In Germany, Odeh’s out, but Hezbollah’s in
What explains Germany’s inconsistent efforts in rooting out terrorists from its midst?
berlin
Actress Rafaëlle Cohen Explores Israelis’ Love of Berlin
Of her time in the European hot spot, Cohen said, “First of all, I felt the presence of Israelis in Berlin who had true open minds. And I know there was a movement of Israelis for many years to Berlin, and it fascinated me to see that the flower that blossomed out of the crack of the war was coming back to meet its root. I found that so beautiful.”
Orit to Germans: Don’t fail yourselves. Not again.
On June 9, 2018, Orit was a featured speaker at the “FrauenMarsch” in Berlin which protests Chancellor Merkel’s immigration policies. Her pro-Jewish speech was very well-received and brought many Germans to tears. Read it in English, here. Read it in German, here.
Politics on the Dance Floor (English version)
This is the third article in a series for Fluter, a German political magazine for young adults sponsored by the German government. .
Politics on the Dance Floor
Die amerikanisch-israelische Autorin Orit Arfa lebt seit einigen Monaten in Berlin und liebt das Nachtleben dort. Was sie nur irritiert: Dass sie beim Partymachen ständig auf Politik angesprochen wird – und das geht meist nicht so gut aus
Berlin Becomes A Musical Playground For Israeli Artists
“You can live in honor and pay your rent and make music and meet great musicians and travel in Europe,” says Magal. “Berlin is kind of the center of Europe and more special things could happen; the place is really open to different accents, styles and things that sound less generic.”
Ivanka Trump at W20 Summit in Berlin
Jerusalem Post, April 25, 2017 First daughter Ivanka Trump entered the lion’s den in Berlin on Tuesday as a panelist at the W20 Summit on women’s economic empowerment, where she was heckled for defending the attitudes of her father, US President Donald Trump, toward women. Trump’s visit to Germany came at the invitation of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and marked her first international trip since being named a White House adviser at the end of March. Read the rest here
Trees and Roots
Taking a look at how some Israelis in Germany preserve – and adapt – their holiday traditions in a non-Jewish environment.
Santa Monica artist part of ‘Golem’ revival in Berlin
Urban legend has it that a golem lived in the Weissensee Cemetery in Berlin during the Nazi era, protecting the Jewish landmark from destruction while Jews successfully hid among its tombstones. Now the golem has returned to Berlin, this time for more auspicious purpose….
Start-up Berlin
Modern Tel Aviv is just over 100 years old, and today enjoys a reputation as the center of the Middle East’s “Silicon Valley” made into the stuff of legend thanks to the book Start-up Nation. With Israel and Germany having celebrated the jubilee of their diplomatic relations last year, the new phase of the Berlin-Tel Aviv partnership, and more broadly the German-Israeli relationship, is now ripening in the field of start-ups.
Orthodox Life Blossoms in Berlin
Jewish Journal of Los Angeles, September 30, 2016 A few years ago, Yael Merlini wasn’t sure she and her family could stay in Germany. Her children, ages 7, 11 and 15, were the only Jews in their school in Giessen, a town near Frankfurt. The Jewish population numbered fewer than 400, mostly elderly Russian Jews. She also experienced anti-Semitism in the form of social slights from colleagues she described as “liberal” Germans. “Our first thought was to go to Israel,” the Italian-born Merlini said in an interview in Hebrew over the phone in Berlin, where she and her family settled a few weeks ago. “But in Israel, with our professions, it’s very hard.” Her German-born husband is an academic; originally from Florence, she’s a teacher. Both had lived in Israel for 10 years, where they met, and together converted to Judaism. I first met Merlini, visibly Orthodox with her tichl (religious headscarf), at the Orthodox Shabbat minyan held in the historic Rykestrasse Synagogue in the upwardly mobile neighborhood of Prenzlauer Berg, in former East Berlin. Having survived Kristallnacht, the synagogue today serves as the campus for the Lauder Beth-Zion Elementary School, while its ornate main sanctuary offers a more Reform Shabbat service, equipped with a microphone. At the morning kiddush, as children played and congregants vied for the meat cholent, Merlini effused how members of Kehillat Adass Jisroel (KAJ) community cooked kosher meals for them upon their arrival, helped them …