Senior Jewish life correspondent @Haaretz. Formerly: EIC @JTAnews; cofounder @Chalkbeat. NYC; mom; rebbetzin. I still have opinions about dessert.
New York
Joined April 2008
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I'm hardly the first to note that Israel's schools can be a barrier for Jews considering aliyah
Now, my colleagues at @haaretz reveal what Israel's education ministry has not: Even affluent Israeli kids significantly underperform their peers internationally on the PISA exam⬇
Here's the story haaretz.com/israel-news/busi…
"We should have conducted the analysis Haaretz did here," a ministry official told @ldattel. "But when you don't want to make any changes, you don't want to know, either."
I wrote about Israel's schools 15 years ago➡
Back in 2011, reformers were successfully reshaping schools in the US, and NYC chancellor Joel Klein visited Jerusalem at Nir Barkat's invitation.
But Israeli insiders and educators told me they saw little possibility for an international expansion
newrepublic.com/article/8615…
Yesterday was all about loss.
Today, I want to share a different kind of October 7 story: one of creation. That day planted seeds for a remarkable friendship between two American Jews who barely knew each other — and who epitomize a quiet trend in US Jewish life. (1/10)
And if you want to read about the latest data in the “Surge,” here’s my story. The newest survey from JFNA found that Jews are still seeking new social ties — and politics is the single biggest deterrent for engagement in Jewish communities. tinyurl.com/8wjfpvxm (10/10)
PS! If you're an American Jew with a story to tell, I want to hear it — whatever it is. You can reach me at [email protected]
Or my DMs are open (famous last words, and really my last words for the moment here!)
HIAS named a new CEO one year ago—the first woman in the group's 140-year history. Now, she's out.
The turmoil at the top follows multiple rounds of layoffs, the Trump administration's cutoff of federal refugee resettlement funding and internal tensions over the war in Gaza. ➡️
Here's our story. haaretz.com/us-news/2026-10-…
Do you have information about what's happening at HIAS? Please reach out to share — on the record or off.
I accept that this is yesterday's news, but I went on a little journey to understand just _why_ reports that Sunkist Fruit Gems were being discontinued sent American Jews into hysterics.
Here's what I found -->
"It sounds silly because it's just a candy, but it's our candy," one Fruit Gems fan told me.
All about the traditions, tastes and anxieties behind this week's confectionery conflagration: haaretz.com/us-news/2026-09-…
Is Israel using political activity to decide who can immigrate?
My colleague @lizarozovsky has the scoop about 2 Jews whose approvals for aliyah appear to have been revoked over their West Bank activism.
This is a major development of intense concern to American Jews. -->
Here's the story: haaretz.com/israel-news/2026…
Multiple Diaspora Jews have been arrested & deported over their West Bank activism in recent months, but these are the first known cases of aliyah revocations.
Israel is built on the principle that all Jews have the right to immigrate.
