Maayan Jaffe

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Nov 9, 2015, 6:40 PM

Jerusalem taunted me: Did you make the right decision?

Ding. An email pops up in the corner of my computer screen. It's in Hebrew, but I catch the gist of it before it shrinks back into its tiny envelope. Chime. A new WhatsApp message from my daughter's preschool. Apparently...

Oct 4, 2015, 12:39 PM

Shabbat at Gan Hapaamon: In the City of Gold — love, hate, laughter and murder

It was a perfect Shabbat Sukkot in Jerusalem. The weather was warm, but somehow pleasant. We had loads of guests to fill our new Sukkah and the children played together, laughing, squealing -- occasionally fighting. We ate cholent, drank wine...

Sep 13, 2015, 10:47 AM

This Rosh Hashanah, my world is beginning (engaged in Israel)

Rosh Hashanah is a paradox. On the one hand, it is a celebration of the creation of the world and the sweetness of God's gifts. On the other hand, it is a day of collective judgement. For many years, I...

Sep 3, 2015, 6:16 PM

Running uphill with my eye on the prize

I ran up the hill to the Israel Democracy Institute (IDI) again this morning. The hill is long and steep and my legs start to burn as I climb the incline to Pinsker Street. “Don’t slow down,” I convince myself with...

Aug 18, 2015, 4:08 AM

Change in attitude is change in reality

When I woke up on my first Sunday morning in Israel I was full of hope. The pitter-patter of my children’s feet on the still filthy living room floor of our Jerusalem apartment made me chuckle. “We’ll get there,”...

Jul 27, 2015, 10:58 AM

Purging and preparing on an emotional, physical rollercoaster ride

Four days until the movers come to pack my belongings and transport them from Middle America to a port city and then onto a boat bound for Israel. Of all the “projects” involved in making aliyah, purging and preparing...

Jul 19, 2015, 4:58 PM

Taking Israel by Storm

Tears streamed down my face last Thursday night, as I stood on a platform several hundred feet above the Kotel. Staring down at the holiest site of the Jewish people, I couldn’t help but cry -- tears of joy...

Dec 26, 2014, 5:51 PM

Christmas in Middle America

It’s the day after Christmas and I can hear the buzz of the heater and the clicking of my computer keyboard as I sit alone in the office. 8:30 a.m. and no one is here yet. Over the past week,...

Dec 14, 2014, 10:10 AM

Jumping in puddles and finding rainbows

I remember the day my zayde passed away. I was at home, brooding over some teenage problem, when my dad called, then took us to the hospital to kiss him goodbye. His stomach was a beach ball from the...

Oct 24, 2014, 11:15 PM

Armenian-American lobby is powerful, despite overt support of Iran, Russia and opposition to Israel, Azerbaijan

We hear a lot of noise from the pro-Israel and Cuban-American lobbies, vaunted on Capitol Hill and in the media. Rarely do we hear about another highly influential force — the Armenian-American lobby. Former National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski...

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About Me

Maayan Hoffman is director of international communications for a leading Israeli think tank and an American-Israeli journalist since 1995. She raises her large, blended family a bus ride from the Western Wall.