January 31, 2019 I am no longer in Tel Aviv or in Israel, but Tel Aviv was “home” in a country that is an unsettling combination of foreign and intimately familiar.  I was guided by knowing that many, of my …

January 16, 2019 Israel is a complex country, not simply because of the contrast and friction between the Israelis and the Palestinians, but also because of the richness of its historical and contemporary Judaism. Israel’s conquest of the Old City …

January 13, 2019 Last night I slept off my jet lag with 10 hours in bed, walked it off from my cousin’s apartment to the Old City, and then swam it off at the Jerusalem YMCA. Jerusalem’s Old City retains …

January 10, 2019 So much has been written about Jerusalem, so my describing the sites is meaningless.  All I can offer here are my observations informed by the knowledge of my guide, Berhanu, an Ethiopian Christian and a close friend …

My trip to Israel began at my building at 108th Street and Riverside Drive.  I had plenty of time before the 6:30 pm flight so took the subway:  first the #1 train to the B at 59th Street, then a …

The shooting of eleven people at a synagogue in Pittsburgh pushes me to re-examine my identity.  The Anti-Defamation League reported a very large increase in anti-Semitic violence.  Should I be concerned? Earlier in the week, I was listening to an …

While many apartments in Manhattan have high ceilings, there are a small number that push up even further, with one or two double-height rooms and, frequently, a mezzanine that overlooks their open volume.  These large apartments were built as “studios” …

  After two months away, I landed at Newark late on a Tuesday night in early September and came home to a steamy New York.  Customs and baggage were uneventful, as was the taxi ride home, a “mere” $100 including …

  I have taken a break from writing about France, partly from fatigue and partly from the fear that what I am sharing has become too personal.  But I am increasingly overwhelmed by the power of what I am seeing, …