I don’t particularly enjoy shopping and when I travel to Europe, which is really at our doorstep since we moved to Israel, shopping is not my passion, but I do love shopping for food. When it comes to food shopping, there is nothing to top a department store in Berlin, Kaufhaus des Westens. 

It was a dramatic situation when Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad fired nearly 700 rockets from the Gaza Strip at Israeli communities in the south of Israel, killing four Israelis in a two-day eruption of violence earlier this month.

My family moved to Israel nearly 20 years ago from Cleveland because we believed we could lead a meaningful life as citizens of a Jewish country that was still taking shape. The inspiration hasn’t worn off, but t when I go about my daily life, I sometimes lose sight of the wonder of it all.

Last week’s Israeli election was a disappointment for me and many other Israelis who were hoping that Benny Gantz, a former army chief of staff who heads the new Blue and White Party, would unseat Benjamin Netanyahu, after 10 consecutive years in office. Gantz failed to become prime minister…

The last couple weeks have brought news of another flare-up on Israel’s border with Gaza, but they also brought other news that I think is a much better reflection of life in Israel as experienced by those who live here and millions of foreign visitors. Such happenings involve good weather, …

The closer Israel’s April 9 Knesset election comes, the more pessimistic I get. I hoped we would be spared an additional term for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and just weeks ago, the polls seemed to suggest Netanyahu would be voted out of office. Now things have shifted slightly in favo…

Last week, the political drama in the United States and Israel was more powerful than anything Hollywood could have produced. On Feb. 27, President Donald Trump’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen, told a congressional committee that Trump is a “con man” and a “cheat.” The following day, the atto…

Bloomberg news service released its annual rankings of the world’s most innovative economies a few weeks ago and Israel was ranked fifth in the world, three spots ahead of the United States. The ranking was based on a number of measures, including research and development spending, manufactu…

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and I have never spoken, but I don’t need to be his best buddy to know he couldn’t be sleeping well lately. Over the past couple of years, he has faced the recurring nightmare of three criminal investigations against him. The police have recommended …

On April 9, Israelis will go to the polls to elect a new Knesset. I’m hoping the result will ease the psychological dissonance I have been feeling in recent years about living in Israel. It’s been almost 20 years since my family moved from Cleveland, and I never regretted the move, but I hav…

Late last month, the Hebrew language lost the person whom many regarded as the its leading contemporary writer. Amos Oz made his reputation as a fiction writer, but his career was capped in some respects by his autobiography, “A Tale of Love and Darkness.” Oz was considered a perennial candi…