Sagi Melamed, at The Blogs

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Jun 19, 2019, 1:04 PM

Playing in the Main Game

In the mid-90s we lived in Boston for a few years. They were dramatic years for Israel-Oslo negotiations, peace accord with Jordan, Prime Minister Rabin’s assassination. Even though I was “living the dream,” for me Boston was not the...

May 26, 2019, 10:24 AM

The gift benefits the giver more than it benefits the recipient (Jewish proverb)

“I always considered fundraising to be schnorrering, like begging. something unworthy, something that diminished my honor. I went out of my way to avoid doing it, even when I knew it was necessary. But after I read your book,...

Apr 1, 2019, 4:45 PM

Jump into Cow Dung

Tel Aviv in March. The locus of Israel’s modern bourgeoisie. Luxury stores. Boutique patisseries. Mothers pushing strollers carrying babies bedecked in designer clothes. I sit in a small, friendly café with my friend Alan Gill, discussing the essence of...

Mar 14, 2019, 10:53 AM

When Dad Crashes the Grand Trip

Father: The plane comes in for a landing as I reach the end of the Netflix series The Vietnam War, watching the American flag lowered for the last time outside the embassy in Saigon and a North Vietnamese tank...

Dec 25, 2018, 5:17 PM

Identity and Belonging

"What would the average Israeli think about this conference?” I was asked at the Israeli American Council National Conference last month. “They’d be critical and sarcastic, and complain about these Israelis sitting by the fleshpots of America talking Zionism...

Dec 5, 2018, 12:14 PM

In February 2018, my father in-law died. When Betsy returned from Connecticut after the shiva, seven day period of mourning, still hurting and grieving, she secluded herself at home and refused condolence calls. The Shabbat after she returned, I said:...

Aug 8, 2018, 11:21 AM

Now It’s Your Turn to Protect and Defend

You were born 19 years ago, during the first months that we lived in Hoshaya; for us, you symbolize our decision to make this community our permanent home. And now you too, Ari Benartzi, our third child, are enlisting...

Jul 5, 2018, 11:53 PM

My Son the Solider

Our son Guy was released from the IDF in May 2018. My wife, Betsy Winnick Melamed, wrote this dedication for the occasion. Betsy made aliyah in 1991 and, as she says, having children in the IDF is what finally...

Jun 3, 2018, 10:09 PM

Samson’s Foxes and the Kites of Gaza

During the 1948 War of Independence, "Samson’s Foxes", the Israeli commando unit of the Givati Brigade, fought on the southern front. The unit was named after the Biblical story of Samson, who avenged himself creatively on the Philistines: “Samson caught...

Mar 15, 2018, 9:40 PM

Kul Lisan Insan

My daughter Eden, a cadet in the Officer Training Course, came home on Friday afternoon for the weekend. “Dad, I’ve doubled my vocabulary in Arabic!” declared my daughter with a mischievous grin. I listened with curiosity. Even after spending several...

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About Me

Sagi Melamed is Vice President of External Relations and Development at the Max Stern Yezreel Valley College, President of the Harvard Club of Israel and author of "Son of My Land" and "Fundraising" - the 1st Hebrew book about Resource Development. Sagi can be reached at melamed.sagi@gmail.com.

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