leaves we trampled, and snow...

Nov 12, 2024, 3:28 AM

My Travel Journal – Three Highlights

Travel mode activated. Leaving Israel for Dubai with family to visit family. Wearing my gold-plated yellow ribbon necklace and #BringThemHomeNow yellow bracelet. Prepared to downplay my Israeli identity. News of Israeli soccer fans leaving the stadium in Amsterdam attacked by...

Nov 2, 2024, 3:42 PM

Note to Self: Distance Affects Perspective

Finding comfort in reassuring our oldest granddaughter (10) that her father is in northern Israel. Cause for concern is containable, in a manner of speaking. Then her dad comes home for a three-day course in central Israel. He returns...

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About Me

Born and raised in Philadelphia, earned a B.A. in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies from Brandeis University in 1980, followed by an M.A. in Political Science from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Harriet has worked in the non-profit world throughout her career. She is a freelance translator and editor, writes poetry in Hebrew and essays in English, and continues to work for NGOs committed to human rights and democracy.