Jan Lee, at The Blogs

Aug 21, 2023, 6:56 AM

A new civil war in Ethiopia's remote Amhara region threatens to cut off food and access to safety for some 6,000 descendants of Israel's Beta Israel community Credit: SSEJ

Israel should airlift the thousands of Beta Israel descendants in harm's way to join their family members already in the country

Jan 4, 2022, 5:16 AM

Saving the Lives of Ethiopia’s Tiniest Olim

If we're lucky, most of us have never seen a malnourished child.Acute poverty is something that happens to someone else: the unemployed neighbor down the street whose kids are always hungry, the single mom with three kids who lives...

Dec 17, 2021, 6:27 PM

Protect Those Who Keep Ethiopia’s Ner Tamid Alive

Last month’s announcement by the Israeli government that it will grant aliyah to another 3,000 Ethiopian olim wasn’t entirely unexpected. However tenuous some would like to portray the link between the Jewish homeland and Africa’s remote Jewish communities, Israeli...

Jun 15, 2021, 7:54 AM

Israel’s unity can save lives

Olim arriving from Ethiopia - Kassaw Molla

The new Bennett-Lapid coalition is a reminder that Jews carry the best potential for success when they work together. It’s a valuable lesson for all, but especially for Israel’s western allies, where it is common to think that the...

Aug 9, 2020, 10:50 PM

Coronavirus Poses a Risk for Ethiopia’s Jews, Too

On July 23, another 34 Ethiopian Jews were reunified with their families in Israel. The airlift, sanctioned by the government of Israel, couldn’t have come at a better time. The Jewish communities of Gondar and Addis Ababa Ethiopia, like many...

Apr 24, 2018, 11:34 PM

International Investors are Good PR for Israeli Innovation

Israel’s expanding light rail system is in the news a lot these days. So is the country’s reputation as a start-up incubator that continues to bring new technology to the world. What is often not as well publicized is the...

Jun 29, 2017, 6:25 AM

Securing an Image of Religious Tolerance Beyond Israel

This week's announcement by the Netanyahu government that it was cancelling arrangements for an egalitarian prayer space was heard around the world. For millions of Diaspora Jews who have taken comfort in the expectation that Israel was and would remain...

Jan 6, 2016, 7:50 AM

Quake Threatens India’s Remote ‘Lost’ Jewish Community

The Bnei Menashe Jewish community in northeast India, has been in Israeli news a fair amount recently, thanks to efforts of the Jerusalem-based organization, Shavei Israel, which has worked hard to facilitate the right of its some-10,000 members to...

Oct 14, 2015, 10:20 AM

An Open Letter to President Obama

Dear President Obama, Tonight, on the close of one of Israel’s most traumatic days, I still sit waiting. As one who had voted for you in the last two elections, who has benefited from your courageous and compassionate initiatives to...

Jan 19, 2015, 11:47 AM

Hollande’s Missed Chance: When Two Would Have Spoken Louder than 40

One week has passed since the Paris rally in which more than 1 million individuals affirmed their solidarity against terrorism. Interestingly, the most current thread of conversation about the march these days seems not to be what was accomplished,...

About Me

Jan Lee's articles and blog posts have appeared in a variety of publications, including B'nai B'rith Magazine, the Jewish Independent (Vancouver, Canada), Baltimore Jewish Times. She is also a regular contributor to various business, environmental and travel publications. Lee lives in British Columbia, Canada.

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