Judy Halper, at The Blogs

May 25, 2023, 3:20 PM

Image: Philip Spittle via Wikimedia Commons

She was a woman who showed us her scars and, at the same time, refused to let them define her

May 23, 2023, 11:45 AM

There’s gotta be a metaphor here somewhere among the kale and cucumbers. The strawberry plants are ones I planted in the beginning of winter, and they limped along through the cold wet weather. Then, as soon as strawberry season...

May 16, 2023, 3:56 PM

And… we’re back… to normal?

Zalmanson Zeller via the PikiWiki - Israel free image collection project (Wikimedia commons)

The rockets stopped falling. Despite fears that the air force could have been harmed by the pilot’s “refusal” protests against the judicial reform, the pilots performed their duties to the letter. The nation came together in the face of...

May 9, 2023, 8:33 PM

Some random thoughts while waiting for rockets

It’s so quiet after last night’s planes flying overhead, back and forth. The weather is rare, a clean breeze blowing lingering soot from the evening’s fires off into the distance. My heart aches at the sight of a bee...

May 4, 2023, 12:33 PM

Could this murder have been prevented?

Active stills for Na'am Arab Women in the Center

“Her neighbors heard screams. He was killing their children – a 6-month-old baby and a 1-and-a-half-year-old infant – before stabbing her to death. The last thing she saw before dying was her babies being ripped apart. She was 26...

Apr 28, 2023, 2:53 PM

Across an unequal divide

The “pro-judicial-reform” rally in Jerusalem Thursday night was meant to appear as a mirror, or counterweight, to the anti-reform demonstrations that have been taken place weekly – sometimes nightly – for the past four months. “Look,” coalition ministers said,...

Apr 25, 2023, 10:11 AM

And Now for the Good News

We have a national butterfly! It’s called, in the vernacular, the common blue. Its scientific name is Polyommatus, which sounds like the name of a sexual orientation our friends in the extreme Noam party would like to outlaw. And, despite the...

Apr 19, 2023, 1:31 PM

American Import

I’ve been thinking of my husband’s aunt Fella, z”l. Fella was much younger than my husband’s dad. Born in Poland, she was hidden, so the story goes, with nuns, and sent to Israel after the war. Fella was slim,...

Apr 12, 2023, 3:45 PM

Featured Post

Meir Shalev and me

Image credit: Stephan Roehl, Heinrich Boll Stiftung, via Wikimedia commons

The author, who died Tuesday, was the typical insider, tearing down the myths upon which the entire structure was built

Apr 2, 2023, 3:11 PM

Do the Math, Ask the Right Questions

Image Israel defense forces, Wikimedia commons plus own work

Are we doing the math? The Times of Israel headline said Internal Security Minister Ben-Gvir will get a billion shekels to set up a national guard, which will be made up of 1,800 guards. That is over 550,000 NIS...

About Me

Judy Halper is a member of a kibbutz in the center of the country. She has worked as a dairywoman, plumber and veggie cook, and as a science writer. Today she volunteers in Na'am Arab Women in the Center and works part time for Wahat al-Salam/Neve Shalom.

Contact Me