Laurie Rappeport

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Mar 23, 2014, 5:02 PM

The Israeli school system through the looking glass

I've had close to 25 years of first-hand observation of the Israeli school system to wonder about the differences between the system in which I grew up and the system in which my children have been educated. When my first-born...

Feb 12, 2014, 3:40 PM

Teaching the Holocaust — A model online lesson

I recently participated in a powerful online encounter that brought home some of the lessons of the Holocaust to a class of American Bar and Bat Mitzva students. The students are studying a unit on Holocaust Remembrance, Remembering and Rebuilding...

Nov 24, 2013, 8:31 AM

Thanksgivi…….no, thanks for Chanukah

I read something yesterday about the reason that we don't have a festive meal during Chanukah. Sure, there are plenty of ways that we celebrate but a special meal isn't one of them. You can't even say that it's because...

Nov 20, 2013, 3:54 PM

PEW, Jewish education and musings

The 2013 General Assembly which took place in Jerusalem (as it does every 10 years) centered on the recent reports of the PEW survey which presented some shocks and surprises to the Jewish world. If you're reading this article, chances...

Nov 10, 2013, 12:49 PM

67 Years — May His Memory Be For a Blessing

When I made aliyah in 1983 a cousin casually mentioned that a mutual cousin had fallen with the Palmach in 1946. It was, evidently, a story with which the older generation of our family was familiar but it had...

Nov 5, 2013, 9:24 AM

Israel and Ethiopian Aliyah — Where to Now?

Safed has three absorption centers for Ethiopian immigrants. That's a high percentage for a town of 30,000 people but, as a friend of mine once pointed out, Safed has a reputation as being a welcoming place. 500 years ago, when...

Oct 29, 2013, 10:40 PM

Israeli Non-Education

I was called into my daughter's school this week to discuss what she needs to do to achieve top performance her the upcoming bargut exams. The daughter in question is my fifth child and my last to go through the...

Oct 23, 2013, 10:56 PM

Reinventing the Wheel in our Educational System — Not Necessary

Yesterday's local elections have decided the makeup of the mayors and city councils for the next five years. I can't say that I was surprised at the results of our elections -- our mayor (whom I voted for) was...

Oct 17, 2013, 12:58 PM

Hebrew School Meets the 21st Century

If you grew up Jewish in North America you probably have memories of some kind of formal Jewish learning program. When I was a kid Jewish day school was relatively rare but today it's more prevalent . An estimated...

Oct 15, 2013, 3:37 PM

Welcome to Election Time in Tzfat

Elections for city mayor and town council are coming up and, once again, our town of 33,000 has four mayoral candidates and umpteen candidates for City Council. The "hamulot" here in Tzfat -- big family groups -- are quite...

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About Me

Laurie Rappeport has been living in Safed for 28 years. She worked in the Tzfat Tourist Information Center for 13 years and continues to be active in tourism to Tzfat and northern Israel. Laurie works as a freelance writer and teaches about Israel and Jewish subjects online.