Ilana Kraus

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Oct 23, 2023, 6:34 PM

Gaza is not going to be free until it is free of Hamas

Hamas is a murderous terrorist organization dedicated, in their own words, to the destruction of ‎Israel and Jews everywhere. ‎ ‎(Look up their covenant. The sixth ‎paragraph of its introduction states: “This Covenant of the Islamic Resistance Movement ‎‎(HAMAS),...

Aug 2, 2017, 7:24 PM

An Antidote for Sinat Hinam

On Tisha b’Av, when many Jews visit the Kotel, I was reminded of my first encounter with this remnant of the Second Temple whose destruction we mark on that day, along with that of the previous Temple, and many...

Apr 24, 2017, 10:53 PM

Everyone has a name: Holocaust Remembrance Day 2017

Every day is Holocaust Remembrance Day for me, I don’t need a special day, but this year was different. The Holocaust is the formative event of my life, even though it happened before I was born. The sadness and...

May 5, 2014, 12:51 PM

A Tear in a Frame

Here I am, like every year, standing just outside the wall of the military cemetery, where I know I can get the best angle. For what? For a tear in a frame. I look around. There’s a young girl...

Apr 27, 2014, 7:35 PM

Poland 1 - Birkenau Haunted The silence is haunted With the wailing, screaming and shouting, The ghosts of my cousins, aunts and uncles on the empty railroad tracks, Hundreds of ghosts walking, bewildered, shoving, pushing Walking Wailing I whisper their names as I walk towards The...

Dec 4, 2013, 5:52 PM

Fight… and flee

Recently I bought a bracelet. Not because I needed it or thought it was particularly beautiful, but because it was a donation to an NGO that supports shelters for battered women. The woman who sold it to me was...

Sep 13, 2013, 2:34 PM

For the Sin of Silence

For the Sin of Silence Ilana Kraus On my way to work in south Tel Aviv, I walk past many Africans. I want to be able to look them straight in the eye, smile, nod, whatever, with pride, knowing that we...

May 24, 2012, 7:56 PM

Simple Arithmetic

Simple Arithmetic Ilana Kraus The Tal Law may have been a realistic attempt to gradually wean the ultra-Orthodox community from the exemptions their yeshiva students have been enjoying since the early years of Israel’s existence. But we didn’t need the High...

Apr 5, 2012, 2:05 PM

Celebrating freedom

In Israel, we have even more reason rejoice because we are observing our deliverance from slavery in our own country, where we are free to be Jewish. Problem is, we aren’t

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About Me

Ilana Kraus has been living in Israel for fifty years. A translator, editor, and journalist, Ilana has in recent years has begun writing fiction as well as opinion pieces.