Helen Joyce

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Sep 11, 2024, 11:05 PM

Grief, shame, fury, helplessness, frustration and a stubborn determination are churning in an uncomfortable stew in my gut. Maybe it’s because we have reached Ellul – the month of cheshbon nefesh, soul-searching. Maybe it’s because the imminent Chagim will...

Mar 13, 2024, 3:36 PM

In, out, shaken all about

I have just returned to Israel after a week in London. For some reason, I am reminded of a silly song popular when I was a child in Britain. Called the Hokey Cokey, the last verse goes: You put your...

Jan 27, 2024, 10:16 PM

Of Tanks, Tankers and Tractors

I haven’t laughed a lot these past three months. Not too many shouts for joy here in Israel at the moment. Occasional moments of hope, some fun romps with grandchildren, periods of despair and flashes of anger at the...

Jan 26, 2024, 6:56 PM

Of Tanks and Tractors

I haven’t laughed a lot these past three months. Not too many shouts for joy here in Israel at the moment. Occasional moments of hope, some fun romps with grandchildren, periods of despair and flashes of anger at the...

Nov 26, 2023, 3:36 PM

Dancing with the Devil

My emotions and my reason are out of step. 'Normal' disappeared on October 7th when a horde of Hamas savages broke the existing ceasefire and breached Israel's southern border defences. It was a masterstroke of deception. Hamas had convinced...

Nov 2, 2023, 8:02 PM

Good Morning Hamas

It’s OK not to like us. Hate us if you wish. We do not need your affection. It’s OK to hate the State of Israel and believe that its creation was unfair on the Arab population who lived there...

Oct 29, 2023, 11:06 AM

Strange how the world has turned topsy-turvy, totally confused, disordered. With its head down and underside up. Words I thought I understood and could apply sensibly to the world around me have suddenly become inverted. Words like ‘genocide’ -...

Oct 25, 2023, 6:10 PM

Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea

I received an email from a cousin in the US in which she expressed her concern for us here in Israel and asked my opinion: should Israel mount a ground invasion of Gaza, or not. Like all of us...

Oct 24, 2023, 12:12 PM

Today’s Letter from Israel

If I tell you I am suffering, enraged and hopeful all at once, does that sound contradictory? Maybe. But it's a fact. Let me explain. Thunderous noise fills the sky overhead at this moment. It is from overflying Israeli...

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About Me

Helen is the author of award-winning Good for a Single Journey, a four generational family saga based on a true story, published by Amsterdam Publishers in 2023. Born in London to Jewish refugees from Hitler, Helen studied Psychology at University College London and went on to specialise in clinical research and relationship counselling. She taught Psychology in Immanuel College, Bushey where she was Head of Sixth Form (Grades 12 and 13). Helen retired to Israel in 2013.