Post-pandemic, reinventing Judaism
Sam Sokol, JTAJul 15, 2021
NEW YORK — Judaism has always been a social faith, centered on communal activity. However, the demands of social distancing and repeated lockdowns prompted Jews from...
Israeli Foreign Ministry embraces Singles Day
Sam Sokol, JTANov 19, 2020
JERUSALEM — Israel’s Foreign Ministry took on the role of the shadchan, or traditional Jewish matchmaker, on Nov. 11, offering to help set up social media users in...
Israel thought it had crushed COVID-19; now, lockdowns reimposed
Sam Sokol, JTAJul 09, 2020
JERUSALEM — It was just two months ago that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared victory over the new coronavirus. Ten weeks after recording its first...
George Floyd protests in Tel Aviv
Sam Sokol, JTAJun 04, 2020
TEL AVIV — As Kielahtiel Barton stood across from the former American embassy here, on a sidewalk next to a downtown beach, a large crowd around her chanted slogans...
Israel health minister both bitterly criticized and highly praised
Sam Sokol, JTAApr 17, 2020
BEIT SHEMESH, Israel — Just hours after Israeli Health Minister Yaakov Litzman tested positive earlier this month for the novel coronavirus, technicians arrived at his...
Israel cracks down on foreign workers
Sam Sokol, JTASep 19, 2019
TEL AVIV — The woman approached me with trepidation, fidgeting and glancing nervously over her shoulder as she sat down in a coffee shop here. A Filipino caregiver who...
A twisted and complicated history
Sam Sokol, JTAAug 29, 2019
KIEV — The rabbi appears serious, with just the barest hint of a smile behind his long white beard. Standing beside him, a stocky, unremarkable man with a thick black...
The secular woman leading a religious party
Sam Sokol, JTAAug 08, 2019
JERUSALEM — Late last month, as Israel prepared for yet another round of elections, Ayelet Shaked ascended to the leadership of the United Right, a joint list...
Fire destroys Carlebach community
Sam Sokol, JTAJul 11, 2019
MEVO MODIIN, Israel — “It’s an apocalypse,” Zelda Burkey, 63, blurted out in a piercing voice as we walked through the charred remains of the once beautiful...
What makes Liberman tick?
Sam Sokol, JTAJun 13, 2019
JERUSALEM — So just who is Avigdor Liberman, the man who single-handedly forced Israelis to go to the polls for an unprecedented second time in a year? Is he really...
