Raphael Poch, at The Blogs

Raphael Poch

Oct 15, 2026, 3:23 PM

Forget Propaganda: Small Parties Don’t Burn Votes

Every election season in Israel, the same warning starts making the rounds. Don't vote for the small party. They won't pass the threshold. You'll be wasting your vote, burning it, handing seats to the right or to the left,...

Nov 15, 2021, 5:33 AM

Journey To A Perfect Donut, Finding a Piece Of Home

Nothing in life is perfect. As Plato famously explained in his cave analogy, as humans, we are constantly in pursuit of perfection but may never attain it. As a religious-minded person who believes that only G-d is or can...

Apr 29, 2021, 6:29 PM

Why it was okay for me to sit on chumashim today

It certainly isn’t usual to sit on Chumashim. They are holy books and should be treated with respect. When they fall on the floor, we are taught as young children to pick them up and kiss them. They hold...

Nov 10, 2019, 6:20 PM

Daughter’s Rescue Leads A Father To Become An EMT

Thankfully I deal with a lot of good news, stories that inspire me and have inspired others that tell the tale of good people doing good things to help other. While I am blessed to hear and relay these...

Sep 10, 2019, 3:52 PM

Last Night I Hugged A Palestinian I Had Never Met Before

The most important thing to realize is that we are all people. Last night I hugged a Palestinian man whom I had never met before outside the southern gate of Efrat, the town in which I live. I, together...

Aug 7, 2019, 1:08 PM

Fighting Fire with More Than EMS

I happen to be a proud member of the unit described here in the article below and it is one that more people need to know about so here goes: United Hatzalah’s network of first responders provides more than...

Jul 3, 2019, 1:07 PM

An Inspiring Story from the Ethiopian Protests

A lot of news sources reported on the violence and the traffic that transpired during the Ethiopian protests across Israel yesterday. The protests caused a lot of difficulty for many people around the country as major thoroughfares were blocked...

Apr 29, 2019, 1:02 PM

Why I Can’t Drink My Cup of Coffee This Morning

For those who know me, you know I don't drink coffee. But this isn't my story. This is the story of a man named Yagel Bar Kama who lives in Tel Aviv. I'll let him tell you the rest. "My...

Feb 12, 2019, 3:22 PM

A Father and Son, Partners in Lifesaving

As a parent, I hope to pass on certain lessons and ideals to my child. I hope one day that he will pass on some to me as well. Here's a story of a father and son who did...

Jan 28, 2019, 6:10 PM

A Moving Meeting Between a Man and the People Who Saved His Life

Tomer, (center right) Uriel (far right) together with the man they saved and another UH EMT who showed up to assist as well.

This story is one that I felt needed sharing. It's about neighbors helping neighbors and rescuers from within a community becoming family by helping complete strangers. The last day of 2018 in Mevaseret Tzion, Tomer Greenzeid, a United Hatzalah...

About Me

Raphael Poch works in Communications and PR. He has been a journalist, spokesperson, ghostwriter, theater director, and storyteller for nearly 2 decades. He has an MA in Jewish history, is a volunteer first responder, and served in the IDF. While originally from Canada, he has lived in Israel since 1999 and is a concerned citizen who loves Israel and its people.