Howie Goldschmidt

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Nov 27, 2023, 11:19 AM

War and produce

I land a few hours before Shabbat. Rav Shilo arrives at Kabbalat Shabbat with his M-16. He is still on the phone conducting army business. Military Intelligence gives him off every Shabbat because he is a congregational rabbi. Eitan (14)...

Feb 16, 2019, 9:54 AM

Among the Zionist bona fides in my family history is my mother's recollection that her father had been a delegate from Hamburg to one of the Zionist Congresses in the early 20th century. Wishing to learn more about this,...

May 18, 2018, 5:52 PM

United States ON America

She got it wrong. If Ivanka was trying to channel Sacha Baron Cohen’s hopeless foreigner, Borat, she should have said “U.S. AND A” He got it wrong. The US ambassador, whose full name is David MELECH Friedman (somewhat grandiose), described...

Mar 11, 2018, 4:23 PM

In Israel, the work week begins on Sunday

6:45 AM: Mazda 2 on the 443. Minarets to the left, minarets to the right. ECO99FM, Rock the Casbah 7:45: Coronary Care Unit rounds, many admissions over the holiday weekend. On a remote settlement, a Talmud scholar collapsed after dancing...

Mar 6, 2018, 6:06 PM

Building Israel

To build and be built -Early 20th century Zionist slogan They paved paradise and put up a parking lot -Joni Mitchell A joke has it that the national bird of Israel is the crane. The building process begins near the town of Ramle. Early...

Feb 25, 2018, 7:23 PM

The ground that I pound is my muse. Autumn 2005, Paramus, New Jersey: 49 minutes. 12 years, 11,000 running miles and 20 pounds ago. Before I even dreamed of this Zionist adventure. Most of my life is planned with one New...

Feb 23, 2017, 11:33 AM

An impromptu evening prayer service has just finished at an airport gate in a historic European city 5 hours from Israel. A floor-to-ceiling window separates me from the jet I will soon board. Later tonight, I will be processed...

Apr 21, 2016, 3:43 AM

Defending Israel: Shaare Zedek chronicle, week #4

Out of existential necessity, the military is a dominant institution in Israel. On the walls of my grandsons’ preschool classrooms, up-to-date photos of the Prime Minister, the President and the IDF Chief of Staff are displayed side by side....

Apr 13, 2016, 2:14 PM

“Busman’s Holiday” (Shaare Zedek chronicle, week #3)

“Busman’s Holiday” noun: A vacation or form of recreation that involves doing the same thing one does at work. On Tuesday, we finished our work early in the echocardiography department. My colleague left the hospital for his second job at...

Apr 6, 2016, 1:49 PM

“Kibbutz Galuyot” (Shaare Zedek chronicle, week #2)

"Kibbutz Galuyot": "Ingathering of the exiles", one of the cornerstones of the return to Zion in the modern State of Israel. This is evident everywhere you go in this small country. At Shaare Zedek Medical Center, the 3 attending...

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About Me

Dr. Goldschmidt , a graduate of Columbia University, is an American cardiologist who resides in Teaneck, NJ and Atlantic Beach, NY. He is the proud grandfather of 4 Sabra boys who live in Modiin. He volunteers one month a year at Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem, teaching and practicing cardiology. He also serves on the board of The American Committee for Shaare Zedek Medical Center