Ken Toltz, at The Blogs

Jun 17, 2024, 9:36 PM

Solidarity Mission Was No ‘Honeymoon in Israel’

Jena Finn and husband Greg Dumas in Israel

“I need to go, I need to go to Israel. I need to see for myself what is happening there. The more I heard about October 7th, the more I saw, I felt this pull to bear witness to...

Mar 18, 2024, 6:31 PM

Mission of Song & Healing

Like many Israelis, especially Olim with friends and family abroad, I’ve been deeply touched by those whose response to the horrific tragic attacks of October 7th and ensuing war against Hamas has been to jump on a plane to...

Feb 15, 2024, 7:18 AM

I felt I needed to be here

Memorial at site of SuperNova Music Festival Re'im Israel

Many Olim have experience greeting friends and family visiting wartime Israel from abroad since October 7th coming on solidarity missions, to volunteer and to bear witness. Executive Director Jonathan Lev of Boulder, Colorado’s world class Jewish Community Center was...

Dec 26, 2023, 1:27 PM

Every day is October 7th

Every hour of every day in the 11 weeks since October 7th, all the atrocious details of Hamas’s murderous attacks continue to be brought forth. All Israelis are seeing multiple first-person recollections of horrific acts of cruelty gleefully carried...

Jun 15, 2023, 10:18 PM

AJC to Israel’s democracy protest, ‘No Thank You’

My experience of the AJC’s Global Forum as an Israeli The three saddest words I heard at the American Jewish Committee (AJC) Global Forum this week in Tel Aviv were "No Thank You." These words were uttered by delegates when...

Mar 31, 2023, 10:46 AM

Aliyah Success!

Learning to Speak Hebrew is One Key As the sun sets on March 31st, a feeling of excitement spreads throughout Israel. The Israeli people are getting ready to celebrate Yom HaAliyah, the national holiday that honors new immigrants. It’s a...

Mar 3, 2023, 7:40 PM

What Really Happened at the Great Tel Aviv Hair Salon Siege

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu embraces his wife Sara, in a photo he tweeted out late March 2, 2023 after she was extricated from a hair salon surrounded by demonstrators. (Via Twitter)

There were arguably two top news stories in Israel on Wednesday, the national protests and the siege at Sara Netanyahu’s hair salon. Just to clear things up, here’s what really happened with Israel’s widely admired and much beloved First...

Aug 3, 2022, 8:56 AM

AIPAC’s New High Risk – Low Reward Political Strategy

Tuesday’s Michigan primary results showcased the latest battleground – and rules of engagement – for AIPAC (the American Israel Public Affairs Committee) new high profile/high risk political strategy. In the very prominent 11th Congressional District House Democratic primary AIPAC’s...

Feb 9, 2022, 11:42 AM

Fantasy Fiction a New Israeli Reality

Israel has a well-earned reputation over the decades as a rich culture for novelists some of whom have enjoyed world renowned success. Names like Amos Oz, A.B. Yehoshua, Aharon Appelfeld all come to mind when referring to great Israeli...

Jan 15, 2022, 6:23 PM

Tu B’Shvat Revisting JNF Blue Box

Jewish National Fund (JNF) Blue Box used with permission

“We have to open this discussion,” said Israeli filmmaker Michal Weits at the Other Israel Film Festival late last year in a NYC panel discussion. The discussion she referenced before a progressive American Jewish audience was about 1948, which...

About Me

Ken Toltz began his professional career at AIPAC in Washington, D.C. after attending Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He's a 3rd generation Colorado native, businessman and long-time gun violence prevention activist. After 42 years from his first visit to Israel, in 2019 he relocated his home to Mitzpe Ramon in Israel's Negev. Ken currently resides in Herzliya. He writes about Israeli politics, relations with the U.S. and the Israeli creative class of writers and filmmakers.

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