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January 16th, 2012

On the occasion of Martin Luther King, Jr., Day, I am honored to share an article of mine that ran in The Huffington Post. It looks at the connection between Martin Luther King’s call to action and the Jewish narrative, suggesting that at a time when our country and our world are so polarized, it is the passion and idealism of the next generation who will return us to the sense of purpose and values inspired by both MLK and Jewish tradition.

In the spirit of the challenge I issue in the article, I am also making a pledge. In the coming year, I will create and support more opportunities for young people to serve real needs in meaningful ways. I am looking at a variety of models, including partnerships with secular service and Jewish organizations, expanding service-learning experiences and supporting innovative efforts, like Repair the World’s Campaign for Jewish Service, focusing on literacy and educational equity in the United States and Israel. I welcome your input and suggestions on experiences that interest you.  Read More »

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December 22nd, 2011

Liv Anderson is a Teach For America alumna and is currently living and working in New Orleans. She participated in the 2011 REALITY Israel Experience for Teach For America corps members program. Liv recently used a Make It Happen Project micro grant for REALITY Israel alumni to host a latke-making party.

The first International Baccalaureate unit I taught this fall was organized around a theme: although people are different, they are also alike in many ways. My students explored the similarities and differences in traditions celebrated around the world. By the end of the unit, my students had formulated a working definition of tradition. To them, a tradition is when you get together with your family and friends and eat special food. Read More »

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December 21st, 2011

Cross-posted from eJewishPhilanthropy.

“There are two ways to live: you can live as if nothing is a miracle; you can live as if everything is a miracle.”
Albert Einstein

“Daddy, how do we know it REALLY was a miracle, not just that somebody counted the oil the wrong way?” 
Morgan Cohen, age 9

For the serious adult student, Chanukah presents interesting questions about Jewish history, the challenge of heroic narrative and the complexities of a Jewish authority. But for a nine year old, a simple question belies its profound impact: was it really a miracle that the oil burned for eight nights? This question, asked last week by my daughter Morgan, has been burning in my head ever since, especially as I prepared my annual list of predictions for the coming year. Read More »

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December 20th, 2011

When Ambassador Itamar Rabinovich published his book, “Waging Peace: Israel and the Arabs, 1948-2003,” in 2004, the title conveyed the optimism he felt about the prospect of achieving normalized Arab-Israeli relations. The book focused primarily on the 1990s, during which Rabinovich—who served as Israel’s chief negotiator with Syria from 1992 to 1995 and Israel’s ambassador to the U.S. from 1993 to 1996—had high hopes for the peace process.

With the release of his new book, “The Lingering Conflict: Israel, the Arabs, and the Middle East, 1948–2011,” it is not difficult to infer that the Ambassador—one of the foremost experts on the Middle East and a distinguished global professor at New York University—has a decidedly more pessimistic outlook. Focusing primarily on the past decade, during which he lost much confidence in the peace process, Ambassador Rabinovich bears witness to the dispiriting 2000s and recent social and political turmoil in the Middle East, including the Arab Spring uprisings.

Prior to a reception launching the  new book, hosted by our Foundation at the Brookings Institution, Ambassador Rabinovich sat down with Lisa Eisen, our National Director, to talk about the impetus for writing the book, trends among young people in their views of Israel and what gives him hope for the future. Read More »

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