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Jose Lev Alvarez Gomez

May 27, 2026, 11:18 AM

Europe Needs Israel to Join the European Union

Europe is careening toward strategic irrelevance as Iranian proxies tighten their noose around its southern flank and radical Islam spreads through its streets and no-go zones. Israel is the hard-power partner the European Union can no longer afford to...

Mihran Kalaydjian

May 25, 2026, 7:22 AM

When Jews Are Told They Don’t Belong Again

For decades after the Holocaust, civilized society agreed on one moral line that could never be crossed again: Jews would never again be treated as outsiders in the societies they helped build. Today, that line is eroding before our eyes. Across...

May 18, 2026, 6:08 PM

I’m Not a Zionist, I’m a Zionistish Person

When language becomes a system of approvals, nouns stop standing alone. Image © Ivan Bassov, 2026. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.

Jewish Person, Parent #1, Parent #2, and Other Linguistic Innovations of Our Time There was a time when English was a relatively simple language. You could say things like “a Jew,” “a woman,” or “a father,” and people would assume...

May 6, 2026, 9:27 AM

The Vocabulary of Belonging

One land. Many homelands. Image © Ivan Bassov, 2026. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.

From Rodina to Bashertland: A Taxonomy of Homeland In my earlier piece, Soulmateland. Bashertland, I introduced two new terms—not as linguistic curiosities, but as necessary additions. Because the existing vocabulary was insufficient. We have many words for “homeland,” yet most of them...

May 1, 2026, 8:52 AM

Soulmateland. Bashertland

My homeland—the place that was waiting for me. A view of Haifa Bay from the Baháʼí Gardens. Photo © Tanya Bassov, 2023. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.

Homeland Is Not Where You Were Born, and Not Where You Chose to Live — But Where You Belong We are taught a simple formula: homeland is where you were born. It sounds natural, almost unquestionable. Birthplace equals belonging. Geography...

Apr 24, 2026, 6:24 PM

Immigrant Songs: Yiddish Theater and the American Jewish Experience

The recently produced film Immigrant Songs: Yiddish Theater and the American Jewish Experience depicts one of the most delightful yet often overlooked chapters of American Jewish cultural history. While giving viewers a pleasurable 46 minutes filled with beautiful paintings,...

Silas Anastacio

Apr 22, 2026, 3:34 AM

Charity Preview of Dibuk, the Musical Supports CIP Social Projects

The Congregação Israelita Paulista (CIP) announces that charity tickets are now available for the preview of Dibuk, the Musical, which will take place on April 23 at 8:00 PM at Teatro Sérgio Cardoso. Sales are exclusive to the VIP Section,...

Reuven Chaim Klein

Apr 19, 2026, 12:20 AM

Facing Death – mitah, niftar

The Torah introduces the laws of the sacrificial services of Yom Kippur by noting that Hashem relayed them to Moses after the deaths (acharei mot) of Aharon’s two sons (Lev. 16:1). The Torah then continues to discuss various other topics, running...

Apr 4, 2026, 8:47 AM

Free, Free Palestine. Long Live Palestine.

We will eat oranges and dance the hora. Free, free Palestine. Long live Palestine. — Yiddish folk refrain, early 20th century. Image © Ivan Bassov, 2026. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.

A Forgotten Yiddish Chorus We Must Reclaim Some stories don’t argue — they remember. In my previous article, Sarah, I Am a Palestinian Jew, I introduced a simple Yiddish lullaby sung by the mother of Willy Lipschutz: Yiddish: Mir vellen essen pomeranzen und dabei...

Reuven Chaim Klein

Mar 30, 2026, 3:12 PM

Have your cake – ugah, kikar, gluskos, kugel, and pashtida

One of the long-standing controversies related to the Laws of Passover concerns the kashrut of machine-made matzot. Rabbis in different times and places have offered various arguments for why such matzot should be forbidden or permitted. One small part of the controversy revolves around...

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