Category Archives: Jewish stuff and Israel

Confusion in the West Bank

I lived in Israel for 12 years, and returned to visit only twice. That was a long time ago. On one of those visits, I decided to reconnect with a close friend. He, along with his family, lived in Kiryat … Continue reading →

Posted in Jewish stuff and Israel | 25 Comments

A Judeo-Arabic mystery book

I’ve been going through my old Hebrew manuscripts, and came across a fragment that I’ve been wondering about for many years. It hails from Yemen, and it’s written in Hebrew characters – but it’s Arabic. My guess is that it’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Jewish stuff and Israel, language | 4 Comments

Don't convert to Judaism

A friend of mine, a white man the same age as me, was telling me how he was considering converting to Judaism. I asked him why he would do a crazy thing like that. After some prodding and probing questions, … Continue reading →

Posted in Jewish stuff and Israel, pan-nationalism and multi-culturalism | Tagged , , | 29 Comments

Don’t convert to Judaism

A friend of mine, a white man the same age as me, was telling me how he was considering converting to Judaism. I asked him why he would do a crazy thing like that. After some prodding and probing questions, … Continue reading →

Posted in Jewish stuff and Israel, pan-nationalism and multi-culturalism | Tagged , , | 29 Comments

Kalman Katzenelson's encounters with Sephardic Jews

Thanks to a commentor, who calls himself IHTG, for providing the link to a Ha’Aretz article, which includes something of an epilogue to “The Ashkenazi Revolution.”  I’ve taken the time to translate it, and I’m sure some of y’all will … Continue reading →

Posted in Jewish stuff and Israel | 8 Comments

Our rigid concept of time

I just finished reading E=MC2 by David Bodanis. It’s a fascinating book, and for the first time, I feel as if I can grasp some of the importance of this formula and its history. One subject the book touches upon, … Continue reading →

Posted in Jewish stuff and Israel, language | Tagged | 16 Comments

Another daughter married

I recently got back from California, where my eldest daughter had her wedding ceremony. In this case, it was her (already) long-term boyfriend. So, for all practical practical purposes, they were already married. They did it very cheaply, in their … Continue reading →

Posted in Jewish stuff and Israel | Tagged | 12 Comments

An excellent video on Jewish hypocrisy

There are some Jews out there, and some non-Jews, who support mass immigration for the Western world, but oppose it for Israel. This video does a great job illustrating this hypocrisy. Enjoy! [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKDeyuM0-Og&w=560&h=315]

Posted in book/movie/video reviews and links, immigration/ Hispanics, Jewish stuff and Israel | Tagged , | 24 Comments

Similarities between Hebrew and Amharic

My journey to Ethiopia was actually two journeys. I’ve already written about one, and the one I have yet to write about actually began on the Ethiopian Airlines jet that took me to Addis Ababa. As soon as I boarded … Continue reading →

Posted in Jewish stuff and Israel, language, travel | Tagged , , | 89 Comments

Ethiopia and Jews

The relationship between Ethiopia and Jews is complex enough to fill entire books, so don’t consider this post as a comprehensive source on this matter. Most of y’all have probably heard of the Falashas. The State of Israel airlifted most … Continue reading →

Posted in Jewish stuff and Israel, travel | Tagged , | 11 Comments