Sasha Machta

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Apr 11, 2025, 12:51 AM

59 empty seats, an incomplete Passover

“First Laila Seder as a free man will be amazing. Each word of the Haggadah will be with meaning.” These are the words of former hostage Eli Sharabi given during a pre-Pesach talk I attended. When Sharabi was released,...

Feb 11, 2025, 5:45 PM

I Am a Jew: The Line Between Anti-Zionism and Antisemitism

“I am not antisemitic, only anti-Zionist.” For years, the anti-Israel community has tried to differentiate between their anti-Zionism and antisemitism. Despite repeated attempts to separate the two, this group consistently fails to explain the extreme spike in antisemitic incidents...

Oct 29, 2024, 12:11 AM

A call for unity: Honoring Rabbi Avi Goldberg

Recently, shortly after Avi Goldberg fell in battle, a video surfaced of him sending a message of love to his family right before entering Lebanon. Just watching the video, his smile radiates through the screen and straight to the...

Oct 8, 2024, 5:18 AM

Ofakim, a city of lions

Ofakim. A quiet and beautiful city just over 20 km from Gaza. It is also the furthest community attacked by Hamas on the dark Saturday of October 7th, where 53 residents were murdered. The people of Ofakim fought the terrorists...

Oct 2, 2024, 9:47 PM

Israel’s battle, Spain’s silence

At the cusp of Rosh Hashanah, I reflect on my aliyah, just three years ago, from beautiful Barcelona, Spain. While I never doubted that Israel is the only place for me, Spain’s rabid antisemitism reminds me that in the...

Aug 9, 2024, 7:09 PM

Crossing the line: The Sde Teiman debacle

The events at the Sde Teiman base last week were humiliating on many levels. The clandestine way the IDF arrived at Sde Teiman and detained the soldiers was offensive. It was humiliating for our soldiers who have sacrificed many months...

Jul 22, 2024, 11:13 AM

A Zionist draft: Reimagining national service

A great deal has changed since David Ben Gurion granted military service exemptions to a mere 400 yeshiva students. Nobody could have predicted that, fast forward 76 years, a decision that sought to preserve Torah study would result in...

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About Me

The writer is a Spanish and American Oleh in his third year of a double degree in Economics and Business at Reichman University. He is a fellow of the Argov Fellowship in Leadership and Diplomacy.

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