These and Those

Musings from Students of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem

Tag Archives: Hamas

Sirens and Rockets

Posted on November 19, 2012 by Ari Abelman

Originally posted on my blog: On Friday evening, an air-raid siren went off in Jerusalem.  This was not supposed to happen.  We were supposed to be out of range, in a city too holy to Muslims, with too large a Palestinian population.  It appeared that we were wrong.  Hamas had fired a rocket towards Jerusalem, Continue Reading »

the Shalit Debate

Posted on November 9, 2011 by Suzi

On Monday, October 24, Pardes students and staff were treated to a brilliant intellectual exercise as Pardes Dean Dr. David Bernstein and Pardes teacher Rabbi David Levin-Kruss debated the recent events which brought hostage Gilad Shalit home to Israel in exchange for over 1,000 incarcerated Palestinian prisoners. The twist?  Neither man knew which side of Continue Reading »

Political Lenses

Posted on October 26, 2011 by Barer

It has been a week since Gilad Shalit was released back to Israel as part of the prisoner swap Israel made with Hamas, freeing 1,027 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the soldier who had been in captivity for over five years.  Trying to collate the different sources and viewpoints on this momentous event in modern Continue Reading »

זמן שמחתנו The Time of our Joy

Posted on October 22, 2011 by Soffer

Originally posted on Darkeynu דרכינו: Here are some thoughts I shared with Shechter Westchester students about todays (this was originally posted a few days ago) events: Gilad Shalit….Gilad Ben Aviva Shalit. For too long this simple name has been in the prayers of Jews throughout the world, as we have waited and wondered about this Continue Reading »

Welcome Home Gilad

Posted on October 18, 2011 by Andrea Wiese

Today is an amazing day for Israel and Israelis. Gilad Shalit who was was imprisoned in Gaza by Hamas for over five years, 1,941 days, was freed this morning after long negotiations in a prisoner exchange. 1,027 prisoners were released from Israel for Gilad’s return. Many people are upset about the exchange, saying how could Continue Reading »

Sukkot

Posted on October 14, 2011 by Shibley

Immediately following Yom Kippur, the hammer blows could be heard echoing behind my building. I was mightily surprised when I heard those construction noises following a fast, “who could be working now?” I thought, before realizing we had begun the transition to Sukkot. All over town sukkot of all varieties began popping up on sidewalks, Continue Reading »

The Moments After

Posted on April 20, 2011 by Aviva P.

Note: I began writing this post almost a month ago, a day following the March 23 bombing at a Jerusalem bus station I call the first time I came to Israel, the last “Golden Year” of summer programs.  I was here in 2000, several months before the start of the second intifada.  No one thought Continue Reading »

Five Minutes for Shalit

Posted on March 15, 2011 by Pious Antic

Living in Israel, it’s impossible to escape the national preoccupation with the plight of Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier who was abducted by Hamas in 2006, and continues to be held hostage today. Today, advocates for Shalit’s release called for people all over Israel to come outside at exactly eleven o’clock and block traffic for Continue Reading »